ezStorage Open Meeting Summary
(May 6)
Siena Corporation held an open meeting on May 6
to present to the community their plans for an
ezStorage self-storage facility in Sandy
Spring. It will replace the WH Rental building
on Route 108, across from the Sandy Spring
Museum. There were over 50 community members in
attendance. Many of the attendees spoke very
intensely against the idea of having a storage
facility in the rural, residential area of Sandy
Spring. Towards the end of the meeting, one
attendee summarized the feelings, telling the
developer that the people have spoken out
against this idea, and encouraged the developer
to look at other areas nearby, such as the
intersection of Route 32 and Route 108, which is
more commercial and industrial. The Gazette
published an
article with the title: “Residents:
ezStorage not compatible to downtown Sandy
Spring”.
Craig Pittinger, Vice President of Siena
Corporation, gave an introduction to their plan
for the ezStorage facility. He showed a picture
of a facility in Gaithersburg (807
South Frederick Avenue, Route 355) that has
the appearance of an office building. The
proposed structure is smaller than the
Gaithersburg facility (about 800 storage units,
some under climate control) and the design can
be changed to blend into the area. The facility
will be two stories above ground and one below
ground. The total floor area will be about
116,000 square feet. The plan will include
three or four retail stores in the front of the
building (one selling packing supplies) and
parallel parking on the street. There is also a
parking lot on the east side of the building.
The zoning of the area is C2, which permits
commercial structures like the one being
proposed.
The building will be open six days a week, the
office from 9:00 to 5:30 and access to the
storage facility from 7:00 am to 9:00 or 10:00
pm. There will also be a tenant in a two
bedroom apartment at the back of the building.
Status as of May 21: Siena Corporation is
working on their plans that will be submitted to
the Planning Board.
Question: A resident expressed strong concern
about the value of his property going down due
to the ezStorage facility being nearby. He also
questioned the benefit of such a facility to the
community. People might go there once or twice
a year; it doesn’t have to be in your backyard.
This area is not an area for apartments and
renters, and there are few businesses. People
purchased homes because the area is rural.
Response: Research indicates that storage
facility customers come from about a three to
five mile radius of the facility. Regardless of
the price of houses, people need extra storage.
This location was chosen because of the
demographics and zoning. On the positive side,
there will be little traffic and it won’t bring
school kids to the area. Most of the time the
type of vehicle will be cars and small rental
trucks, not 18-wheel trucks.
Question: The Master Plan calls for this area
to be a village center. Village centers don’t
have storage facilities. The concept is for a
walkable community.
Response: The stores on Route 108 will provide
for pedestrian access.
Question: Will there be a fence?
Response: There will be a six foot fence. It
will not be a chain link fence with barbed
wire.
Question: Someone rents a storage unit at a
facility in Laurel that is really a commercial
facility with a number of trade people using the
storage.
Response: Commercial trade people usually use
the metal units. There are approximately six
units that will have the type of access that is
of interest to commercial people.
Question: What about storm water management?
Response: The existing storm water management
system for the homes will serve the site.
Question: Concern about the crime rate
increasing.
Response: This is not an issue and there is no
more crime rate than in other industries. There
are video cameras throughout, security codes
that the clients use for access through the
front door and into the storage unit, and there
is a record kept of access into each area. The
police can be contacted via a silent alarm.
There is a digital record of who was in each
unit that can be examined if necessary.
Question: Could the facility be used for
manufacturing items?
Response: Electrical appliances are not
allowed.
Question: There are only about 10 acres of
commercially zoned property between Sandy Spring
and Ashton, and this is about 20% of what is
available for development. Each commercial
development project should be trying to bring
something to the community.
Response: The stores along Route 108 will bring
some commercial benefits to the community.
More
ezStorage News
ezStorage Documents |
