Reston Association land use attorney John McBride estimates that Reston could have an additional 48,000 residents in about 30 years.
That’s one of the reasons the RA Board voted on Thursday to make suggestions to the Board of Supervisors about upcoming changes to Fairfax County’s zoning ordinance.
The revisions are considered “necessary to promote the health, comfort, safety and general welfare of Reston Association members, as well as to conserve, protect and enhance the value of all real property subject to the Reston Deed,” RA said in its resolution.
At issue is development in Reston’s former industrial zone, the stretch of land along the Dulles Toll Road. Comstock’s BLVD Apartments at Reston Station, slated to begin leasing soon, will be the first residential development there, but several developers have projects in the pipeline in order to be close to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro.
The text changes mainly have to do with Floor-Area Ratios (FAR), a mark of density. The board would like the leeway to authorize FAR, often less than the maximum allowed by the county, depending on the project as more housing is built in the industrial corridor. See the full resolution here.
“Metro has resulted in a lot more [development] going on,” McBride said at Thursday’s Board of Directors meeting. “Zoning, land use and development are primarily Fairfax County functions. They have legal authority. Our job is to influence so a project is better and meets our community needs and preferences.”
McBride told the board he predicts Reston will grow faster than Tysons Corner, which also has new Metro service, because Reston is already a place with community amenities and residents.
Reston’s current population is about 60,000.
“The first Reston Master Plan said we were not to exceed 78,000 people,” said McBride. “We are not there yet. That continued on the Master Plan until two years ago, when it was amended. For a short while, we had another number. PRC [Planned Residential Community] ordinance says no more than 13 people per acre for all PRC zoned land in Reston. That’s about 80,000 people.”
“The standard is still there, but on Jan.1, it is planned to be changed by Fairfax County,” said McBride.
McBride gave an example of how the population may grow if unchecked. He said there may eventually be 20,900 new dwelling units within the former industrial corridor in Reston.
“Assume 2.3 people per dwelling, and that is 48,070 people,” said McBride. “That gives you a feel of the magnitude. It’s almost a doubling of Reston Association members, Reston Town Center Association members and the Reston population itself.”
At-large board member Ray Wedell said such as large increase “is not what we are supposed to be about.”
“What kind of influence do we have,” he said. “When we look 10, 15, 20 years at what we are going to be. … I have a feeling there are many thousands of people who agree with me that this is not the way we want to go. [We need to] stop and think and influence people who have the ability to shape this. This needs to be reshaped.”
However, Wedell pointed out that “a lot of these developments are not even going to happen.”
“There already is a glut of luxury rentals here,” he said. “What is going to happen when you get 1,000 more units in the same area?”
A little more than a year ago, Tim Cohn was an athlete who had completed 40 marathons.
Cohn, a scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, was training for the Boston Marathon when he found himself “feeling terrible” at about mile 19 on a 25-mile run.
“That was sort of a surprise,’ he said. “My doctor laughed about it. Nineteen miles? What are you complaining about?’ ” he said.
But the fatigue was not normal. Neither was Cohn’s bloodwork, which eventually showed Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL), a rare blood cancer.
Knowing he would be fighting a big fight, Cohn resigned from his spot on the Reston Association Board, where he was one year into a three-year term representing North Point. During his tenure, Cohn served on the CEO Selection Committee and as board liaison to the Pedestrian & Bicycling, Transportation and Tennis advisory committees.
After the diagnosis in June 2014, Cohn had six rounds of chemotherapy. He says he is feeling pretty good now. He still takes oral medication daily, but says he has almost no side effects.
After losing large amounts of weight and strength, he is also returning to athletic form. He will participate in Sunday’s Lymphoma Research Ride, a cycling event in Montgomery County, Md., that will raise funds for lymphoma research.
“Biking’s not really my thing,” said Cohn. “But the ride is organized by my oncologist, Bruce Cheson, at Georgetown. I actually rode 25 miles in it last year too.”
