As the owners of Reston National Golf Course prepare for a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins says she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination that Reston National Golf Course is open recreational space.

That’s the same stance Hudgins, along with Reston Association, the Reston Citizens Association and Rescue Reston had two years ago, the last time golf course owners RN Golf tried to appeal the zoning determination.

RN Golf never actually got its case to the Board of Zoning Appeals. While it was on the docket and postponed several times in 2012 and 2013, it was deferred indefinitely in summer 2013.

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, the company cited complicated Plan Residential Community rules written in 1970 and 1993 as options for the 166-acre space being deemed residential.

Fairfax County then responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning.

Hudgins said in a statement on Friday that any redevelopment of the property for uses other than a golf course or open space would require an amendment to the Reston Master Plan, which is part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, approval of a Development Plan Amendment and approval of a PRC plan from the Board of Supervisors.  Read More

(Updated, Thursday 4 p.m. adding North Point vacancy)

Four seats will be up for election to the Reston Association Board in 2015. If you are interested in a running for a seat on the board, the time to file for candidacy is coming soon.

Here is what you need to know:

Each director serves a three-year term.

Voting in the 2015 Election begins at 5 p.m. on March 2 and runs through March 30.

Three board seats will be opening in April of 2015 include two at-large seats, the North Point Director spot and the South Lakes Director seat.

To qualify you must:

1. Be a member of the Reston Association, either as a renter or property owner.
2. Complete a Statement and a Petition of Candidacy (links below).
3. If you run for a district seat, you must live in that district.

Candidate forms for 2015 (forms must be filed by 5 p.m., Friday Jan. 30, 2015.):

• Candidacy Instructions
• Petition of Candidacy
• Candidate Statement

 Visit Reston Association’s website for more election information.  

Reston Association has been considering making some changes to what a small number of homeowners pay in annual assessments. But one change that will not be coming soon is pro-rated amounts that vary according to property value (in the same manner as property tax).

RA CEO Cate Fulkerson says the current structure — where the vast majority of members pay a flat annual assessment (slated to be $642 in 2015) that goes toward paths, pools, parks and recreational programs, among other amenities — is written into the deed. Changing it to a pro-rated amount would require a member referendum.

“The board can’t act independently on how assessments are determined,” says Fulkerson.

Meanwhile, at its next meeting on Nov. 20, the RA Board of Directors will consider setting a 50-percent assessment rate reduction for members who receive real estate tax relief from Fairfax County. Comments from members are welcome at the public hearing portion of the meeting.

This action was discussed at the board planning meeting earlier this week. Many members of citizen advocacy group Reston 2020 attended the planning meeting to voice their concerns.

RA says reductions in annual assessment fees for residents who qualify for real estate tax relief have always existed within RA, says Fulkerson. However, no specific percentage rate for those reductions is stated in the Reston Deed, even though those reductions have been around 50 percent in recent years.

RA says about 450 out of the 17,000 residential units in Reston are projected to receive county tax relief in 2015 and would qualify for the 50 percent reduction.

RA is also allows assessments of 0.5 percent of property value (instead of the flat rate) for homes with values of less than $128,000. That is about 120 units in Reston, says RA.

Residents that live in state- or federally subsidized housing units or elderly housing or assisted living are also given a $10 break on assessments.

RA expects to collect more than $13 million in assessments in 2015. Total estimated revenue for the year comes in at more than $16 million, according to RA, with $5.4 million spent on management and headquarters costs; $2.7 million spent on recreation services; and $2.1 million spent on park maintenance.

While the increase from 2014 to 2015 is only $8, the rate rose 7.45 percent from 2013 to 214, and has risen by $127 annually in the last five years.

There could be 12 inches of snow all winter in Reston. Or there could be six snowstorms with 12 inches each.

You never know, and that is why Reston Association is working on getting the whole community prepared.

The community is invited to join reps from RA, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and Fairfax County at the first “Snow Summit” Thursday at 6 p.m. at RA Headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.

