The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals heard more than five hours of testimony concerning the future of Reston National Golf Course on Wednesday, but opted not to make a decision. The BZA will make a ruling on the subject on April 15.
At issue: The zoning appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, who say the land can be considered residential. RN Golf, a division of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, has been asking the county of the land status since 2010.
The appeal is in a response to a 2012 ruling by the Fairfax County Zoning Administration that said altering the planned use of the golf course at Sunrise Valley and Colts Neck Roads would require a comprehensive plan amendment.
The county recently issued a staff report that upholds the 2012 ruling.
That inquiry has been met with significant citizen pushback. More than 300 members of Rescue Reston, the citizens advocacy group formed in response to the initial 2012 appeal, showed up at the Fairfax County Government Center clad in signature yellow/green shirts and carrying signs supporting keeping Reston’s open space open.
Also in attendance — and among the people testifying Thursday — were attorneys for Rescue Reston and Reston Association.
The day included lots of details about zoning filings and Planned Residential Community (PRC) documents, including many details on how and when the original 1971 zoning documents were located since 2012.
“When [Reston] was zoned, and now, there are only five categories [for land use],” said Frank McDermott, attorney for RN Golf. “Residential, neighborhood center, convenience center, town center or village center. It has to be one of those categories. There is no such things as PRC golf course or PRC open space. Our position this was and is PRC residential.”
After RN Golf’s side gave a long saga of trying to locate the original documents — which took them through Fairfax County file rooms and Reston Association records, among others — McDermott argued that at least two of the the 1971 documents located came from George Mason University’s planned community archives.
McDermott said without coming from the county with official government stamps, the documents are not valid.
“You must be persuaded you be persuaded [by Fairfax County zoning] to respect and give greater dignity to unapproved plans from an unapproved source,” said McDermott. “They call these the approved development plans. There is not one iota of evidence that they are the approved development plans.”
McDermott also said there is no such thing as permanent open space, even though the 1971 documents list it as such.
“There is nothing common about the golf course,” he said. “It is privately owned, and frankly, residents who live by the golf course, who, by their own statements, go out and run on the course, they are trespassing. It is not common, open space. It is private.”
Residents who testified wholeheartedly disagree. They said they purchased homes on the golf course with the understanding they would have a view of the rolling greens or wooded areas, which also add a value premium to their home value.
“What concerns me is that my family, as well has hundreds of others, would stand the lose the views we paid premiums for,” said Jay Szlamowicz, who lives on Weybridge Lane. “Allowing home construction in Reston without changing the master plan would invalidate the concept of planned community. This is what makes Reston great and we can’t allow a greedy company to destroy that.”
Realtor Ray Wedell said homes on the course have already been impacted by the chance of redevelopment. He pointed out that townhomes on Indian Ridge sold quickly for an average of about $500,000 in the first half of 2014. In the second half, no contracts were ratified. By the end of the year, when the BZA application was reinstated, five Indian Ridge homes lingered on the market
Other residents took issue with the process RN Golf has used in getting to the appeal. The company purchased the course for $5 million in 2005. Residents said if it had redevelopment plans in mind, it stands to make a great deal of money — and how could it be that the owners did not know what they were purchasing?
Fairfax County has taken the pledge to end veteran homelessness this year.
In late December, Supervisor Chair Sharon Bulova and the county joined the Mayors Challenge.
The Mayors Challenge is an effort of First Lady Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the National League of Cities.
The Mayors Challenge calls for mayors (and other jurisdiction leaders) to make a commitment to ending veteran homelessness in their communities in 2015.
Bulova said that honoring and taking care of veterans is “one of the most important things we can do as a nation, and Fairfax County will certainly do our part in making this goal a reality.”
“I am honored to partner with the Obama administration, nonprofit organizations, neighboring jurisdictions and the private sector to end veteran homelessness in the United States by the end of 2015,” she said.
During the 2014 Point-in-Time Count of homeless persons in Fairfax County, 8 percent of all single adults who were homeless (45 individuals) identified themselves as veterans. Additionally, the 2014 count found six veterans living in families with children.
Nationally, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased by about 33 percent since Opening Doors launched in 2010, the county says.
The Mayors Challenge is part of the federal Opening Doors initiative to end homelessness. As outlined by the program, ending veteran homelessness means reaching the point where there are no veterans sleeping on the streets and every veteran has access to permanent housing.