Cohn says he was unable to do much exercise all through the summer and fall of 2014, but started training again by early 2015. He’s up to completing about a half-marathon distance again. He says that speed-wise, he is way off of peak form — but that it also doesn’t matter as much to him anymore.
“I’ve slowed down and enjoyed my runs more,” he said.
He says that starting out in good shape has helped him with the physical and mental effects of lymphoma.
“I think it has allowed doctors to give me whatever will work medically,” he said.
It was not running — which he did almost daily on Reston’s paths — that was a hard part of treatment, he added.
“I have been running all my life,” said Cohn. “Not running was a shock, and that really made me feel sort of unhealthy.”
Cohn says he is glad to be moving again since he is getting ready for another tough battle. The only full cure for MCL is a stem cell transplant, and Cohn plans to have one later this fall.
Specialists at Memorial Sloan Kettering, a top cancer center in New York City, have identified two people who are matches for Cohn. He will be in New York for weeks, where doctors will essentially kill his immune system. But if all goes well, in six months to a year the process — and the illness — will be over for good.
Cohn says friends from Reston Runners, particularly fellow RA Board member Donna Rostant, have been extremely helpful and supportive. Friends have delivered food, accompanied him to doctor’s appointments and chemo and done other things to make his road easier.
“One thing about having cancer is lots of people I did not know who survived [cancer] have come forward and offered to do any number of things,” he said. “Having someone with me at doctor’s appointments has been good.”
Photo: Tim Cohn/Courtesy Reston Association
Reston Association has selected a panel to serve as the Tetra working group as it looks towards future uses for the 3.47-acre property in North Reston.
RA closed in July on its $2.65-million purchase of the former Reston Visitors Center. RA members narrowly approved the purchase in a referendum in May. The referendum capped a busy few months of community discussion, debate and opposition to the purchase.
The acquisition gives the association 98 acres of contiguous space at Brown’s Chapel Park and Lake Newport Tennis. During community meetings, RA said it expects to use the space for events and rentals, after-camp care, a conference center, among other suggestions. It also forecasts earning revenue of more than $100,000 annually in rentals for events and groups.
RA also plans a park at the site, which sits on the shore of Lake Newport.
Renovations have begun on the 32-year-old building, and RA CEO Cate Fulkerson says the association hopes to put it to use by Spring 2016. Lauer Commercial (formerly Tetra Partners), owners of the building since 2003, is renting the space as offices through the end of 2015.
Fulkerson said previously there will be no impact to the RA assessments until “2018 at the earliest.”
RA hopes the working group will have a plan for the building by December. RA’s Board will vote on the working group membership at its meeting on Thursday.
RA members appointed to the working group:
- Laura Creilly (Surrounding Neighborhood Representative)
- Nicola Caul Shelley (Surrounding Neighborhood Representative)
- Karen Loesch (Surrounding Neighborhood Representative)
- Rebecca Smith-Zakowicz (North Point District Representative)
- Art Murphy (North Point District Representative)
- Angela Loving (North Point District Representative)
- Sterling Wheeler (Lake Anne/Tall Oaks District Representative)
- Lloyd Kinzer (Hunters Woods District Representative)
- Simon Rakoff (South Lakes District Representative)
- Linda Singer (55+ Advisory Committee Representative)
- Danielle Wilson (Environmental Advisory Committee Representative)
- David Nielsen (Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Representative)
- Carol Nahorniak (Community Engagement Advisory Committee Representative)
- Anne Delaney (IPAR Representative)
Reston Association’s Board of Directors is looking into altering outdoor pool schedules — including the possibility of closing up to four of them.
In a 2016 budget work session on Wednesday, Deputy Director for Recreation Laura Kowalski presented several cost-savings options to the board.
The board opted to move forward with two of them: to change seven pools to weekends-only from Memorial Day until the last day of school in June, and to change the number of pools open from mid-August to Labor Day from eight to four.
Reston Association has 15 outdoor pools that cost about $1.6 million annually to administer and staff. They also take in upwards of $800,000 in revenue, according to RA documents.
