Reston Association’s Board of Directors says it will appeal the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals’ recent ruling that could allow developers to forge ahead without a comprehensive plan amendment.
The owner of the golf course, RN Golf Management, appealed the county zoning office’s 2012 answer that the 166-acre course is zoned open and recreation/community space. The case was heard by the BZA in January at a Fairfax County Government Center packed with supporters of Reston’s open space.
On April 15, the BZAÂ overruled “the zoning administrator to the extent she says a comprehensive plan amendment is a precondition [to development].”
That leaves open the possibility that residential development could occur at the course at Sunrise Valley Drive and Colts Neck Road. That would affect golfers, of course, but also hundreds of homeowners who purchased nearby because of golf course views and nearby open space.
The RA Board voted unanimously (At-Large Director Jeff Thomas was absent) at a special meeting Monday to go ahead with the appeal to the Circuit Court. Citizens advocacy group Rescue Reston is also preparing an appeal, and on Tuesday the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors also voted unanimously to fight the BZA decision.
The deadline for the appeals is Friday.
“The decision reflects RA’s position that any redevelopment of PRC zoned land within Reston, including the Reston National Golf Course, must be reviewed and compared to the existing zoning development plans, and any proffers or conditions attached to the development plans,” RA said in a statement.
“This review and comparison is mandated under Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance Section 16-202 with the purpose of protecting the Reston community from unplanned changes to the development pattern previously approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. If the redevelopment is not in substantial conformance with the approved development plan, then a development plan amendment must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.”
RA says that during the three years of the Reston National situation, county staff did not find copies of the three development plans, which include the Reston National Golf Course and surrounding residential communities.
“A zoning determination for the golf course was issued in June 2012 without these three development plans being available,” RA said. “Because they were unavailable at that time, the golf course owner appealed to the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), seeking a “blank check” for residential redevelopment of the golf course.”
The missing plans were a big discussion during the six-hour January BZA hearing. RA says while the BZA did not provide a “blank check” to the landowner in its decision on April 15, it also “did not confirm that the three development plans later found by county staff in the zoning archives are, in fact, the approved development plans. As such, RA will be appealing the BZA decision.”
Ads RA: “The primary purpose of appealing the BZA decision to the Circuit Court is to have the court confirm that these are the official approved development plans which, until and unless amended, govern the use and development of the golf course, as well as the residences surrounding it. These development plans clearly show golf course and open space uses.”
Rescue Reston, the open-space advocacy group formed in response to the zoning appeal on the zoning status of Reston National Golf Course, says at least one factor in the Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision last week was faulty.
On April 15, the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals gave a partial ruling on course owners’ RN Golf Management’s 2012 appeal to see if the property was designated residential. The BZA said it overruled the zoning administrator to the extent she says a comprehensive plan amendment is a precondition to development.
That may open the door for future development, but the BZA said it wants to see what RN Golf has in mind first.
Rescue Reston says it expects to take the case though an appeal in Virginia Circuit Court. Here is a statement it issued Tuesday:
The BZA got it wrong on the Comprehensive Plan issue. The Planned Residential Community (PRC) ordinance is unique to only three geographic areas in Fairfax County, all of which have green open space as an integral factor in the planning. It is complicated to those who do not deal with it often or ever, and this includes members of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).
The last time the BZA made a ruling in a PRC District (it was Reston) was in 1992 when they were later overruled by the Supreme court – see this post by Reston 2020.
On April 15, 2015 the BZA essentially turned the clock back to the fall of 2012 and ruled based only on the evidence in hand in 2012 – almost 3 years ago. They stated they were ignoring all of the evidence presented since the Zoning Administrator’s 2012 determination letter.
Rescue Reston expects to take this case to the Circuit Court where all of the evidence will be considered. Your support and donations are needed to challenge this threat to Reston’s most important defining characteristic — its open space. More info at RescueReston.org.
The implications of this BZA decision reach far beyond these 166 acres of recreational open space. If Reston National Golf Course falls to development, the Hidden Creek Golf Course on the north side could be next. And what if the U.S. Government decides some day to sell the 105 acre U.S. Geological Survey property in Reston?