Last winter was unusually snowy in Reston, with 11 FCPS snow days. But even after the snow fell, there was confusion among community members as to who was responsible for what: What is RA’s responsibility? What is VDOT’s? Is it right to ask residents to help clear sidewalks so children don’t have to walk to school in the street?

The goals of the meeting are to help educate the community about the shared responsibility for snow removal and create opportunities for grassroots collaboration and planning on a local level for improved snow removal solutions, RA says.

The idea was the suggestion of at-large board member Rachel Muir.

“We know that RA always does a remarkable job with our trails; they are usually the first places open during a snowfall and the best maintained,” she said in a memo to board members over the summer. “The source of the problem is often VDOT, Fairfax County, or contractors or clusters undoing or not doing a coordinated effort on snow removal.”

With the Silver Line now open, that also adds another level of accessibility issues at near Wiehle-Reston East.

While RA plows its 55 miles of paths, it does not shovel sidewalks unless they are on RA property. RA’s attorney explained at a meeting last winter that RA cannot shovel spots it does not own because of liability issues.

RA has recently drafted an agreement with the county that would grant RA the legal right to work on paths crucial to access to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. RA would be permitted to plow or provide other minor maintenance such as pruning or pothole repair. RA would not be responsible for major repair or capital replacement.

RA is also seeking a permit from VDOT to remove snow from VDOT sidewalks adjacent to RA property.

VDOT is responsible for plowing most public streets in Reston. It does not, however, shovel sidewalks. Some community members pitched in to shovel sidewalks near their subdivisions last winter, but it was far from 100-percent participation.

“Recognizing VDOT does not provide any snow removal on its sidewalks, if RA removes snow from VDOT sidewalks adjacent to RA property, but other adjoining property owners (individuals, clusters, condos) do not, there will be a very obvious discontinuation of cleared sidewalks at many locations throughout Reston,” RA documents state.

“If RA were to clear the sidewalks adjacent to its own properties, it would add approximately 5.6 miles to its snow removal inventory, although only half of those are VDOT owned. The other half are either owned by Fairfax County or unknown.  Additionally, most of the additional work will require the use of a snow blower and hand shoveling. The additional clearing would extend RA’s response time at least an extra day to remove an average snowfall.”

Photo: RA path plows/File photo

The Reston Association Board of Directors is considering making changes to annual assessments that could affect some of Reston’s lowest-valued properties and their owners.

Currently, all Reston Association members are set to pay a 2015 assessment of $642, a rise from this year’s assessment of $634. All members pay the same amount regardless of the value of their property.

The board will discuss at its board planning meeting on Monday, Nov. 3 a proposal by RA CEO Cate Fulkerson to reduce the assessment for properties valued at under $128,000 to 0.5 percent of assessed value.

That valuation would likely only affect a small number of properties in Reston, where the average home is valued at $439,000, according to Zillow.

Additionally, owners who qualify for Fairfax County Tax Relief, currently given a reduced assessment ($624), would be given a much deeper discount under the proposal ($321).

Reston Association members are bound by the deed to pay the annual assessments, which go towards maintaining and operating common areas, such as RA’s paths, pools and tennis courts.

The board conducts a biennial budget review, where it examines expenses and sets the assessment amount for the next two years.

The RA expects to collect more than $13 million in assessments in 2015. Total estimated revenue for the year comes in at more than $16 million, according to RA, with $5.4 million spent on management and headquarters costs; $2.7 million spent on recreation services; and $2.1 million spent on park maintenance.

While the increase from 2014 to 2015 is only $8, the rate rose 7.45 percent from 2013 to 214, and has risen by $127 annually in the last five years.

Also, the suggestion to pro-rate assessments according to property values is a slippery slope, according to Reston-watchers Reston 2020.  Is RA heading toward a whole new structure?