Also, the initiative will work to provide systems so that should veterans become homeless or be at-risk of becoming homeless, communities will have the capacity to quickly connect them to the help they need to achieve housing stability.
During the 2014 Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 29, 2014, there were 1,225 people who were homeless in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. This represents a 9 percent reduction from the number counted in January 2013, or 125 fewer people.
Since 2008, the county has decreased the homeless population 33 percent. Adoption of housing first and rapid rehousing models, heightened prevention efforts, prioritizing housing for the longest and most vulnerable homeless through the 100,000 Homes campaign, additional VASH vouchers, dedication of new housing options to the chronically homeless, and the opening of Mondloch Place have assisted in this significant reduction, Fairfax County officials said.
A staff report issued by the Fairfax County Department of Zoning Administration requests that the Board of Zoning Appeals uphold the Zoning Administrator’s determination of June 20, 2012 in next week’s BZA hearing on Reston National Golf Course.
The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, at a hearing on Jan. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, has been asking the county since 2010 whether the course was considered residential. The county said in 2012 that the course is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.
RN Golf disagrees and would like to bypass the amendment change process.
According to the Jan. 13 staff report, the zoning staff previously confirmed to RN Golf that the existing zoning is “Planned Residential Community District without any proffered condition, restriction, limitation, or prohibition.”
From the report:
[RN Golf] further asserts that no other conditions, restrictions, limitations, or prohibitions are set forth in the Ordinances and none have been found in the County records that would prohibit, restrict, or proscribe the use of the Subject Property for residential.”
Even prior to locating copies of the approved development plans for RZ C-l35, RZ C-203, and RZ C-281 at the time of response to [attorney] Mark Looney’s inquiry letter of April 20, 2012, it was clear through staff reports, legal notices, and other relevant documentation that the three parcels making up the subject property had been designated on the development plans as golf course and open space only.
The zoning appeal hearing was postponed three times in 2012 and 2013 to give time to locate the original 1971 documents that designate the golf course as open space. The staff report says RN Golf has been notified of the confirmation of the plan, but is proceeding anyway.
Subsequent to the submission of this appeal application the development plan copies were located, and the appellant was provided with copies of these development plans, which occurred prior to the initially scheduled public hearing date(s) in 2012.
Staff has clearly demonstrated through the current (and prior) Zoning Ordinance language how these approved development plans, which designate the property as “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space,” “South Golf Course” and “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space” and “South Golf Course Permanent Open Space,” respectively, are binding to the property irrespective of the absence of proffers or development conditions, and must be amended to propose alternative development from the current use of a golf course or continued use as open space.
Meanwhile. grassroots advocacy group Rescue Reston is trying to rally as many people as possible to attend the hearing to voice their opposition to potential development.
Fairfax County is facing a $100 million shortfall for Fiscal Year 2016, Supervisor Chair Sharon Bulova said in her annual “State of the County” Address.
“Our economy has been very much affected by cutbacks in government contracting,” Bulova said in the speech, released on Wednesday “Despite our efforts to stimulate business growth, our pace of revenue growth has not returned to pre-2008 levels. We continue to be challenged by cutbacks in state and federal funding.”
Bulova said that county agencies have been asked to propose cutbacks and find efficiencies to close the budget gap.
The County Executive will release the proposed budget in February. There will be many upcoming changes for public input before the Supervisors approve the budget in the spring.
Other highlights of the speech:
Transportation milestones in 2014, such as the opening of the Silver Line and adoption of the Bicycle Master Plan..
“Since opening day on July 26, the Silver Line has been off to a solid start, carrying approximately 15,000 passengers per weekday and exceeding expectations. Wiehle-Reston East is already surpassing ridership projections and is one of busiest stations in the system,” Bulova said.
Fairfax County Public Schools continue to be a top-performing system in Virginia. FCPS, with 187,000 students, is now the 10th-largest system in the country. The Board of Supervisors invested $1.9 billion to FCPS — its largest expenditure, Bulova said. Implementing full-day Mondays and the later high school start time (planned for 2015-16) were important decisions in 2014, she said.
Click the video attached to this post to see the entire 30-minute speech.
Two groups leading the fight against development at Reston National Golf Course say 1971 development designations will be on their side when the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals considers the case next week.
The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course, at a hearing on Jan. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, first asked the county in 2012 whether the course was considered residential. The county said it is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.
