Reston Association is considering allowing several homeowners on Sourwood Lane to conduct a controlled deer hunt on their properties.

The owners of 11624, 11626 and 11628 Sourwood Lane, located off of Glade Drive in a wooded area of South Reston, say they want to reduce the deer population near their homes as deer have destroyed vegetation and may harbor Lyme Disease-carrying ticks.

RA will take action on the request at its meeting this Thursday at RA headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive. A public comment period will begin about 6:30 p.m.

“There is an urgent health-driven and environmental need to reduce the deer population in and around our properties,” Sourwood homeowner Larry Gsellman wrote in a letter to Reston Association.

“At last count there was a herd of at least 10 deer that pass through our property every day or two to graze on vegetation. … Lyme Disease as well as other tick-borne diseases is a constant concern. Although there have not been any cases in the neighborhood, there have been numerous cases reported in the Reston area.”

Gsellman, who is seeking clearance to hunt for three years, says the plant destruction will eventually cause soil erosion. He also said the homeowners have tried many ways to rid the properties of deer, including a liquid fence, rotten egg sprays, and Deer-Vic, a deer repellent paste smeared on fenceposts.

The deer hunt, using crossbows, would be conducted at owners’ expense on the three lots (totaling  1.45 acres), by Suburban Whitetail Management during the urban archery season that begins Sept. 7. The state of Virginia and Fairfax County both allow for hunts on private property, but in Reston, permission also must be obtained from RA.

RA has recently granted permission to other homeowners. Since 2010,  a resident of Buckthorn Lane — who said four family members were suffering from Lyme Disease — has had permission for Suburban Whitetail Management to hunt deer on his property.

While many neighbors wrote to RA in support of the hunting request, some are not in favor.
From a letter written to RA by one neighbor:

I (and the deer) are your neighbor here on Sourwood Lane. They have lived here for at least the 14 years I have lived here. … The same family, year after year, treks through my backyard, munches down on the weeds, helps control the ivy that strangles the trees and helps themselves to water in my little pond.

Yes, they eat my hosta and tomato plants — but who cares? … I greet the deer family with the joy they deserve for having survived the winter and bringing such pleasure into the lives of me and my family.

A RA staff report recommends that the bow hunt take place from treestands on weekdays at dawn; that the owners post signage alerting the neighborhood of the hunt; and that hunters will be oriented towards the center and rear of the lots to minimize the chances of an arrow going off the subject lots.  Staff also recommended that RA waive the condition that the proposed location of the hunter be held 75 yards away from any street.

Photo of deer on Reston trial/Credit: Linda Thomas via Flickr

Two big glimpses into the future of the area’s two-wheeled transportation will happen in Reston on Wednesday.

Fairfax County officials, who are eying Reston as a possible location for the county’s first bikeshare program, will present the results of a feasibility study at Dogwood Elementary at 6:30 p.m.

Fairfax County recently contracted with Alta Planning + Design to determine if bikesharing would work as Reston prepares to become a transit oriented community with the opening of Metro’s Silver Line next month.

“I get calls from Westfield, Chantilly, asking when can we get a bikeshare,” Fairfax County bicycle coordinator Charlie Strunk told participants in a community bikeshare meeting at Lake Anne Elementary in January. “The easy answer, probably not. Those places don’t have the density. We picked Reston because we think Reston is the best choice. Tysons is a way off. Reston has fairly good density, mixed use, a mix of shopping, office and residential.”

The feasibility study was paid for with a grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Main questions asked were who would use the bikeshare, where should stations be located, and would suburban residents use bicycles as a transportation alternative and not recreation.

Immediately after the bikeshare meeting the county will present the final draft of the Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan from 7:30-9 p.m.

Fairfax County is developing a countywide bicycle master plan. The plan will determine what steps should be taken to improve the existing transportation system and make Fairfax County bicycle friendly.

Coming in the plan: recommendations for a network of both on-road and off-road facilities that will serve as a bicycle transportation network as well as ideas on how bicycle friendly design can be incorporated into future roadway projects and transit projects.

Photo: Capital Bikeshare station at Pentagon City/File photo

Metro’s Silver Line will at long last begin service on Saturday, July 26, Metro officials said on Monday.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles says he is satisfied with the progress contractor Bechtel has made in fixing remaining issues, and the 11-mile extension from East Falls Church to Reston’s Wiehle-Avenue will soon be open for business.

MWAA still needs to obtain Certificates of Occupancy from the commonwealth as well as some final test results, said Sarles. There will also be a public safety drill at the Spring Hill Station this weekend and a week of simulated service beginning July 20.

“There is an unlikely possibility that something can pop up between now and then,” Sarles said of the target date of July 26. “But would not be announcing this is a target date if I did not feel we were there. … We look forward to welcoming passengers.”

Metro will host an inaugural ceremony on July 26. All five stations will be open, and the first passengers will leave Wiehle-Reston East at noon that day, Metro officials said.

The wait has been a long one for area Metro riders. Work began on Phase 1 of the rail extension more than five years ago. This is Metro’s first new line since 1991.

While no official opening date was ever set, initial forecasts were for the Silver Line to open in late 2013 or January of 2014.

However, construction delays and issues have pushed it back more than six months. As recently as two weeks ago, Metro officials were saying they were disappointed in the progress that Dulles Transit Partners, the Bechtel division that built Phase 1, were making in completing a list of remaining fixes on the $2.9 billion Phase 1. Read More

Many Reston Swim Team Association swimmers wore orange at Saturday’s meets in a show of solidarity for Dave Tremaine, the Hayfield Secondary School principal and Reston resident who died of cancer last week at age 49.

