Fairfax County planners encouraged Restonians to dream big last week when it came to a new vision for Tall Oaks Village Center.

At the third of three community meetings on Phase II of the Reston Master Plan, the discussion focused on pedestrian connectivity, possible changes with the Baron Cameron retail, and more talk on what the future holds for the more-than-half-empty Tall Oaks Village Center.

Phase I of the Master Plan — which outlines development around Reston’s transit centers — took about four years to formulate but was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this year.

Phase II is on the fast track under a new system called Fairfax Forward. The process kicked off in June, has held three community meetings and hopes to have formal plan in 2015.

A new comprehensive plan is necessary, planners say, because Reston’s plan has not been updated in 25 years. Much has changed since then and there will be a lot more changes in population and development as Reston moves towards becoming a transit-oriented community.

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.

A September meeting discussed what, if any, rules should be in place should an entire cluster be considered for redevelopment (this would likely be apartment complexes and not solo-owned properties).

Read the entire Phase II draft plan here.

October’s meeting, featuring small-group discussions, concentrated on the pros and cons of Reston’s Village Centers.

One theme ran through the October meeting — that it may be time to consider Tall Oaks a “convenience center” and redevelop the rest of the space, which has been without an anchor tenant for nearly four years.

Heidi Merkel, the county’s Reston Master Plan Phase II Project Manager, asked last week’s atendees to “think out of the box when it came to Tall Oaks.” Visitors were given stickers to “vote” for different concepts at Baron Cameron and Tall Oaks.

Among some of the most popular ideas for Tall Oaks: Wide Variety of Retail Shops; Grocery, Food and a Beverage Stores;  Other “Local Businesses; and Restaurants, Bars and Fast Food.

Those are actually “inside the box” ideas since that was what mainly was at Tall Oaks until stores closed at a fast clip over the last few years.

Other ideas: residential, mixed-use, a rec center, a boutique hotel, outdoor amphitheater or children’s play area, among others.

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Before you attend Saturday’s Reston Master Plan Phase II meeting, take a look at what residents had to say at the last meeting, on Oct. 18.

Fairfax County has taken the feedback and condensed it into a pros-and-cons packages for each of Reston’s village centers.

See the entire pros-and-cons summary here.

Fairfax County planners are in the process of obtaining community feedback about Reston’s neighborhoods and village centers. This will help guide planning in the event that Reston — which is expected to grow with the arrival of Metro — wants to expand or re-renvision its village centers and surrounding neighborhoods.

There is a “strawman” working draft as a guide, but the county welcomes community feedback before there is a final version. Fairfax County planning staff says it hopes to have the final Phase II document drafted by mid-2015.

Whatever changes — if any — 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 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Saturday’s meeting, at Aldrin Elementary School at 8:45 a.m., will further discuss the village centers, particularly alternate sues for the half-empty Tall Oaks Village Center, as well as the future of the Baron Cameron retail area at Reston Parkway and Baron Cameron Avenue.

Photo: South Lakes Village Center

There will be two chances this fall for Restonians to weigh in with their thoughts on the future of Reston’s neighborhoods and village centers.

These meetings are the next steps in Phase II of the Reston Master Plan Special Study process. Phase II, which kicked off in June, will look at what, if anything, should be done to redevelop those areas.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, there will be a community meeting to present and discuss “Strawman” text for Phase II’s neighborhoods.

The meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at Reston Association, 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.

The second meeting, on Saturday, Oct. 18, will to discuss Strawman text about the village centers. The time and place will be announced soon.

Phase I of the Reston Master Plan Special Study was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this year. Phase I looked at development around the three Silver Line Metro stations in Reston — Wiehle-Reston East, which opened last month, and Reston Parkway and Herndon-Monroe, which will open with Silver Line Phase II in 2018.

While Phase I took dozens of meetings that went on for more than four years, Phase II will be done under the new Fairfax Forward method of comprehensive plan review, which will rely on greater community engagement.

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said previously that as Reston embarks on its second 50 years, there needs to be a plan in place for redevelopment, whether that happens next year or in 30 years.

“Whether we develop today or in the future, we need to determine what the county’s role will be in that plan and what the plan should be,” she said. “Phase I changed the rules. Here, we are not changing the rules.”

Fairfax County officials say the the current comprehensive plan, last updated in 1989, requires revision because Reston no longer has a master developer to update the plan for Reston; the plan for Reston has outdated elements; and with population expected to grow with the arrival of Metro later this year, Reston is evolving as a community.

To read community suggestions for Phase II or to add your own, visit the Master Plan Special Study website.

Reston Master Plan Phase II Timeline

September 2014 — County will formulate “strawman” proposals on neighborhoods and village centers and present to residents in community meetings.

October 2014 — January 2015 — Community review and comment; possible additional community meetings.

February 2015 — Publish comprehensive text and staff report.

April 2015 — Fairfax County Planning Commission Public Hearing

June 2015 — Board of Supervisors Public Hearing.

File photo: Reston Master Plan Phase II open house at United Christian Parish in June