RN Golf is appealing that decision, though the company postponed the hearing several times since 2012. However, the case will now be heard — and there is additional solid historical information than there was nearly three years ago.
Attorneys for Reston Association and grassroots advocacy group Rescue Reston have since located the 1971 documents that clarify the land use of the course at Colts Neck and Sunrise Valley Drives.
Randall T. Greehan, attorney for Rescue Reston, says in the letter to the BZA that the land use was approved in three rezoning applications in 1971 and is designated as “South Golf Course/PermanentOpen Space.”
Greehan points out that the original documents show future residential uses surrounding the golf course but not on the golf course. Those clusters, such as Indian Ridge and Golf Course Square, were built later in the 1970s.
“Because the three legislatively approved development plans do not show residential uses on the golf course property, amendments to them would be required before any residential use would be allowed there,’ Greehan writes. “The zoning ordinance in effect at the time of all three of these 1971 approvals required that all three RPC zoning applications ‘be in accordance with the comprehensive plan.’ ”
When is it time to take down and dispose of the Christmas tree? About now, says the National Fire Protection Association.
“Christmas trees are flammable objects. The longer they’re in your home, the more they dry out, making them a significant fire hazard,” said Lorraine Carli, the NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy.
The NFPA says that nearly 40 percent of home fires that begin with Christmas trees occur in January. Although these fires aren’t common, when they do occur, they’re more likely to be serious. On average, one of every 40 reported home structure Christmas tree fires resulted in a death, as compared to an average of one death per 142 total reported home structure fires.
If you receive Fairfax County curbside pickup of trash and recycling, you can recycle your live Christmas tree (less than 8 feet) on your normal collection date. The cost is included as part of your regular, paid collection service.
If you are in a private Reston cluster, check with your cluster board or trash service provider to find out specifics for your neighborhood.
For larger trees, contact your collector for recycling instructions.
Christmas trees may also be recycled during the first two weeks in January at the I-66 Transfer Station. There is a small processing fee of $1 per tree. Please remove tree stands, ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree toppers before recycling.
Virtually all facets of Fairfax County and federal government are closed on Thursday, which is Christmas Day. Friday has been declared a day off for federal workers, and many Fairfax County agencies have followed suit.
A quick review of the holiday schedules:
County Government
- Dec. 24 – Closed at noon.
- Dec. 25 – Closed.
- Dec. 26 – Closed.
- Jan. 1 – Closed.
- Jan. 2 – Closed.
Courts
- Dec. 24-26 – Closed.
- Dec. 31 – Closed at noon.
- Jan. 1 – Closed.
- Jan. 2 – Closed.
Fairfax County Public Libraries
- Dec. 24 – Closed at 1 p.m.
- Dec. 25-26 – Closed.
- Dec. 31 – Closed at 5 p.m.
- Jan. 1-2 – Closed.
Reston Community Center Hunters Woods
- Dec. 24 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Dec. 25 – Closed.
- Dec. 31 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Jan. 1 – Noon to 5 p.m.
Reston Community Center Lake Anne
- Dec. 24-25 – Closed.
- Dec. 31-Jan. 1 – Closed.
For a complete list of Fairfax County resources and their holiday schedules, visit the Fairfax County website.
Reston Association
- Dec. 24 – RA offices, Nature House closed at noon.
- Dec. 25 – Closed.
- Dec. 26 – Closed.
Fairfax County closed on a $403 million federal loan on Thursday, ensuring that the county will be able to pay for its portion of Phase 2 of Metro’s Silver Line.
Fairfax County, which obtained the loan through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program, received the second- lowest interest rate in the history of the federal TIFIA loan program — a 2.73 percent interest rate.
The loan will also help keep tolls stable for Dulles Toll Road users through 2018. Without it, there was fear a greater portion of rail costs would be borne by toll road users.
The first phase of the Silver Line, which opened in July, runs from McLean to Reston’s Wiehle Avenue. The second phase of the $5.6 billion project, set to open in 2018, will have stops at Reston Parkway, Herndon, Route 28, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn.
The loan will cover about 45 percent of the county’s total estimated $915 million share for building Silver Line Phase 2. It offers a competitive interest rate and flexible repayment terms. The county may defer payments for five years after the project is finished. Because the Silver Line is expected to be completed in 2018, the county anticipates making payments starting in 2023.
