Chevy Chase Bank continued (page 2)
The Planning Staff worked with the
Bank personnel in looking at
reorienting the building 90 degrees
in order to eliminate the drive
aisle in front of the building. If
this were done, all traffic would be
routed through Porter Road and there
were concerns about possible
congestion on Porter Road. This
would mean that the drive throughs
would be behind the building and
that people would have to walk from
the parking lot across three drive
throughs to get to the bank. In
this design, the specimen tree could
not be saved and there would be an
underground storm water system. The
staff felt that the current design
was the best for the site and is
substantially in compliance with the
Master Plan. The staff and Bank
worked closely with the community to
make sure that the plan was in
compliance with the Master Plan.
The design includes a reasonably
traditional active front, parking
behind the building, and an emphasis
on pedestrian access. There will be
good landscaping that will shield
the view from the road.
The building is a reasonable size
compared to other buildings in the
area. It is 24 feet high, which
fits in with the height of other
buildings. The green area is five
times the amount required.
Two community concerns were brought
to staff’s attention through phone
calls. One concern came from Porter
Road residents about the access to
Route 108 from Porter Road
(previously addressed). The other
concern was that there will be too
many parking spaces. There are 30
parking spaces in the design and the
requirement is a minimum of 10
spaces. The guidelines for parking
spaces are about 20 years old. The
staff agreed with the developer that
30 spaces seemed reasonable.
Chevy Chase Bank Presentation
Harry Lurch, Chevy Chase Bank’s
attorney represented the Bank. He
thanked the team that worked
together on the design, pointing out
the very cooperative people in the
Park and Planning Staff (Neil
Braunstein, Joshua Sloan, Cherian
Eapun, Candy Bunnag and Bill Barron)
and the community members who met
with the group and openly and
politely expressed their opinions
and ideas. Thank you.
Citizen Input
Michelle Layton, representing
SSARPC, read a
statement giving the SSARPC
Steering Committee’s
recommendations. She pointed out
that although she was allocated 10
minutes, her testimony this time
would be much less, but she would
probably use all the time for the
next hearing. Michelle pointed out
the excellent working relationship
that exists with Chevy Chase Bank
personnel and changes that they made
to their plans because of community
input. She also pointed out that
the design comes a long way towards
meeting the criteria of the Master
Plan. There is the drive aisle in
front of the building, that is
required for traffic flow, but major
efforts were made to make the area
pedestrian friendly, such as using
pedestrian paving. The SSARPC
Steering Committee supports the
staff recommendation that the plan
be approved.
Planning Board Deliberations and
Action
Chairman Hanson pointed out that it
was a pleasure to see the type of
cooperation that has occurred
between the developer and the
community; it sets an excellent
example.
There were motions to approve both
the Preliminary and Site Plans, and
the votes for each were unanimous to
approve.
Commissioner John Robinson said he
wanted to make an observation.
He congratulated the Bank on its
design and working so closely with
the community. He reminded the
other commissioners of a meeting
recently where the developer was
very hard headed. He also
commented on the collaborative
design brought forward, noting that
it is an illustration as to how a
design focused on pedestrian access
can still accommodate automobile
requirements, and that these two
ideas are not inconsistent.
Another commissioner commented that
it is an achievement when a
representative from a civic
association says we really don’t
think we need your building, but you
really did a very good job in
designing the building and
conforming to the Master Plan.
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