These are key pillars in the Reston Master Plan that the citizens of Reston and all of Fairfax County must not allow to fall.
RCA has written a one-page information sheet to explain these unique PRC Districts – please read and share:
What is a PRC (Planned Residential Community) District?
“PRC Zoning Districts are established to encourage innovative and creative design for land development; to provide ample and efficient use of open space; to promote a balance in the mix of land uses, housing types, and intensity of development; and to allow maximum flexibility in order to achieve excellence in physical, social and economic planning and development of a site.”
Fairfax County has only three of these unique PRC Districts and they all have green open space as an integral factor in their design.
Photo: Reston National/Credit: Glencourse Cluster
A sunny spring day brought golfers out to play a round at Reston National Golf Course on Thursday. The rolling greens and the manicured shrubs belie the tension that the future of the 166-acre public course has caused over the past three years.
Will the open and community space give way to residential development close to two Silver Line Metro stations? Will it remain, as it was designated in the original plans for Reston, as the “South course” as well as a spot for joggers, wildlife and homeowners who want a bucolic view?
Or will it become a court case that all other development plans refer to when defending land-use rights?
Time will tell.
On Wednesday, the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals gave a partial ruling on the golf course owner’s 2012 appeal to see if the property was designated residential. The BZA said it overruled the zoning administrator to the extent she says a comprehensive plan amendment is a precondition to development.
That may have lowered the bar for re-development in Reston and the case may set a precedent in arguments for land use rights in the future, one real estate source said.
If owner RN Golf Management wants to re-develop, it does not need a master plan change. It will, however, still have to submit any redevelopment plans through the Fairfax County Planning Commission, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Reston Association’s Design Review Board and Board of Directors.
Attorneys for RN Golf say they have not seen any plans.
“There is no plan along the route, ” RN Golf attorney Frank McDermott said Wednesday. “This was a determination of our property rights.”
Meanwhile, most of the golfers at Reston Nationals’ driving range Thursday were unaware of the drama surrounding the course. Until there is an approved plan, the course is open for business.
Jesse Martin, 40, grew up in Reston. He lives in McLean now, but stops by Reston National to hit balls a couple times a week. He says he thinks the right thing for Reston — preserving open space — will prevail. Read More
Neither the owners of Reston National Golf Course nor the citizens of Reston came out as clear-cut winners in the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals’ ruling Wednesday on the future of the expanse of land at Sunrise Valley Drive and Soapstone Road.
After a public hearing in January, the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) was slated to rule on a 2012 appeal in which golf course owners RN Golf Management could consider the 166 acres as residential space.
But before it could get to the ruling — or in this case, a partial ruling — the BZA heard more than two hours of rambling testimony from BZA members Paul Hammack and James Hart.
The testimony covered details including 1971 maps; a 1993 letter from Fairfax County Zoning;  a 2012 letter from county zoning administrator Cathy Belgin to attorney Mark Looney, who filed the original inquiry for RN Golf; and what parcels of Reston land are subject to various planned community zoning rules.
In the end, Hammack’s motion that “we overrule the zoning administrator to the extent she says a comprehensive plan amendment is a precondition [to development]” was unanimously approved.
The BZA took only into consideration the 2012 letter from Belgin to Looney and not the many documents and findings on the issue discovered since then.
Belgin’s letter on June 20, 2102 stated: “Redevelopment of the property from a golf course to residential uses would first require an amendment to the Reston Master Plan which is part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, as well as subsequently obtaining a DPA approval and a PRC approval from the Board of Supervisors.”
Hart said the 2012 letter  — the basis for the appeal — had an opinion “that was made in a vacuum.”
“The Comprehensive Plan is in no way a procedural bar,” he said. “In that sense, the letter went too far. The golf course can be redeveloped if proper procedures are followed. The appeal is about what the proper procedures are.”
Hammack said it is hard to make a ruling when the board does not know what RN Golf has planned for the golf course.