“With Phase 1 on track to meet or even exceed ridership projections, I am very pleased to have approved low-interest federal financing for Phase 2,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova said yesterday.
“The funds made available through the TIFIA loan keep the project on target for completion in 2018 and reduce costs for toll road users and taxpayers. The Silver Line is vital to the economic growth of Fairfax County, the region and the Commonwealth, and I am proud of the work we’ve done to make it a reality.”
Fairfax plans to use two county sources to repay the loan: money from the Dulles Rail Phase 2 Transportation Improvement District and Commercial and Industrial Tax Fund. The county will apply $218.2 million from this voluntary tax district and $185.1 million in commercial and industrial taxes.
Loudoun County also closed on its $195 million TIFIA loan on Thursday. In August, the metropolitan Washington Airports Authority closed on its $1.28 billion portion.
“Today marks another significant milestone for Rail to Dulles as we finalize a very complex financing package for the project,” Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement. “I congratulate all of our partners on this successful step. Now we can shift our focus to completing construction as soon, as efficiently and as safely as possible.”
Fairfax County may sell more than $100 million in revenue bonds to pay for garages along Phase II of Metrorail’s Silver Line.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the $115 million bond sale.
The garages are planned for the Herndon and Innovation Center stations. The county would own the garages. The bonds would be repaid using parking fees from the two garages, not tax dollars, the supervisors said.
The move had been planned, but County Supervisor Sharon Bulova previously said the bond sale would not happen until Fairfax closes on its portion ($403 million) of the $1.9 million in federal transportation loans for the project, which it did earlier this year.
From the county:
In 2011, the county agreed to use its best efforts to seek funding for parking garages at the Herndon and Innovation Center Metrorail stations, which are part of rail line’s second leg. While the county plans to build these two garages, Fairfax will not sell revenue bonds until after it closes on its $403 million TIFIA loan with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal government approved the TIFIA loan earlier this year.
“I am pleased that Fairfax County will own and operate these garages and collect revenue from parking,” said Chairman Bulova. “This financing structure reduces the overall cost of Phase II of the Silver Line by using parking fees, instead of general fund tax dollars.”
The total estimated cost for constructing Herndon is $58 million, and the estimated cost for Innovation Center comes to $57 million.
Under the approved plan of finance, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority would issue revenue bonds. The proceeds of these bonds will then be loaned to the County, which will repay the revenue bonds from parking fees that are expected to generate about $10 million a year.
Under an agreement with Metro, Fairfax will set and keep the fees charged at the three county-owned Silver Line garages: Wiehle-Reston East, Herdon and Innovation. Those parking fees will also be used to operate and maintain the county-owned garages.
In addition, under a program established in the late 80s as a way to help finance Metro parking garages, Metro will transfer to the county a portion of the parking revenue Metro collects at its five garages in Fairfax, plus the East Falls Church and Van Dorn station garages.
Wiehle-Reston East is the only one of the Silver Line’s Phase I station that has a parking garage. That garage, which has 2,300 county-owned spaces and and additional 1,000 owned by Comstock, was built as a public-private partnership with Comstock. Parking costs $4.85 a day.
The Innovation Center garage will have 2,100 spaces and a secure bike room, similar to the one at Wiehle-Reston East. Herndon currently has 1,950 spaces at its kiss-and-ride lot. When finished, there will be a total of 3,500 parking spots at Herndon Station.
Phase II is in early construction stages and it expected to open in 2018.
Photo: Rendering of Innovation Center garage/Credit: Fairfax County
The quest to possibly redevelop Reston National Golf Course may be taking shape again.
The attorney representing RN Golf Management, which owns the public golf course, has asked the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals to put the issue back on a meeting agenda.
The BZA hearing would likely take place in January or February as it is required under state rules to do so within 90 days of attorney Frank McDermott’s request.
The county last heard from the golf course owners in July of 2013, when they asked that the same appeal be deferred indefinitely. That ended — or at least subsided — about a year of discussion on the matter.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, asked the county in the spring of 2012 for clarification on the course’s status. Even though it was commercial/open space, could it be considered residential? RN Golf said at the time that the course was zoned residential, and therefore it could be built as such.
Fairfax County responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning.
While the appeal was scheduled for hearing several times in 2012 and 2013, it was deferred indefinitely in July 2013.