“Neat!  We introduced the concept of a prorated assessment fee,” Reston 2020 wrote on its blog last week. “Next year (or the year after), the RA Board can move (again on short notice with no public input) to apply that 0.5% rate to all Reston properties (except those already exempted by this amendment).  So, if you live in an average $600,000 home in Reston (which is just about the average in Reston home valuations), you could well be paying a $3,000 annual RA assessment fee.”

Reston Association’s Board of Directors says perhaps Tall Oaks Village Center should be re-envisioned as something else — maybe a convenience center instead of a full scale village center.

The board’s comments came in a mark up of the Reston Master Plan Phase II draft plan. The board made a series of tweaks and changes it hopes Fairfax County planners will keep in mind as it formulates a Master Plan for Reston’s village centers and neighborhoods as the community heads into its second half-century.

On Oct. 20, county planners held the second in a series of community meetings to obtain priorities and feedback on the draft proposal. The Oct. 20 meeting concentrated on the village centers — what works, what doesn’t and what should be considered for the future.

The focus groups seemed to agree — Tall Oaks has been failing for years. With storefronts sitting empty for years and no new ones opening, it may be time to rezone some of the land to something else keeping some of Tall Oaks a “convenience center” or a mini village center.

Reston Association agrees.

From notes issued by RA to the county planners:

Reston was originally planned with Village Centers serving as the focal point of activity for the surrounding neighborhoods.

FOUR of the five existing village centers – Lake Anne, Hunters Woods, South Lakes and North Point (Tall Oaks is crossed out) are planned to continue to serve this purpose in the future. They are planned to allow currently approved intensities and to densities to remain but are envisioned to also accommodate some more intense vertical use redevelopment in the future to fully achieve the goal of being vibrant centers of activity.

Other suggestions from the document:

Senior housing and universal design residences are encouraged to be located within the village centers.

Tall Oaks is the smallest of the five Village Centers. Consideration should be given as a re-designation of this center as a smaller convenience center.

Other opinions of note from RA’s comments:

Reston has, since its inception, been envisioned to be a place to live, work, play and get involved. The overriding goal of the Plan is for Reston to continue to evolve in a sustainable manner over the next four or five decades. … As Reston evolves, it is important to respect and continue the characteristics that have helped define Reston from its inception.

As Reston’s population increases, added capacity should be achieved through development of land and/or facilities to meet the demands (not needs) generated by the development or redevelopment.

Protect the headwater areas and other environmentally sensitive areas through the implementation of innovative stormwater management practices and Reston Association’s stream restoration/preservation program.

Increase senior housing, ensure opportunities are provided for adequate senior housing designed to suit a range of age, income and health needs.

Wherever possible, missing connections in the pedestrian and bicycle networks should be rectified with new sidewalks, bike lanes (shared or separate) or trails.

Should the Hunt Club property be redeveloped residential, it should be part of Reston Association.

The Lake Newport Convenience Center designation should be deleted and the land is planned for office use at the existing density to maintain character.

To see the entire document, visit Reston Association’s website.

Put the bocce balls down for now. The Reston Association may once again consider dropping the already-approved proposed court for Cabots Point Park and starting over.

Last December, the RA Board approved a 12-by-60-foot court in the grassy area of the neighborhood park. But the plan was voted upon by the board with little notice or a public hearing, which has had some residents, particularly of Cabots Point, South Bay and Cedar Cove clusters, crying foul ever since.

RA President Ken Knueven has a motion on the agenda for Thursday’s RA Board meeting. The motion has two parts:

Motion 1: Move to rescind the December 12, 2013 motion of the Board authorizing the construction of a bocce court at the Cabots Point Recreation area located at the corner of South Lakes Drive and Cabots Point Lane and direct staff to determine member desire and possible alternate locations for bocce facilities.

Motion 2: Move to direct staff to draft a new policy resolution that will prescribe a standard process for the Association to use when considering new facilities at established recreation areas.

Knueven said he made the suggestion after the September board meeting, where nearly two dozen RA members spoke out against the project.

A similar proposal about starting over was made by RA CEO Cate Fulkerson in July, but after remarks from South Lakes Director Richard Chew — who initiated the plan for the bocce court last year — Fulkerson’s proposal was not considered.