Changing to the weekends-only schedule early in the season would save about $10,000 annually, RA estimates. Reducing the number of pools open in late August would save about $14,000.
RA’s Board will vote on the final budget and set next year’s assessment in November.
The board opted to leave early morning and late evening swim hours at North Shore and Lake Thoreau pools in place, as well as keep North Shore and Ridge Heights open before Memorial Day and past Labor Day. It also will keep offering free sunscreen.
“I think having a longer pool season adds to the value of the pool pass,” said Larry Butler, RA’s Senior Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources.
A suggestion put to the board was shutting down the least-used pool in each district: Shadowood in Hunters Woods/Dogwood; Tall Oaks in Lake Anne/Tall Oaks; Autumnwood in North Point; and Newbridge in South Lakes.
Autumnwood has had an average of 10,165 visitors per summer over the last five years; Shadowood, 3,542; Newbridge, 4,211; and Tall Oaks, 4,587.
Closing each pool would save RA from $47,116 to $59,849 per pool annually, but that would only result in a savings of less than $3 on annual assessments, RA estimates show.
Butler explained it is not that easy to close a pool. When the former Lake Anne Pool was turned into a park over a decade ago, there was much discussion with Fairfax County, as well as large expense, said Butler.
“You have to get determination for zoning,” said Butler. “When Lake Anne [Pool] closed, the development plan specified ‘pool/tennis.’ The county said you had to replace it with something equivalent. You can’t just close it, bulldoze it and walk away.”
Butler said it cost RA about $700,000 to repurpose Lake Anne Pool into a park. He added that $40,000 was in demolition costs alone.
Board members said closing pools is a tough subject that is worthy of more discussion, but not as a means of keeping assessments down. They said it should be part of a future bigger discussion on facilities and long-range planning.
“Some pools are just not getting utilized and it is costing us,” said At-Large member Michael Sanio. “We have to look at what the opportunities are for savings.”
Some of the other suggestions: Save Tall Oaks for a joint investment opportunity when the Jefferson Apartment Group redevelops the nearby Tall Oaks Village Center; encourage pool rentals to groups and corporations to increase revenue; and consolidating staffing, operations and schedules among pools located close together.
Registration is still open for Reston Association’s fourth annual Rally for a Cause Tennis Tournament Sept. 19 and 20 at Lake Newport Tennis.
Entry is $30, and proceeds go to the charity of your choice: the USTA Foundation’s Warrior Tennis, which develops curriculum for rehabilitation through tennis for wounded, ill and injured military service members; or Cornerstones/Laurel Learning Center in Reston.
The event will feature brackets for 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 and above players, competing in men’s and women’s doubles and singles matches. Entry guarantees each player two matches with awards, raffle prizes and participation t-shirts.
Entry is open to all tennis players, regardless of USTA membership.
Last year’s event hosted 70 players and raised $3,750 for our charity organizations, Reston Tennis says.
or more information, email [email protected] or visit www.restontennis.org.
Photo courtesy Reston Tennis via Facebook
Tetra Partners, the Reston-based commercial real estate firm, has a new name and a new location as Reston Association prepares to take over Tetra’s former offices at 11450 Baron Cameron Drive.
Tetra will now be called Lauer Commercial, named for Tetra founder Bill Lauer, and will be located at 1899 Preston White Drive in Reston.
The building, formerly the Reston Visitors Center used by developers as a sales office from 1983 to 2003, was purchased by Tetra in 2003 and used as its offices since.
Tetra sold the building, which sits on 3.47 acres overlooking Lake Newport, to Reston Association for $2.65 million this year. After several contentious community meetings and a member referendum, the sale closed in late July.
RA plans to renovate the building and use it for community and event rental space. It will likely be renamed as Comstock Partners earned 10 years of naming rights in a development agreement with RA. Comstock is giving RA $650,000 as part of a deal that adds BLVD Apartments at Reston Station to the association.
As part of the sales agreement, Tetra is renting back the property from RA through the end of 2015 at $8,098 per month. Even though Lauer Commercial is publicizing a new address, it is still bound by contract to pay for the old space through Dec. 31, said RA spokesman Mike Leone. Lauer Commercial reps did not return messages.