“Until we know what is proposed, I don’t think we can make a determination saying the zoning administrator is right or wrong,” he said. “At this point, [ruling on] a development plan is hypothetical.”
The BZA motion all but ensures the discussion over the future of the golf course will continue. The golf course owner has 30 days in which to make an appeal.
Representatives for Rescue Reston, the open space advocacy group formed in the wake of the golf course issue, previously said it will appeal. Connie Hartke of Rescue Reston said on Wednesday the group will now take a step back and weigh the options.
“Where it stands at the moment is that RN Golf can go through the normal process for a development plan with a [Planned Residential Community] Amendment,” she said. “They can propose whatever they want to propose. Right now, we would band together and fight it. But in 50 years, who knows what will happen?”
“We are very concerned [by the BZA saying] the comprehensive plan does not matter,” she added. “This is not about zoning. This is about what process do you have to go through to redevelop land.”
Added Rescue Reston board member David Burns:
“We believe the BZA has ignored not only the law and the property rights of the thousands who own property adjacent to the golf course, but also the will of the more than 6,000 supporters of Rescue Reston, and the thousands more members of the Reston Association, who respect the Reston Master Plan and oppose development of the golf course.”
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, purchased the golf course in 2005 for $5 million. It first inquired on the zoning status in 2010. After the 2012 answer, RN Golf deferred taking additional action until last fall.
A January county staff report also upheld the 2012 ruling.
This is an op-ed from Connie Hartke, president of Rescue Reston. It does not represent Reston Now’s opinion.
On Wednesday, the company that manages our Reston National Golf Course (RNGC) and many other courses will celebrate the “vast economical, environmental, health and charitable impact the game has in America.” Wednesday, April 15 happens to be National Golf Day.
Ironically, it is also the day that Reston awaits the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) decision on the technical merits of the claim that the current owners of RNGC can sidestep the normal process to develop its 166 acres of open space into residential housing.
It is a fact that Northwestern Mutual invested slightly more than $5 million in 2005 in order to become the majority owner of these 166 acres in the heart of Reston. Had anyone imagined this land could be developed, it would have had a far greater price tag.
This property owner is not being hurt by its small investment in one of the most profitable golf courses in the D.C. metropolitan area. When asked at the hearing how financially viable the golf course is,” the owner’s attorney answered “…economically very viable.”
We hope the BZA will also consider the property rights of the 1,000-plus homeowners and businesses who border this Audubon Certified Sanctuary golf course, not just the interests of its owners, RN Golf and Northwestern Mutual. Read More
Reston National Golf Course’s potential future may be decided on Wednesday. Will it remain as open space for golfers, joggers and countless neighborhood squirrels? Or will the owners prevail in the quest for a residential zoning designation and eventual development of housing close to the Silver Line Metro?
Three years after the county told golf course owner RN Golf Management the 166 acres in south Reston is zoned open space, the Board of Zoning appeals is slated to rule whether that holds or whether RNG can go forward with new zoning that bypasses the change process.
The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) will make a ruling on the issue at a meeting that begins at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center. The meeting will be broadcast live on Fairfax County Channel 16.
The ruling comes after a January hearing in which the BZA heard more than five hours of testimony on lost land records, wildlife habitats, wooded views, and Reston’s founding principals. Members of Rescue Reston, an advocacy organization formed in response to RN Golf’s zoning inquiry and potential plans, packed the government center auditorium wearing neon yellow shirts in unity.
RN Golf maintains it should not have to go through the rezoning process to be considered residential.
“When [Reston] was zoned, and now, there are only five categories [for land use],” said Frank McDermott, attorney for RN Golf, said at the Jan. 21 hearing. “Residential, neighborhood center, convenience center, town center or village center. It has to be one of those categories. There is no such things as PRCÂ golf course or PRCÂ open space. Our position this was and is PRC residential.”
A county zoning staff report disagrees, as do many residents who have spoken out how they bought their golf course- area homes with the promise that they would always back to open space.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, purchased the golf course in 2005 for $5 million. It first inquired on the zoning status in 2010. After the 2012 answer, RN Golf deferred taking additional action until last fall.
