Op-Ed: What Do YOU Think About Plan for Baron Cameron Park?

Last week, the Fairfax County Park Authority staff held a public meeting at which they laid out the draft Baron Cameron Master Plan, a plan that will guide development of the park for the next decade. It was followed by people, some representing local special interest groups, standing and saying what they wanted (or didn’t want) in the plan. The presentation opened a 30-day public comment period on the draft plan.

But there was no discussion about the plan, no collaborative thinking or problem solving on how Restonians as a community would propose to improve the plan.

Monday evening, all Restonians will have that opportunity at an interactive forum sponsored by RCA’s Reston 2020 Committee. The forum will be held at Buzz Aldrin Elementary School from 7 to 9 p.m.

Reston 2020 will begin by summarizing key aspects of the draft Baron Cameron Park plan. His presentation will focus on the most controversial aspects of the plan:  the off-leash dog park, the option to build a recreation center there, the reduction in rectangular playing fields, and the implications for traffic congestion on Wiehle. 

The forum will then break up into small groups to brainstorm community thinking about the plan, focusing on its strengths, weaknesses, what’s missing, and what the risks are in the plan.  After each group briefly presents its ideas to the re-convened group, everyone will have a chance to help prioritize them. Then, in an open conversation, we will try to arrive at a consensus as to the most important points to make about the plan.

Reston 2020 will follow up by compiling the results and sharing them with the Park Authority as a consolidated community perspective, including listing all the ideas that came out of the small groups, before the end of the 30-day comment period.

The forum aims to provide an abundant opportunity to discuss all the key issues, not just advocate a single-issue position, and reach some community solutions to controversial aspects of the park plan.

This is the community’s last opportunity to provide a Reston perspective on the draft plan. Everyone is encouraged to come to the forum and participate in making Reston’s only district park the best it can be.

Terry Maynard
Co-Chair, Reston 2020