RA is in the process of forming a working group made up of various community members. The group will formulate plans for the building’s use. RA CEO Cate Fulkerson has said the association expects RA programming the the building by spring 2016.
Andy Lauer, Bill Lauer’s son and a principal at Lauer Commercial, said in an email to clients he is renaming the firm to honor his father’s legacy. Bill Lauer, a longtime Reston resident who was active in many nonprofits and community groups, died suddenly in May.
This is an op-ed by Reston Association President Ellen Graves. It does not represent the opinion of Reston Now. Graves will be providing periodic updates as the 2016-17 Budget process continues this fall.
Over the next few months, I will be keeping Reston Association members updated on the status of the association’s 2016-2017 budget development process through a series of blog posts on the RA website.
The RA board of directors and RA staff conducted the first in a series of budget work sessions Monday, Aug. 24, and they will meet frequently throughout the fall to finalize an operating and capital expense budget and to set the new 2016 assessment fee. Following each work session, I will share the latest information from that budget session.
During the Aug. 24 work session, board members reviewed the first draft of the budget developed by RA staff. Board members are closely reviewing all aspects of the budget and have requested additional information from the staff on pool and tennis facility operating costs and utilization, costs associated with mowing and maintaining roadway medians, assessment fee comparisons with other area homeowner associations, budget details on the Pony Barn project and a list of opportunities creating greater efficiency and cost savings within the association.
Board members were also reassured by RA CEO Cate Fulkerson that no operating or facilities renovation costs associated with the recent acquisition of Tetra property purchase are in the 2016 or 2017 budgets.
As your board, we take the fiduciary responsibility you entrust in us as our No. 1 priority. You have my assurance that the board will thoroughly review all aspects of both the operating and capital budgets before setting the 2016 assessment fee.
The board is planning another work session in early September and like all board meetings, the work sessions are open to members. Once the next budget work session is scheduled, it will be posted on the RA website.
Reston Association will begin holding a series of workshops this fall aimed at offering info to homeowners.
The first workshop, The “ABC’s of DRB” will provide information on how applications are reviewed by the Design Review Board and processed by RA staff. RA will offer tips on what is required for submission of complete applications and best practices for updating cluster standards. There will also be a Q&A session.
The workshop will be held on Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. All workshops will be at RA offices, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive.
Other topics later in the fall and winter include workshops for cluster boards; readying your home for winter; selecting a contractor; and landscaping, among others. Click here to download the full 2015-2016 schedule of workshops.
To register for a workshops, email [email protected]. Please provide your name, address, telephone number, email address and the workshops you plan to attend.
Dogwood Pool has been closed for nearly a week as Reston Association officials try and figure out the cause — and the solution — to a water quality issue.
RA spokesman Mike Leone said the association still is not sure what caused the issue. RA has tried several things, including draining some of the water out of the pool, to try and fix the problem.
“At the present time we anticipate the pool opening sometime this week,” Leone said. “Our staff continues to monitor water clarity on a daily basis. It must meet Fairfax County Health Department requirements before we’re able to reopen the Dogwood pool.”
Dogwood is supposed to be one of the RA pools that would remain open until Labor Day. Looking to go for a swim? Try Glade, Lake Audubon (weekends only), Lake Thoreau, Lake Newport, North Hills, North Shore or Ridge Heights.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors has sent a letter to county officials saying that the new plan for Tall Oaks Village Center “falls woefully short of meeting even minimum standards sought for a village center.”
The Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG) purchased the aging village center in December and plans to redevelop the space — which is only 16 percent occupied — into a variety of housing with a small amount of retail.
JAG has not filed any permits or plans for the redevelopment, which will not need rezoning under new Reston Master Plan rules.
The company has held three community meetings. In the first two last April, the plans were not well received by community members, who said if proper management was in place, retail would thrive.