Leaders for Rescue Reston have said they will appeal if the BZA rules in favor of the golf course owners.
Reston National Golf Course/file photo
(Updated Wednesday 3 p.m. to remove legal background info and add quotes from Hunter Mill Golf Park owner)
Hunter Mill Golf Park has closed its doors.
The driving range located at 1627 Hunter Mill Rd. on the Reston-Vienna line, actually quietly locked its gates in late January. But with the arrival of spring in recent weeks, the spot has been missed by are golfers looking to hit a couple buckets of balls at the large (100 tees)Â range.
The back half of the property was sold years ago to Oakcrest School, a private girls school, to build a new campus adjacent to the golf park site. Construction began over the winter and the new school should open in 2016, according to its website.
It took Oakcrest more than three years — from 2010 to 2014 — to gain Fairfax County approval for alternate access to the school via a driveway on Crowell Road.
Hunter Mill Golf Park had been in business since 1995. Its owner, John Thoburn, made news in 2001 when he was fined and eventually jailed, he said, for zoning violations including not planting enough shrubs and for selling illegal snack foods.
“I was surprised we stayed in business as long as we did,” Thoburn said on Wednesday. He said he had issues with county zoning and with neighbors for years, which made it hard to operate his business.
“I would have liked to have put netting up on the driving range,” he said. “[The county] turned us down on mini golf and on a par-3, 9-hole course. It costs $7 round-trip [on the Dulles Toll Road from the Beltway] to come here and hit a $10 bucket of balls. “
Meanwhile, the closing of the golf park is the latest in a series of golf news in and around Reston. Woody’s Golf Range in Herndon recently announced it would close in the fall. RN Golf Management, the owners of Reston National Golf Course will also find out next week whether their zoning appeal is approved.
RN Golf’s appeal was in response to a 2012 inquiry it made with the county, asking if the 166-acre public course can be considered residential. The county maintains its is open and recreational space and should remain so.
Photo: Hunter Mill Golf Park/Courtesy Yelp
The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals will make its decision on the possible future of Reston National Golf Course on April 15, so open space advocacy group Rescue Reston is organizing for the decision — and whatever may come next.
About 50 group members met in front of Reston’s Northwestern Mutual Insurance offices on Sunrise Valley Drive on Sunday to spell out the word “no.” Northwestern Mutual is the parent company of Reston National Golf Management, which is appealing a 2012 county zoning decision that the course is open/recreational space and altering the planned use of the 166-acre golf course at Sunrise Valley and Colts Neck Roads would require a comprehensive plan amendment.
The BZA heard about seven hours of appeal testimony at a hearing on Jan. 21. The hearing 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.
RNGC attorney Frank McDermott maintained at the hearing the recently located documents are not official county records with official government stamps, so they are not valid.
Rescue Reston President Connie Hartke said at Sunday’s rally that if the BZA rules in favor of the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator, it will be “three strikes and [Northwestern mutual] should accept the word ‘NO,’ meaning no to residential development of the 166-acre recreational space across the street from where they stood. “
“It’s time they got the message,” said Hartke.
Local leaders at the rally included Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston) and Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.
Rescue Reston leaders said in an email to group members last week that the losing side “has 30 days after the decision to petition for appeal to the Circuit Court.” That could tie the case up in for many more months, even more than a year.
“Rescue Reston needs to continue to be involved in the legal process to provide the voice of all who support the open space that makes Reston unique,” said Rescue Reston. “We have until April 1 to submit more documentation for the BZA to consider. [Attorney] Randy Greehan will be present on April 15 to represent us. Whichever side wins, we fully expect the process to continue through appeals.”
Rescue Reston spells out “NO” in front of Northwestern Mutual/Courtesy Rescue Reston
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 PRCÂ golf course or PRCÂ 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. Â “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?
Advocacy group Rescue Reston is hoping to fill the auditorium with residents at the Fairfax County Government Center at Reston National’s Board of Zoning Appeals Hearing on Wednesday.
The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, at the 9 a.m. hearing.
