Community Engagement Report highlights the initial outreach process, data, and findings for the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan.
The Montgomery County Planning Department presented the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan Community Engagement Report to the Montgomery County Planning Board at their February 3, 2022 meeting. The report offers a summary of the initial community outreach and engagement activities, preliminary findings, and next steps for the plan.
Throughout the process, planners have engaged residents, business owners and other stakeholders through a series of in-person and virtual options. Materials and listening sessions were translated into different languages to encourage equitable participation with the area’s population. To date planners have:
- Received comments from more than 700 residents in the plan area.
- Held a speaker series, call “CommUNITY Conversations in Fairland” that highlighted people-first planning Fairland and the work of neighborhood influencers.
- Hosted four listening sessions to gather information on community concerns and document individual stories.
- Partnered with Everyday Canvassing to knock on over 3,850 doors to conduct in-person interviews.
- Conducted a pedestrian audit of the plan area to highlight opportunities for the plan to make recommendations to be more friendly to walk and roll.
- Reached out via online surveys, formal and informal community meetings, mailings and other tools.
Read the Community Engagement report.
“The overall outreach and engagement strategy has been a focused on putting people first,” said Upcounty Master Planning Supervisor Don Zeigler. “The community is the backbone of this plan process, and we have been happy to have been able to speak to so many residents in the plan area.”
Next steps
Planners will continue to engage the community throughout the process. Continued efforts include focus groups, business and property owner canvassing, a pedestrian audit toolkit and a public photo contest. As the plan shifts to other phases, the Working Draft of the plan will be presented to the Planning Board sometime in Fall 2022. A public hearing for the plan will be held in late 2022 or early 2023.
If you are interested in the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan, sign up for the plan’s eletter or contact Project managers:
[email protected] or [email protected]
About the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan
The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan is an update to a portion of the 1997 Fairland Master Plan and will establish a clear vision for an equitable, just, and prosperous future for the Fairland community, mirroring the county’s long-term priorities, which include a vibrant economy, equity for all residents, and a healthy environment. The master plan boundary consists primarily of property and communities of Fairland and Briggs Chaney along the US 29 Corridor from near Paint Branch on the south to Greencastle Road on the north. The update will examine and provide policies and recommendations on existing and future land uses and zoning, housing inventory and needs, transportation systems, historic preservation opportunities, area park facilities, and the environment. This master plan will take cues from the equity framework in the update to the county’s General Plan, Thrive Montgomery 2050, which describes how places with equitable access to opportunity produce strong, successful communities. Goals of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan include:
- Complete Community: Identify and correct past inequitable development policies to make the Fairland and Briggs Chaney communities more whole and connected by integrating centers of housing, retail, and office development with parks and open space to make 15-minute living a reality for as many people as possible.
- Resilient Economy: Promote economic development and job growth within the plan area and surrounding communities.
- Housing: Promote racial and economic diversity and equity in housing to help rectify past discriminatory housing policies in every neighborhood.
- Arts, Culture and Environment: Support arts and cultural institutions, through parks, open space and environment, recreational programming, and development, to celebrate our diversity, strengthen pride of place, and make the county more attractive and interesting.
- Corridor Growth and Connectivity: Promote and prioritize public and private investment along the Route 29 corridor and neighboring communities to leverage and attract future private investment in community facilities and redevelopment, including a safer, more comfortable network for walking, biking, and rolling that connects the corridor communities.
Featured photo by @DronifyDMV
After a nine-day trial and nine hours of deliberations, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable Judge David Lease, a jury has found defendant Gregory Jones, 28, of Martinsburg, WV, guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of Ashley Dickinson and Joshua Frazier in Burtonsville, MD. He faces two potential life sentences plus an additional 40 years. Sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2022.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Marybeth Ayers and James Dietrich prosecuted this case.
The conviction came down late Friday afternoon in this execution-style double murder.
Breakdown of the guilty counts:
-1st degree murder of Frazier
-1st degree murder of Dickinson
-Conspiracy murder
-Firearm use in the commission of a felony on Frazier
-Firearm use in the commission of a felony on Dickinson
On February 15, 2018, the bodies of Joshua Frazier and Ashley Dickinson, both Virginia residents, were discovered in Ms. Dickinson’s running 2013 Audi SUV at a home on Aldora Circle in the Briggs Chaney
area of Burtonsville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Both had been shot once in the back of the head from the back seat of the vehicle. Police located two 9mm shell casings in the car, as well as a projectile on a sidewalk near the vehicle.
Witness interviews and phone records revealed that Mr. Frazier had arranged to meet Gregory Jones, the Defendant, in the area around the time the murders occurred. Specifically, a series of text messages, beginning at approximately 1:10 PM, between Mr. Frazier and the Defendant indicate that the Defendant owed money to Mr. Frazier and wanted to pay him back. Mr. Frazier indicates that he wanted to send someone to the Defendant to pick up the money but the Defendant insisted on delivering it himself several times throughout the text conversation. At 1:17 PM, the Defendant texts Mr. Frazier an address to meet on Robey Terrace in Burtonsville, approximately ½ mile from Aldora Circle where the Audi was found.
