The Fairfax County Planning Commission has deferred making a decision on the amendments to the county master plan that will affect development around Reston’s transit stations.
After a public hearing last month, the planning commission was scheduled to decide on Thursday whether to recommend the changes to the Fairfax  County Board of Supervisors. However, the commission says it needs more time to consider the changes and public comments and postponed its decision until Jan. 9.
After four years of work, the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force recently completed the comprehensive plan amendment — a massive document outlining everything from density around three Metro Silver Line station’s to street patterns to recreational facilities. Dozens of citizens spoke at the public hearing with a variety of opinions on the plans.
One of the main points of the plan: where to put the people. The plan calls for ratios of 50 percent commercial/residential within one-quarter mile of the Metro stations at Wiehle-Reston East, Reston Parkway and Herndon-Monroe. In the half-mile range, the ratio should be 75 percent residential, 25 commercial.
The concept of implementation — just how the plan will be executed, who will pay and other details — came up often in citizen testimony at the public hearing.
“Planning without implementation is empty,” said Reston Citizens Association President Colin Mills. “It is not just a planning issue, it is a political issue. We support having a single entity responsible for implementation issues.”
Planning commission member James Hart reminded Mills, and the people assembled Nov. 13, that implementation specifics don’t need to be in place as the new Reston will evolve over 30 years and planning will get more specific when variables such as developer proffers, population growth and economic climate are known.
“The comprehensive plan regulates nothing, ” he said. “In Virginia, we are under the Dillon Rule.  It is probably inappropriate to put things in the plan like specifics if they have no force of law. The plan is intended to be a general guide. If we bear that in mind a lot of what is in this plan looks a lot better.”
Read more from the public hearing here.
More:
Comprehensive Plan Goes to Planning Commission, With Caveats and Complaints
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