However, the issue of potentially losing 166 acres of green space sparked a grassroots organization, Rescue Reston, as well as a stance on the issue by Reston Association, which is opposed to the golf course being redeveloped.
RA said Friday it remains opposed to the golf course land being redeveloped for residential use.
“It is RA’s stance that these golf courses are integral to the active lifestyle of its members and furthers the Reston lifestyle ‘live, work, play and get involved,’ ” said RA president Ken Knueven.
RA says is also willing to consider a purchase of the golf course in order to keep Reston a golf course community.
Rescue Reston president Connie Hartke says the group is ready to resume the fight for open space.
“We are prepared to respond,” she said. “We have money in the bank. We will fight to make sure it remains zoned as open space.”
Since the last time the golf course issue was active, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved Phase I of the Reston Master Plan Special Study, which guides development around the transit centers.
The county is now deep into the Phase II process of the comprehensive plan amendment. The working draft of the Phase II guidelines, which will update plans for neighborhoods and village centers, has several areas in which it speaks of Reston’s commitment to open space and recreational areas.
The Phase II strawman text states that both Reston National and Hidden Creek Golf Courses “are planned for private recreation use, more specifically to remain as golf courses.”
Meanwhile, the county earlier this year called for public land use proposals for Phase II. Fairfax Hunt Club, for example, inquired about changing zoning from recreational to residential. RN Golf did not file a land use proposal at that time.
Reston National has been golf course space since it was built in 1970. RN Golf purchased the course in 2005 for $5 million, county records show.
McDermott, the attorney for RN Golf, did not return calls from Reston Now.
Photo: Golfers at Reston National/file photo
Tuesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. It is a federal holiday, so the federal government is closed. There is no mail delivery.
Fairfax County Public Schools are open.
Here is info on Fairfax County government:
County Government – Closed.
Courts – Closed.
Public Schools and School Offices – Open.
Animal Shelter – Closed.
Library – Closed.
Fairfax Connector – Routes with holiday weekday service operate according to the weekday schedule except routes 335, 394, 395, 432, 493, 494, 495, 585, 599, 724, 734 and 985, which will not operate.
Fastran – Not in service.
Park Authority – RECenters operate on regular schedule. Historic sites are closed. Nature centers are closed. Riverbend Park’s visitor center is closed. Frying Pan Farm Park is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the visitor center is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Green Spring Gardens is open noon to 4:30 p.m.; the historic house is closed.
Teen and Senior Centers – Closed.
Community Centers – Closed.
McLean Community Center – Closed; Old Firehouse Teen Center – Open 2 to 6 p.m.
Reston Community Center Hunters Woods – Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Reston Community Center Lake Anne – Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
County Trash and Recycling Collection:
- Private Collection Service Providers – Residents should contact their trash and recycling collector directly for service schedule changes due to the holiday.
- Fairfax County Collection Customers: Trash and recyclables will be collected as scheduled on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Please have your materials to the curb no later than 6 a.m. to ensure collection. Any questions may be directed to the Customer Service Center at 703-802-3322, TTY 711.
Recycling and Disposal Facilities at I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex – Open.
Virginia is still counting the votes for U.S. Senator, with incumbent Democrat holding a slim lead on Republican challenger Ed Gillespie. But Fairfax County’s votes have been totaled, and Warner won every precinct in Reston.
Here is a look at precinct-by-precinct Reston voting for Senate and for U.S. House. In the House 11th District, which includes Reston, incumbent Democrat Gerry Connolly won re-election, defeating first time candidate and human rights activist Suzanne Scholte.