However, soon after, RA said it established a new development review process that will better involve residents before projects are approved.

The complaints at the September meeting ranged from concern about traffic, trash and noise to irritation over lack of notification about the project. Members have been expressing concern about the court, which would be paid for by the nonprofit Friends of Reston, since June.

In the early 1960s, Reston founder Bob Simon and other planners got to work on what the community should look like — including village centers that would serve as the commercial and social hub of each of Reston’s villages.

Fifty years later, village centers at Hunters Woods, South Lakes, Tall Oaks and North Point generally don’t look like what was planned. Lake Anne Plaza does fit the mold better, but is also undergoing a separate revitalization process.

What ended up serving Reston were essentially suburban shopping centers, heavy on parking spots and light on common areas.

With the second phase of Reston Master Plan up for review, might it be time to revisit the original ideals and work into the comprehensive plan the ability, should a developer want to do so, to revamp the village centers?

That was the main question posed by Fairfax County planners and Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins to participants who came to South Lakes High School Saturday to talk about the future of Reston’s Village Centers.

The village centers served as the model of Simon’s planning, said Hudgins.

“Some have survived over the years, some have not,” she said. “So this text is important — how do you trigger change? It may not happen in short time frame, but we want to be able to get this input on how the community thinks it should move forward.”

Fairfax County planning staff said Saturday they hope to have the final document drafted by mid-2015. But changes could be decades away, if ever.

Whatever changes are incorporated into the plan will not be a regulatory document and any structural changes will have to eventually go through the Reston Association’s Design Review Board, as well as county planning and zoning and the Board of Supervisors. Read More

(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) The annual fee paid by all Reston homeowners and renters may increase by $8 in 2015, following greater increases in recent years.

Reston Association documents show the Board of Directors has proposed a 2015 assessment of $642, which is just 1.3 percent more than the 2014 amount of $634.

Thorough planning helped the RA keep the assessment cost down this year, the group said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

“The budget process last year incorporated cost-saving measures as well as accounting for the additional units to be added to the RA membership early next year,” the statement said. “In addition, RA staff has been steadily increasing the amount of non-assessment revenue, including merchandise sales and facility rentals.”

The RA expects to collect more than $13 million in assessments in 2015 to cover the costs of pool and tennis court maintenance, tree planting, free and low-cost recreation programs and more. Total estimated revenue for the year comes in at more than $16 million.

Expenses in 2015 reach nearly $14 million, with $5.4 million spent on management and headquarters costs, $2.7 million spent on recreation services and $2.1 million spent on park maintenance.

Residents paid these assessments in previous years, according to the RA.

RA ASSESSMENTS SINCE 2000

Year    Amount    Percent Increase 
2000    $370.00
2001    $375.00   1.35%
2002    $387.00   3.20%
2003    $399.00   3.10%
2004    $415.00   4.01%
2005    $425.00   2.41%
2006    $437.00   2.82%
2007    $437.00   0.00%
2008    $475.00   8.70%
2009    $491.00   3.37%
2010    $515.00   4.89%
2011    $540.00   4.85%
2012    $565.00   4.50%
2013    $590.00  4.50%
2014    $634.00   7.45%

Residents who pay assessments after March 1 of each year are subject to a late fee of 10 percent, according to the RA’s website. An additional 10 percent will be applied if the amount is not received by August. An annual 12 percent interest rate also applies to all past due balances, the site says.

Locals can weigh in on the proposed 2015 assessment amount and next year’s budget at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 at 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.

The partial voting records of Reston Association members were released by the group last week in response to a public records request by a member.

The RA says it released information on whether or not each of its 25,700 member households voted in the 2014 Board of Directors election. It also released members’ addresses, but omitted the substance of members’ votes and any other personal information.

The voter records were provided to RA member Irwin Flashman, a six-year resident, on Sept. 29. The RA says it was obligated to release the information under its bylaws and Virginia law.