Phone records show Mr. Frazier’s phone connecting to cell phone towers in southern Virginia and moving north into Maryland. Phone records show the Defendant’s phone connecting to cell phone towers in Martinsburg,
WV, and moving toward Gaithersburg. Phone records also show Tyshon Jones’s phone connecting to towers in Charlestown, WV, and moving toward Gaithersburg, connecting to the same towers as the Defendant’s phone.
Tyshon Jones is Gregory Jones’s cousin.
At 4:25 PM on February 15, 2018, Officer Pagonis of the Montgomery County Police Department was clearing a call on Robey Terrace when he saw a white Audi driven by a white female with a black male passenger. The race, gender, location and description of the car matched that of Mr. Frazier and Ms. Dickinson as they were found in the Audi later. At 4:30 PM, a witness saw the Audi pull into Aldora Circle.
At 4:56 PM, the Defendant’s phone connected to a cell tower near Aldora Circle. At 5:02 PM, Tyshon Jones’s phone connected to that same tower. Those phones also connected to the same tower __at 5:12 PM__
and 5:15 PM, respectively.
Phone records show that calls to Mr. Frazier’s phone go unanswered beginning at 5:15 PM.
A search of Tyshon Jones’s phone, seized on February 17, 2018, revealed internet searches for “Burtonsville” the day after the murders.
On March 5, 2018, Montgomery County police executed a search warrant at an apartment on Streamside Dr., in Gaithersburg. The defendant was located inside the residence. Also located inside the residence was a phone that forensic analysis showed was in use on February 15, 2018, belonged to the Defendant and contained the text messages between the Defendant and Mr. Frazier referenced earlier.
A search of the Defendant’s phone also revealed searches for Briggs Chaney, Fox News and Fox News Silver Spring on the day after the murders. Later that day, the Defendant canceled the number associated with this phone. Also, all references to Mr. Frazier’s phone, to include text messages and contact information were found to be deleted in the Defendant’s phone.
On March 6, 2018, law enforcement officers conducted a search warrant at a residence on Sanford Drive in West Virginia, the residence of Tyshon Jones, his sisters and his mother. Police also found a piece of paper with Joshua Frazier’s name written on it. Investigators found in a bedroom the Defendant’s social security card, birth certificate and an unspent 9mm cartridge.
Investigators sent the spent 9mm shell casings found in the Audi and the unspent 9mm cartridge found at the Sanford Drive address to Alliance Forensics Laboratory in Fort Worth, Texas, for comparison. A forensic firearm and toolmark examiner conducted a comparison of marks on the unspent cartridge. He opined that the marks
on the unspent cartridge were left when it was moved to the chamber of a semi-automatic gun and then ejected from that chamber without being fired. He found that those same ejector marks were found on the shell casings, which were automatically ejected from the chamber after having been fired. In a comparison of those marks, Mr. Ernest found that they were left by the same gun as the markings left are unique to each gun.
“Our hearts go out to the families of Joshua Frazier and Ashley Dickinson. This should send a clear message that such senseless violence has no place in our community. I thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Marybeth Ayers and Jim Dietrich for their outstanding work in this matter. We look forward to sentencing as this defendant is facing two life sentences plus additional time. These families deserve justice, and we need to ensure the safety of the community,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
Ashley Dickinson and Joshua Frazier pictured below:
Gregory Jones:
This morning we were told by a reliable source that Chipotle would be moving in to the recently closed Little Caesars location in the Briggs Chaney MarketPlace shopping center.
Little Caesars closed the Briggs Location early this past summer and many local residents have wondered what would be taking its place. We are told the location would be a walk-up/drive-thru only Chipotle, which isn’t common in the area.
This move hasn’t been confirmed, as Saul Centers has told us that they cannot provide us with any information on this potential move at the moment.
Adarash Market moved into the shopping center in the spring and two new restaurants, Island Cuizine and Karen’s Seafood, moved into the shopping center just over a year ago.
Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.
9/18 Update: The Briggs Chaney Popeyes is Now Open
Back in November 2020 we let you know that Popeyes will be taking over the old Pizza Hut location in the Briggs Chaney shopping center (13886 Old Columbia Pike).
The old Pizza Hut was demolished and cleared back in March and construction on the new building started soon after. No opening date, but we would not be surprised to see an early fall opening.
The photos below, by Dave Golden (founder of the Burtonsville 2.0 Facebook page), show a lot of recent progress.
Popeyes has recently expanded within MoCo, recently opening up a location in the Kentlands and planning to open a new location in Downtown Silver Spring (construction has recently started there too).
The Briggs Chaney shopping center is an interesting selection for the fried chicken chain, as local chain Hip Hop Fish & Chicken arrived at the same shopping center over a year ago.
Progress at Popeyes in Briggs Chaney
Back in November 2020 we let you know that Popeyes will be taking over the old Pizza Hut location in the Briggs Chaney shopping center (13886 Old Columbia Pike).
The old Pizza Hut was demolished and cleared back in March. The photos below show the recently erected frame of the new Popeyes. We expect the restaurant to continue to make progress over the summer and could possibly be ready to open in the last quarter of the year.
