RN Golf Management has been given a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing date of 9 a.m on Jan. 21 — and the president of Reston Citizens Association says it is hoping Restonians will support the organization as they fight to preserve open space in Reston.
RN Golf, owners of Reston National Golf Course, first asked for the zoning appeal two years ago, after its inquiry with the Fairfax County on whether the 166-acre parcel could be considered residential came back as “no.”
Fairfax County responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning. RN Golf, which deferred its quest in the summer of 2013, wants to reclassify the space without going through the rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment process, according to county documents.
Attorneys for RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, asked the county to reactivate the issue earlier this month.
RCA president Sridhar Ganesan says his organization will join Reston Association and Rescue Reston in opposing redevelopment of the public course.
“In response to RN Golf’s bid in Summer 2012 to explore rezoning of RNGC land for non-open space uses including residential development, RCA passed a resolution on August 27, 2012 rejecting the use of the land for anything other than its current use as open space, specifically its current use a golf course or as open space dedicated to parks and recreation,” Ganesan said.
RCA says that with additional development coming to Reston with the arrival of the Silver Line, “preserving open space dedicated to parks and recreation is critically important, and RNGC is integral to Reston’s longstanding vision and plan as a diverse planned community in which people are able to live, work and play.”
“Just as in 2012, Reston organizations such as Reston Association (RA), Rescue Reston (RR) and RCA are aligned in their opposition to any potential rezoning of the land,” Ganesan said. “Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, Hunter Mill District (which covers RNGC land), has also said that she continues to support the Fairfax County Zoning Administrator’s determination with regards to RNGC and RCA thanks her for publicly stating her support for the original zoning determination.”
RCA says it also supports RA’s willingness to consider purchasing the golf course, if needed, to continue to maintain it as a Reston recreational asset.
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
The quest to possibly redevelop Reston National Golf Course may be taking shape again.
The attorney representing RN Golf Management, which owns the public golf course, has asked the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals to put the issue back on a meeting agenda.
The BZA hearing would likely take place in January or February as it is required under state rules to do so within 90 days of attorney Frank McDermott’s request.
The county last heard from the golf course owners in July of 2013, when they asked that the same appeal be deferred indefinitely. That ended — or at least subsided — about a year of discussion on the matter.
RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, asked the county in the spring of 2012 for clarification on the course’s status. Even though it was commercial/open space, could it be considered residential? RN Golf said at the time that the course was zoned residential, and therefore it could be built as such.
Fairfax County responded that the course is open recreational space, and if the owners wanted something different, they needed to seek a rezoning.
While the appeal was scheduled for hearing several times in 2012 and 2013, it was deferred indefinitely in July 2013.
However, the issue of potentially losing 166 acres of green space sparked a grassroots organization, Rescue Reston, as well as a stance on the issue by Reston Association, which is opposed to the golf course being redeveloped.
RA said Friday it remains opposed to the golf course land being redeveloped for residential use.
“It is RA’s stance that these golf courses are integral to the active lifestyle of its members and furthers the Reston lifestyle ‘live, work, play and get involved,’ ” said RA president Ken Knueven.
RA says is also willing to consider a purchase of the golf course in order to keep Reston a golf course community.
Rescue Reston president Connie Hartke says the group is ready to resume the fight for open space.
“We are prepared to respond,” she said. “We have money in the bank. We will fight to make sure it remains zoned as open space.”
Since the last time the golf course issue was active, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved Phase I of the Reston Master Plan Special Study, which guides development around the transit centers.
The county is now deep into the Phase II process of the comprehensive plan amendment. The working draft of the Phase II guidelines, which will update plans for neighborhoods and village centers, has several areas in which it speaks of Reston’s commitment to open space and recreational areas.
The Phase II strawman text states that both Reston National and Hidden Creek Golf Courses “are planned for private recreation use, more specifically to remain as golf courses.”
Meanwhile, the county earlier this year called for public land use proposals for Phase II. Fairfax Hunt Club, for example, inquired about changing zoning from recreational to residential. RN Golf did not file a land use proposal at that time.
Reston National has been golf course space since it was built in 1970. RN Golf purchased the course in 2005 for $5 million, county records show.
McDermott, the attorney for RN Golf, did not return calls from Reston Now.
Photo: Golfers at Reston National/file photo
