Silver Spring supervisors continue hearing on proposed Ridge Hill Road event center after neighbors raise traffic and noise concerns

Silver Spring Township supervisors on July 24 continued a conditional-use hearing on an application by Haroon Rashid to operate a family‑oriented event center at 264 Ridge Hill Road after neighbors raised concerns about traffic safety, noise, and alcohol.About 20 people — including the applicant, his consultants and several nearby homeowners — spent more than two hours on detailed questions about sight distances, parking, lighting, and how unruly or intoxicated guests would be handled.The applicant’s design expert, John Melham, described a concept built around two existing barns and a restored farmhouse on roughly 9.73 acres. "Participants, perhaps 200 to 275 on average," he said, adding the applicant has capped events at 280 and proposes that music be located inside the barns and that outdoor activities be set well back from Ridge Hill Road. Melham said all parking would be tucked behind the barns and that the front lawn would be preserved to maintain the neighborhood rhythm.Haroon Rashid, who said he lives on the property, told the board he does not drink and "will not provide any alcohol to anybody," and said he would consider contractual and insurance requirements, security and other restrictions if the board imposed conditions. "The person most affected by this is myself," Rashid said, urging neighbors to meet with him to discuss protections.Jay States, a senior traffic engineer with Grove Miller, estimated the site could generate roughly 150 vehicle trips entering on a typical Saturday and testified that sight‑distance measurements at the existing driveway were 512 feet to the left and 491 feet to the right — figures he said exceed PennDOT minimums and correspond to safe stopping distances under standard tables.Neighbor opponents, led by Melissa and Michael Strohl, entered a petition and a packet of exhibits (aerial photos, speed graphs and a video) showing local speeding and the narrow, 19‑foot width of Ridge Hill Road. "We have a hard time backing out of our driveway," Melissa Strohl told the board, and several neighbors warned that large, late‑night events could impair the quality of life and public safety along the residential road.Public commenters split, with several nearby residents urging denial because of traffic and safety risks while an adjacent neighbor, Chuck Sterling, said he favored reuse of the farm and trusted the applicant to manage events.Board members probed details: supervisors asked about whether the parking would be paved or grass, grading and terracing on sloped areas, the placement and concealment of dumpsters, emergency vehicle access and turning radii, limits on attendance, whether events could be restricted to weekends, and how to control outdoor lighting and litter. Melham said design and land development details — including parking surfacing and final stormwater measures — would be addressed during the land development stage and that the team would comply with township requirements.The Township Solicitor, Sean Shultz, marked the objector exhibits and, with no objection from the applicant, admitted them into the record. After discussion, the board voted to continue the hearing to allow staff, the parties and board members more time to review the materials and to allow the board an opportunity to consider and draft any conditions.The board’s continuance motion — made by Vice Chair Nancy Konhaus‑Griffie and seconded by Supervisor David Lenker — carried unanimously. The hearing will reconvene Aug. 28, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building.Notes on next steps: the board will receive the submitted speed studies and township staff indicated comments from the Township Engineer and Parks & Recreation are already in the record. If the conditional use is approved at a later date, land development review and any permit sequencing (including a possible scoped traffic impact study) would follow.