At the most recent meeting, in June, JAG officials came back with an amended plan featuring 150 rather than 154 homes (a variety of townhomes, 2-over-2 townhouses and condos), about 7,000 square feet (up from 3,000 SF) of retail and additional open space.
But the lack of a community gathering space and open space remains an issue for Reston Association, RA President Ellen Graves said in an Aug. 6 letter to Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and Planning Commission member Frank de la Fe.
RA says JAG should follow Urban Land Institute guidelines for the importance of public plazas in planning for the new Tall Oaks.
Those guidelines state a successful public realm is one where “commerce, social interaction, leisure time activities may mix easily in an attractive, pedestrian-friendly outdoor setting. … The public realm should allow for the integration of the people, the place and the larger community.”
Says RA: “The current Jefferson Apartment Group redevelopment plan does none of the above. In all its iterations, the plan falls woefully short of meeting even minimum standards sought for a Village Center in Reston. The existing elderly housing residents [at Tall Oaks Assisted Living] should be supported in the Village Center’s design, amenities and uses. An amount and mix of commercial uses sufficient to serve the surrounding neighbors should remain.”
See the entire letter below.
RA Letter Re:Tall Oaks by Karen Goldberg Goff
Photo: Rendering of redeveloped Tall Oaks/Credit: JAG
Reston Association’s outdoor pools turn to the late-summer schedule beginning Monday.
These pools will be closing for the season at the end of the day Sunday: Autumnwood, Golf Course Island, Hunters Woods, Newbridge, Shadowood, Tall Oaks and Uplands.
Still open: Dogwood, Glade, Lake Audubon (weekends only), Lake Newport, Lake Thoreau, Ridge Heights, North Shore and North Hills. For exact hours, visit RA’s website.
On Labor Day (Monday, Sept.7), the still-open pools will operate on a weekend schedule.
After Labor, Day only heated pools at Ridge Heights and North Shore will be open. The two will remain on a shortened schedule (3 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends) through Sept. 27.
Residents of Charlestown Lane alerted Reston Association and Fairfax Water of a water main break Wednesday morning.
The residents of the south Reston neighborhood noticed muddy water in the Glade stream, RA says.
Fairfax Water is working on fixing the break. Reston Now will update this story if the break causes any hazards or delays for residents.
In other water news, Fairfax County contractors will begin work to replace a sewer pipe in the West Cove area of Lake Thoreau within the next two weeks, RA says. The project will take 10-12 days and will begin on Aug. 17 or 24, according to a county engineering technician.
Repair costs will be borne by the county, RA said.
In June, four of the seven straps that held the pipe in place were found to be broken during a June 8 inspection of the line, causing the pipe to buckle about 18 inches near one of the manhole covers on the south side of the cove. The county found no evidence of a break or leakage into the lake.
An additional investigation done in July determined that there were two sags in the pipe (not one as initially thought) prompting the county to opt to replace the entire sewer line that goes through the lake.
Fairfax Water says the repairs should take 3 to 5 days.
The Reston Association Board of Directors passed two motions on Wednesday relating to its role in future development at Tall Oaks Village Center and Reston Town Center North.
The first motion authorized RA President Ellen Graves to send a letter to Fairfax County authorities requesting that the developer, The Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG), include the Urban Land Institute’s defined standards for public plazas and meeting areas.
JAG, which purchased the ailing village center last year for $14 million, plans to redevelop it into a neighborhood of more than 140 residences, including two garden-style condo buildings, 2-over-2 townhouses and 100 traditional townhomes.
The developer said it listened to public input after the community meetings in April, when residents said there was not enough public or retail space. At a June meeting, JAG showed concept plans for double the initial retail space, a decrease in the original number of townhouses, and expanded park areas.
The Urban Land Institute has documented the importance of public-outdoor plazas and meeting areas as follows:
“A successful public realm is one in which commerce, social interaction, and leisure time activities may mix easily in an attractive, pedestrian-friendly, outdoor setting. People are drawn by the simple enjoyment of being there. If that enjoyment is to be felt, the public realm and public spaces must be well designed and programmed.