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 appealed that decision, and then deferred the hearing several times. But Wednesday’s sessions is on, and Rescue Reston leader Connie Hartke said the BZA is likely to have a decision on the appeal the same day.
What Rescue Reston wants you to know if you are going to go:
- Be inside the auditorium at 8:45 for photographs of the “bright yellow sea of support” for County Zoning.
- Rescue Reston is encouraging everyone to wear their bright yellow/green Rescue Reston T-shirt or other similarly colored clothing, and to bring Rescue Reston yard signs (without the stakes).Â
- If you are scheduled to make a comment to the BZA, the public comment period is at the start of the hearing. You have the right to speak at the hearing and voice your opinion. However, if a number of people have spoken and your points have already been covered, it is perfectly fine just to say that you “agree with” or “support” the previous comments, says Hartke.
The government center is located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.
For more information, including car pool sign ups, visit Rescue Reston’s website.
Read more on the subject:
Reston National Owners Ask Again For Zoning Appeal
Staff Report on Reston National Stays the Course
Residents Rally to Save Open Space
Development Foes Say History on Their SideÂ
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.’ ”
By Ryan Goff
More than 300 Reston residents, many clad in bright yellow Rescue Reston T-shirts, spent Saturday afternoon gathering support of the preservation of open space.
Rescue Reston was formed in 2012 in response to Reston National owner RN Golf’s inquiry as to the status of the golf course’s zoning. RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, believes it has the right to residential development there.
Fairfax County Zoning said in 2012 that the 166-acres is open/recreational space. After many postponements, RN Golf is finally getting a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing. That hearing will take place Jan. 21, and Rescue Reston wants as many citizens as possible to attend.
Rescue Reston founder John Pinkman, a longtime golf course-area homeowner, says the issue affects everyone in Reston.
“The issue unites everyone,” he said. “Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative. It doesn’t matter what your background is, but what your backyard is.”
The rally, which took place in the cafeteria of Langston Hughes Middle School, included a number of speakers presenting the reasons why the golf course needs to remain open space.
At the entrance to the cafeteria, Rescue Reston provided a variety of materials for the community — bright yellow T-shirts, flyers, yard signs, and a large land use map of Reston.
At the far end, Mack.Johnson, a local band, played the thematically fitting Big Yellow Taxi — Joni Mitchell’s anthem about paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.
The presentation began with a recap of the situation so far by Rescue Reston President Connie Hartke.
Hartke talked about the upcoming hearing, presenting the parties on each side of the debate in a “Home Team vs. Away Team” chart. The mention of Lerner Enterprises, the development company speculated to be behind the push to rezone the golf course, elicited groans and boos from the assembled crowd.
Hartke encouraged everyone to come to the hearing on the Jan. 21, wearing the yellow shirts as a show of community involvement and support. Hartke says that the community needs to “leave a lasting impression, not only now but to any future landgrabbers.” Read More
Jan. 21 could be a red letter date for Reston’s future.
That’s the message Rescue Reston — the citizen group aimed at protecting Reston’s open space — is trying to impart as the owners of Reston National Golf Course finally get their Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing.
The hearing is at 9 a.m. at Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy. Rescue Reston is encouraging all residents to attend the hearing to show their support at protecting Reston’s open space. The group will also hold a rally Saturday at 2 p.m. at Langston Hughes Middle School.
The issue: RN Golf, the subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance that owns the 166-acre public course, says the course is planned residential. A 2012 ruling by the county said it is zoned open, recreational space, and to change the status would involve a comprehensive plan amendment.
RN Golf disagrees and is appealing. The hearing was originally scheduled to take place tw years ago, but was deferred several times before it was put on hold indefinitely in the summer of 2013. In November, the case reappeared on the docket.
Rescue Reston founder John Pinkman said RN Golf tried to slip its case back in over the holidays, when no one would be lo0king. Read More
Opponents of rezoning and redevelopment at Reston National Golf Course are gearing up for another round.