Popeyes has recently expanded within MoCo, recently opening up a location in the Kentlands and planning to open a new location in Downtown Silver Spring.
The Briggs Chaney shopping center is an interesting selection for the fried chicken chain, as local chain Hip Hop Fish & Chicken arrived at the same shopping center over a year ago.
Adarash Market Opens Fourth MoCo Location (Briggs Chaney Marketplace)
Adarash Market opened in late April at 13842-B Outlet Drive in the Briggs Chaney Marketplace shopping center.
It has taken the spot formerly occupied by Tropical Grocery, which was an “African, Caribbean, and Latino market.”
Adarash Market is an international market with a focus on Ethiopian food and products. They offer food, coffee, fresh injera, utensils, and more
The market now has four locations
Hours: 9:00AM – 10:00PM Everyday
Adarash Market Location #1 (Silver Spring, MD)
8706 Flower Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20901
(240) 863-3057
Adarash Market Location #2 (White oak, MD)
11249 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20906
(240) 641-5164
Adarash Market Location #3 (Rockville, MD)
200 B Veirs Mill Rd Rockville MD, 20851
(301)-339-8761
Adarash Market Location #4 (Briggs Chaney Plazza, MD)
13842 B Outlet Dr Silver Spring Md, 20904
The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan will establish a clear vision for an equitable, just and prosperous future for the Fairland community, mirroring the county’s long-term priorities, which include a vibrant economy, equity for all residents, and a healthy environment. The final plan will include policies, recommendations, best practices and implementation programs that provide clear direction for the public and county officials on how we will achieve this vision.
This sector plan amendment will take cues from Thrive Montgomery 2050, the county’s ongoing general plan update – particularly its equity framework – which describes how great places with equitable access to opportunity produce strong communities and people.
The update will examine and provide policies and recommendations on existing and future land uses and zoning, housing inventory and needs, transportation systems, historic preservation opportunities, area park facilities, and the environment. This project will amend portions of the 1997 Fairland Master Plan which is the current planning document for the community.
The planning team is now in the initial stages of this effort which includes background research and identifying existing conditions before presenting the Scope of Work to the Planning Board in the spring of 2021.
This webpage will be updated regularly throughout this process. You are encouraged to sign-up for our e-letter to stay informed of the latest news, meetings, and opportunities to participate.
Background
The properties within the sector plan amendment boundary are currently governed by the 1997 Fairland Master Plan. The 1997 Fairland Master Plan boundary area extends along US Highway 29 (Columbia Pike) from East Randolph/Cherry Hill Road in the south to Burtonsville in the north, and from Prince George’s County in the east, and the Paint Branch to the west. The 1997 Fairland Master Plan area consists of approximately 8,200 acres or about 13 square miles of land.
The 1997 Fairland Master Plan’s concept has three components: 1) Livable suburban communities, 2) open space and greenways, and 3) neighborhoods are served by commercial activity centers. The plan also addressed the following elements: transportation, community facilities, environmental resources, and historic resources. Policies and recommendations were implemented through zoning changes, a capital improvement program, and a water and sewer staging program.
Since 1997, the majority of the plan area has not been the subject of a master plan update. In 2012, the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan updated land use, zoning, environment and transportation recommendations for approximately 191 acres focused on mostly commercial land near the intersection of Old Columbia Pike and MD 198. The White Oak Science Gateway Plan was approved and adopted in 2014, covering the land south of Fairland including the commercial properties south of Cherry Hill Road, along Tech Road, and areas to the south along New Hampshire Avenue south to Hillandale.
These two planning efforts on either side of Fairland, plus the introduction of the new FLASH bus rapid transit line, and the ongoing awareness of the diversity and inequities within the planning area make now the perfect time to re-imagine Fairland as a vibrant, prosperous and equitable community for the 21st century.
Driver Killed After US-29 Crash
Around 5:30 Monday morning, Montgomery County Police and Fire&Rescue responded to a crash on Northbound US-29 near Briggs Chaney Road. Responders arrived and transported the sole occupant from the single vehicle crash to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The Montgomery County Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is handling the crash investigation. The on scene crash reconstruction closed Northbound US-29 near the scene at Briggs Chaney Road Monday morning. Maryland Transportation Authority crews assisted by closing the ramps from the Intercounty Connector to Northbound US-29.
Popeyes Construction Set to Begin, Pizza Hut Demolished and Cleared (Briggs Chaney)
Back in November we let you know that Popeyes will be taking over the old Pizza Hut location in the Briggs Chaney shopping center (13886 Old Columbia Pike).
The old Pizza Hut has been demolished and cleared and construction will start very soon on the Popeyes building. It’s possible that the restaurant opens in the second half of 2021.
Popeyes has recently expanded within MoCo, recently opening up a location in the Kentlands and planning to open a new location in Downtown Silver Spring.
The Briggs Chaney shopping center is an interesting selection for the fried chicken chain, as local chain Hip Hop Fish & Chicken arrived at the same shopping center less than a year ago.
Pizza Hut photo courtesy of Google Maps