The public realm is open to programs that are significant to the community such as charity events, holiday events, and civic events. It becomes a true public place, taking on a life of its own. As part of the community that goes beyond simple commerce or public relations, it ultimately becomes a place with a history. The public realm should allow for the integration of the people, the place, and the larger community.”
Graves will send a letter to Fairfax County Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and Planning Commissioner Frank de la Fe with that request.
The board also approved a motion to allow RA counsel inform Fairfax County/INOVA that a parcel of land located in the area known as Reston Town Center North is RA-covenanted property.
RA says its wants to make clear any future development there is subject to RA Design Review Board standards and that new residents will be members of the association.
Fairfax County and Inova recently completed a land swap to organize the 49-acre space from New Dominion Parkway to Baron Cameron Avenue. The county also recently issued a Request for Proposals for the first two blocks of Town Center North.
Town Center North will be a mixed-use district, with renovated or relocated space for the Reston Regional Library and Embry Rucker Community Shelter, as well as offices, hotels, a performing arts center, an indoor recreation center, a town green and at least 1,000 new residences.
More than 300 young athletes ages 6 to 14 hit the pools, streets and trails in south Reston Sunday for the annual Reston Kids Triathlon.
Proceeds from the event benefit programs at the Fairfax County YMCA Reston and Reston Association.
To see additional photos, visit Reston Association’s Facebook page.
To see results (no names, just by bib number), visit Amazing Race Timing.
Photos by Sean Bahrami for RA.
The last two springs, Fairfax County Police listened to residents’ concerns about the dark stretch of path that runs behind Hunters Woods Village Center and is often a site for crime such as assault and drug activity.
Police said at a 2014 community meeting that plans were in the works to improve lighting and that Reston Association — which owns the stretch of path — would pay for it.
At a 2015 meeting, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and FCPD Reston Station assistant commander Lance Schiable both addressed concerns about Reston’s overall lack of lighting, even though Reston was planned that way.
“With Metro here now, we have more people walking and riding bikes in Reston, and they want to do it at night,” Hudgins said. “We need to figure out how to make it safer for them. It is very dark here in Reston.”
Reston Association said in 2013 it had set aside $125,000 for the lighting project. It’s more than halfway through 2015, though, and there are no new lights. What happened?
Like many aspects of life in Fairfax County, the costs went up, RA says.
What was expected to cost RA $125,000 grew to an estimated $190,000, RA CEO Cate Fulkerson said last December. While the $125,000 carried over to the current budget, the costs grew even more.
“The actual total cost is closer to $300,000,” Fulkerson told Reston Now in December. “We have not installed pathway lighting in many years, and the original estimate used in building the 2014/2015 Capital Budgets did not account for expenses related to Dominion Power’s engineering and equipment costs, which have increased considerably since the last time the Association installed pathways lighting.”
RA is hoping that Edens, which owns Hunters Woods, will pick up a significant share of the costs. Edens reps did not return messages.
Meanwhile, RA may increase the scope of the project to improve lighting at other areas in need, not just at Hunters Woods, RA spokesman Mike Leone said. RA’s Design Review Board told RA earlier this year it wanted a comprehensive lighting guideline for the whole community.
“We set aside the money in the 2014 budget, but what has happened has become kind of a bigger project,” he said. “When RA started working with Dominion, it got more expensive, based on the police recommendation. But what also started to happen, is we started getting input from Shadowood and other [nearby] condos wanting better lighting in their area.”
Leone said what started as a one stretch of path has now turned into a “urban design guidelines that would include a pedestrian lighting plan for the community.”
Leone says RA will “engage a lighting consultant to help develop that plan, as well as look at the safety of paths and the issue of light pollution while engaging the community in the process.”
He said it is a multiyear project and the costs are not yet known.
“Once that lighting design plan is developed by a consultant, then would go to RA board and the Design Review Board to develop a comprehensive lighting plan for the whole community,” Leone said.
Leone said RA is still hoping Edens will pay for some of the lighting upgrades near Hunters Woods.
Photo: RA path near Hunters Woods Village Center/file photo