After 18 months of relative quiet, RN Golf (a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual) is again preparing for a Fairfax County’s Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on reclassifying the 166-acre public golf course as something other than open recreational space.
The hearing is Jan. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
Rescue Reston, the grassroots group formed when the golf course rezoning issue first came up in the summer of 2012, is hard at work rallying opposition to rezoning.
On its website, the group has a countdown clock to the number of days, hours and minutes to the BZA hearing. It has distributed Christmas-themed flyers portraying Northwestern Mutual as both the ghost of Christmas past and Scrooge, as well as the developers of “Pottersville” — the darker, drunker alternate reality of Jimmy Stewart’s Bedford Falls in It’s a Wonderful Life.
“Northwestern Mutual has launched the most serious attack on the heritage of Reston we have witnessed in the 37 years we have lived here,” Reston Rescue founder John Pinkman wrote to golf course-area neighbors recently.
“If this destruction of open space and the concept of the planned community is allowed to proceed, the door will be open for extreme change in neighborhoods throughout Reston. NWM HAS NO COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY; except that is, to make as much profit as they can and then leave.”
To generate community support for the upcoming BZA Hearing, Rescue Reston has planned a Rally to Save open space for Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at Langston Hughes Middle School. The group hopes as many residents as possible will attend the Jan. 21 hearing to show their support.
The group held rallies back in 2012, when RN Golf first filed the appeal with the county after an original inquiry came back that the course was zoned open space and to change it, the owners could have to go through the rezoning process.
RN Golf has asked for the appeal because it wants to be able to rezone without going through the process.
The BZA hearing was postponed about a half dozen times in 2012 and 2013 before RN Golf deferred it indefinitely in July 2013.
Since then, the Reston Master Plan Comprehensive Amendment, approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2014, states the two Reston golf courses should remain as community assets in the face of nearby development.
Both Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and Reston Association have spoken in opposition to the rezoning.
RA says it would even consider purchasing the land to prevent development.
“It is RA’s stance that these golf courses are integral to the active lifestyle of its members,” Â RA president Ken Knueven said in November when the new hearing date was announced.
Photo: Rescue Reston flyer/Courtesy Rescue Reston
This is an Op-Ed by Connie Hartke of Reston Citizens Association. Have something to say? Send us a letter at [email protected].
This is the week Americans are expected to especially count our blessings.
It is a time for family. For some, their community is their family. Several of us at RCA have gotten to know residents at Lake Anne Fellowship House (LAFH), the senior, low-income apartments that went through turmoil recently due to proposed redevelopment.
This has taken a recent good turn of events — more news to come on that soon, we expect. The cultural subgroups that live there have united into a vibrant community with the goal of ensuring that no one will lose their home. Those who were “safe” united with those who were threatened, creating community. Empathy was the catalyst.
Empathy. Merriam-Webster defines this as “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings.”
While counting your blessings this Thanksgiving, please take a few moments to imagine you are a senior who has lived at LAFH for 10+ years after living as a contributing Restonian for 30+ years. You are told that your home may not be the permanent place that you had expected. Putting aside other thoughts, can you fathom how you would feel if you were faced with this situation? Empathize.
Now imagine for a moment that you purchased a home on Reston National Golf Course. Picture your view changing from rolling greens surrounded by edge habitat to anything else. I say “anything” because many like to speculate how the land could change to this or that … I ask you to EMPATHIZE. Take five minutes to imagine this is YOU. Personally.
RCA, along with Reston Association and Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, supports our Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination that the privately owned 166 acres of Reston National Golf Course is zoned as permanent open recreational space. Developers coming in to Reston need to hear one message loud and clear — respect our Reston Master Plan.
On Thanksgiving, I will take a few moments to think about the folks at LAFH and hope for continued blessings for them. I will be thankful for our County Planning staff who added wording to the Master Plan to strengthen the place of both of our Reston golf courses. I will be grateful for the army of volunteers who live in this special place called Reston.
Please read Rescue Reston volunteer Ray Wedell’s stirring call to action regarding Reston’s latest recreational open space crisis.
Lake Anne Fellowship House/File Photo