Dogwood (Voter turnout 41.5 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 484; Warner, 1,070; Sarvis (L), 58
- House: Scholte, 529; Connolly, 1,040
Hunters Woods (59.7 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 505; Warner, 914; Sarvis, 24
- House: Scholte, 529; Connolly, 852
Reston 1 (40 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 264; Warner, 794; Sarvis, 29
- House: Scholte, 286; Connolly, 763
Reston 2 (46 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 343; Warner 968; Sarvis, 36
- House: Scholte, 367; Connolly, 927
Reston 3 (51.9 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 220; Warner, 777; Sarvis 24
- House: Scholte, 230; Connolly, 752
Glade (53.6 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 504; Warner: 1,289; Sarvis, 49
- House: Scholte, 551; Connolly, 1,226
South Lakes (50 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 565; Warner, 1,471; Sarvis, 40
- House: Scholte, 620; Connolly, 1,393
Terraset (39.9 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 373; Warner, 1,035; Sarvis, 44
- House: Scholte, 396; Connolly, 994
Sunrise Vallley (55.6 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 390; Warner, 516; Sarvis, 15
- House: Scholte, 412; Connolly, 475
North Point (46 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 797; Warner, 1,207; Sarvis, 41
- House: Scholte, 856; Connolly, 1,133
Aldrin (51 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 876; Warner, 1,320; Sarvis, 38
- House: Scholte, 946; Connolly, 1,233
Cameron Glen (40.7 percent)
- Senate: Gillespie, 514; Warner, 760; Sarvis, 29
- House: Scholte, 540; Connolly, 627
For complete Fairfax County results, see this report from the Fairfax County Board of Elections.
Tuesday is Election Day. Are you ready to vote? Reston Now has prepared this guide to get your where you need to go to cast your ballot.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fairfax County will use new integrated voting machines.
Not sure where you vote? Enter your address on this Virginia Board of Elections site to find your polling spot.
New this year: You must have a photo ID to vote. Acceptable IDs include
- Valid Virginia Driver’s License or DMV Identification Card
- Valid Virginia DMV issued Veteran’s ID card
- Valid United States Passport
- Other government-issued photo identification cards (must be issued by US Government, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
- Valid college or university student photo identification card (must be from an institution of higher education located in Virginia)
- Employee identification card containing a photograph of the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary course of the employer’s business
- Virginia Voter Photo ID Card obtained through any local general registrar’s office
On the ballot:
U.S. Senate: Incumbent Mark Warner (D) faces challenges from Ed Gillespie (R) and Robert Sarvis (Libertarian).
U.S. House of Representatives: Reston is in the 11th District. Incumbent Gerry Connolly (D) is being challenged by Suzanne Scholte (R), Joe Galdo (Green) and Marc Harrold (Libertarian).
Voters will also vote on a Constitutional amendment about property tax exemption for certain surviving members of veterans killed in action. Read more about it on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Voters will also be asked about a $100 transportation bond referendum for pedestrian, bicycle and road improvements countywide. Read more details on the Fairfax County website.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday in favor of the county’s first Bicycle Master Plan.
This bicycle master plan maps out 1,130 miles in recommended, new on- and off-road bike routes to form a connected network across the county, says county spokesman Tony Castrilli.
This is the first such plan adopted by the county, which shows the growing demand of getting places on two-wheels instead of four, says Kelley Westenhoff, Reston Association’s Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair.
The plan for more than 1,000 miles of trails and other bike connections will be a boost to the 353 miles of existing bike lanes, shared-use paths and trails already in place to form a connected network across the county.
It also represents a shift in transportation planning, considering biking as an important mode of the future.
“For Fairfax County, it means stepping up to its rightful place in attracting young professionals and families who are biking more and driving less,” said Westenhoff.
“For Reston in particular, it means the county is dedicated to helping us connect our already great pathway system with the rest of the county. As our local and larger communities become more bike-friendly, traffic speeds will drop and the sense of connectivity will increase.”
The changes won’t happen overnight. Fairfax County says it could take up to 30 years to complete.
The county bicycle master plan has been in the works for several years, building off of the county’s 2008 bike route map and the 2010 Tysons Corner Bicycle Master Plan. While Reston has made great strides in bike connectivity, some parts of the county have a long way to go, the Master Plan says. Read More
Reston residents and workers can expect to see food trucks in more places.
Food trucks can now do business at shopping centers, office buildings and construction sites, after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved new rules on Tuesday.
The changes dropped the fees for vendors from more than $16,000 to just $100, making it easier for the trucks to do business. Fairfax County Chairman Sharon Bulova said locals will see more of this “complement to Fairfax County’s dining experiences.”
“I expect to see more of them operating at popular destinations such as Tysons, Mosaic District, Reston Town Center and the newly renovated Springfield Mall,” Bulova said in a statement.
The trucks can park at a single location for a maximum of four hours and must have property owners’ written consent to operate there. As many as three trucks can operate at a single location.
Vendors may only set up shop at developed industrial or commercial properties with a minimum of 25,000 square feet of floor area. The trucks are still forbidden from being parked on public roads.