Flashman said Monday that he wanted the records so he could analyze and try to boost the number of locals who cast their ballots.

“I want to increase voter turnout,” he said. “Something has to be done, and I think before you start doing anything, you need to know what happened.”

Fewer than 15 percent of Reston households cast votes in the March election in which three directors were chosen.

RA President Ken Knueven said the Association’s bylaws and Virginia law on property owners’ associations required the disclosure of the information.

“Under our bylaws and Virginia law, anything on record has to be provided,” Knueven said, adding that he wants Reston residents to know what was released and be comfortable with it.

“I believe voter records are confidential and should remain such,” he said. “We released only information we felt was not confidential.”

Flashman, who received a paper copy of the data, additionally requested an electronic version. The RA is reviewing that request and will discuss it at its full Board meeting Nov. 20.

Reston residents should want to know more about who votes, Flashman said.

“In a democracy, things are done out in the open,” he said. “The fact of voting should be an honor, not something you hide.”

Karen Goff contributed reporting.

There has been much outcry recently over Reston Association’s plans to build a bocce court at Cabots Point Recreation Area off South Lakes Drive.

The RA Board approved the proposed 60-by-12-foot project last December. Residents of nearby clusters started notifying RA of their disapproval last spring.

Residents have several concerns. Among them: that they were not notified before the project was OKed (the process has since been improved); that the park will take away green space and other recreational opportunities for families and that non-members will use the park, causing parking issues, an increase in trash and a liability issue.

RA has vowed to push forward. Should it? Take our poll.

Residents of three clusters close to Cabots Point Recreation Area have said a planned bocce court there will bring trash, parking issues, and ruin the atmosphere of a child-friendly park.

At last week’s Reston Association Board meeting, one neighbor told the board — which approved South Lakes Director Richard Chew’s proposal for a 60-by-12-foot court last December — that the court would “ruin the lives” of children who play at Cabots Point.

Some Reston Residents are also peeved that the plan was approved without adequate notification to affected parties in South Bay, Cabots Point and Cedar Cover clusters.

It turns out bocce, Italian-style lawn bowling, has raised the blood pressure of residents in other communities too.

In 2012, a proposal for bocce in Arlington’s Bluemont neighborhood led to acrimonious emails, emergency meetings and the resignations of several board members of the Bluemont Civic Association.

The issues sound familiar to the ones voiced by Reston residents.

“There were and continue to be significant concerns from neighbors at large and adjacent to the sites” for the proposed court, Bluemont resident and bocce opponent Maura Quinn told ARLnow.com in 2012. 

“Parking, trash, noise, lack of restroom facilities, and proximity to homes were all brought up over many months at BCA meetings,” she said at the time. “Many also believe that a cinder Bocce Court will cause significant dust/grime issues and will be unsightly in what is now lovely green space. There are Bocce leagues that play on grass throughout Arlington County calling into question the need for tearing out green space and replacing it with cinder.”

The Arlington County Parks Department’s response was that parking wasn’t an issue because most players would walk to the 13-by-50-foot court; that restrooms would not be needed because the park would not have more than 150 visitors at a time; that litter increase would be minimal; and that a public park should be open to the public for a variety of activities.

In the end, though, the parks department shelved the idea for Bluemont Junction Park in May of 2103, when it was deemed other sites would be more suitable. The county also did not think enough money would cover the costs — a $15,000 grant was available, but estimates for the project came in at $17,600 and $25,500.

The Reston project is estimated to cost $2,500, to be paid for by the non-profit Friends of Reston.

Even without the Bluemont court, bocce is alive and well in Arlington, where two courts opened in September 2013 in Ballston and bocce is available in a multi-use space in the Courthouse area. There are also two turf courts at La Tagliatella restaurant in Clarendon and bocce courts at Mosaic Park on Pollard Street.

The latter is the site of the DC Bocce League’s Arlington Division, which opens its season Wednesday night.

Photo: Bocce court in Ballston section of Arlington/Credit: ARLnow.com