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County Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At Large) introduced a zoning text amendment last week that would effectively disallow an embattled self-storage facility from building in Sandy Spring.

The measure, which former Councilman Don Praisner (D-Dist. 4) had planned to introduce before his death on Jan. 30, would prohibit several uses in the Rural Village Overlay Zone, including self-storage and adult entertainment business.

The Siena Corporation of Columbia wants to build an ezStorage facility on Olney-Sandy Spring Road between downtown Sandy Spring and Ashton.

In February, the county Planning Board narrowly gave preliminary plan approval to Siena despite strong testimony from the community against the facility.

Craig B. Pittinger, vice president of Siena, declined to comment on the proposed text amendment.

Praisner had requested staff to consult with Planning Board staff on a list of uses that would not be appropriate for the zone in question, and Elrich agreed to sponsor the amendment after Praisner's unexpected death.

"I don't think it's appropriate," Elrich said about the ezStorage facility.

Michelle Layton, a member of the Sandy Spring Ashton Rural Preservation Consortium and a resident of Ashton, said the amendment is positive in a personal sense as well as a community sense.

She said the consortium "is completely in favor" of the zoning text amendment.

"It's an important part of the future development of Sandy Spring and Ashton … As somebody with kids, I'm absolutely in favor of no adult businesses," she said.

She added that the prohibition of off-site parking at the site is another positive proposed change in the amendment.

Other uses that would be prohibited under the change include car washes, pawn shops, golf driving ranges, automobile repair, radio and television broadcasting stations and towers, electrical power transmission lines and dry cleaning businesses larger than 3,000 square feet of floor area.

A public hearing on the zoning text amendment is scheduled for April 21 at 1:30 p.m. in front of the County Council.