Tremaine, whose children are RSTA swimmers, had been with Fairfax County Schools since 1991 and Hayfield’s principal since 2010. In 2011, he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. He remained on the job through chemotherapy and radiation. He officially stepped down from his position in May, just weeks before his death.

Tremaine grew up in Rockville and graduated from the University of South Carolina. He is survived by his wife, Robyn, a teacher at Herndon Elementary School, and three children: Samantha, 19, Grant, 16, and Parker, 10.

Robyn Tremaine chronicled her husband’s struggle in a blog, “Embracing the Roller Coaster.” At Hayfield, where graduation was held the day after Dave Tremaine’s death, students held a candlelight vigil for the principal.

They remembered Tremaine as a large (he was 6-foot-5 and his nickname was “Tree”) presence at the school, usually wearing orange and white, the school’s colors. Dave Tremaine’s brother, Jeff, spoke at Hayfield’s graduation.

There is no funeral planned, as Dave Tremaine hated the idea, his wife wrote on her blog. However, several memorial and fundraising sites have been set up in his honor.

Hayfield Loves Mr. Tremaine is a Facebook page started by Hayfield students, several of whom have started donations to cancer research organizations. Students have also started a petition to have the school renamed in honor of Tremaine.

“He died the day before a special class of seniors graduated: they were the first seniors to have had him as a principal for all four years of their high school experience,” the petition organizers wrote. “He never gave up on any students no matter what, and he loved the school until the end. Mr. Tremaine would almost always wear an orange article of clothing (one of our school’s colors), and he brought so much spirit and enthusiasm wherever he went. We want him to live on in places other than memory.”

Neighbors of the Tremaines in the Deepwood section of Reston have started a YouCaring fundraising site to help the family.

From the YouCaring site:

On June 16, 2014, Dave Tremaine lost a three-year battle with colon cancer. He is remembered fondly for many things: the example he set as a wonderful husband and father, the heart and soul he put into his career as an educator, his athletic talent, his impressive height…and of course, his enthusiasm for sporting the color, orange. Over the past few years, it has been made abundantly clear that Dave doesn’t just have colleagues, friends and loved ones. He has fans. He has A VILLAGE.

This village would do anything to support Dave’s incredible wife, Robyn and their thee amazing children, Samantha, Grant and Parker. While a list of of specific areas where we can help is not yet available, please consider making a donation to this fund for the Tremaine family. Whether they use that money to put toward college savings or to just keep the refrigerator stocked, this is an opportunity to help remove as much financial stress as possible during a time when the Tremaines need to focus on healing.

Photos: Top, Glade Gators honor Tremaine at Saturday’s meet/Credit: Raba Letteri; Bottom: Tremaine showing his school spirit/Credit: YouCaring.com

House hunting? Start with these open houses Saturday and Sunday.

2013 Sarazen Place
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$419,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

12012 Creekbend Drive
4 BR, 3.5 BA SFH
$999,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2334 Antiqua Court
3 BR, 3.5 BA TH
$335,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

1679 Bayfield Way
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$379,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

12150 Purple Sage Court
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$364,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2243 Castle Rock Square
2 BR, 2 BA Condo
$179,500
Open Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
Open Sunday, 13 to 3 p.m.

1808 Pepperidge Lane
4 BR, 3 BA SFH
$679,999
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

11402 L Gate Hill Place
2 BR, 2 BA Condo
$359,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2200 Milburn Lane
4 BR, 2.5 BA SFH
$665,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m.

2146 Cartwright Place
3 BR, 1 FB, 2 HB
$309,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

2161 Cabots Point Lane
3 BR, 3 BA TH
$599,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

For complete real estate info, visit Reston Now’s Real Estate section.

If Silver Line contractor Dulles Transit Partners finishes the work on the final “seven or eight” items this week, an opening date for service will be set on Monday, says Metro General Manager Richard Sarles.

“We are in the final stretch,” Sarles said in a call with reporters today.

A week ago, Metro Deputy General Manager Rob Troup said DTP, the Bechtel unit hired by Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority (MWAA) to build the 11-mile Phase 1 rail extension from East Falls Church to Reston’s Wiehle Avenue,  had only completed about half of the items that must be done before passengers can ride.

Metro obtained control of the Silver Line May 27, starting a 90-day testing and training period. However, MWAA and Metro agreed in April that certain items could be completed after the handover but before passenger service begins.

There has been at least one report that the Silver Line will begin service the last week of July. While the Silver Line is more than six months behind schedule, an opening date for service has never been set. Silver Line officials would not confirm the July speculation on Monday. However, that may turn out to be correct if progress is made this week.

“We have date we plan against, but when you set a firm date, it is based on progress you have made,” said Sarles. “If the is done [this week], my level of confidence will be high enough to establish a firm date for revenue operation.”

Among the items to be completed: obtaining certificates of occupancy; finishing painting tunnel handrails; testing of fiber optic cable; and testing of intrusion and fire alarms, said Sarles.

There will be a public safety drill on June 29 at the Spring Hill Station. There will also be a week of simulated service before passengers can ride the Silver Line.

Officers from Fairfax County Police’s Reston District Station report a car stolen from the 1500 block of Northgate Square. The Ford Taurus was reported stolen on June 8.

In other crime news for the week ending June 11:

Police conducted a directed patrol on June 6. Officers from the Reston Police District patrolled the area searching for drunk drivers. No drivers were charged with DWI. Ten summonses and 11 warnings were issued.

LARCENIES:

2500 block of John Milton Drive, liquor from business

10500 block of Leesburg Pike, liquor from business

900 block of Locust Street, cell phone from business

1800 block of Park Glen Court, bicycle from residence

2500 block of Reston Parkway, phone from business

1400 block of Alston Place, money from residence

2400 block of Centreville Road, bicycle from residence

Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.

Before there was Reston Now, or Reston Patch, the Reston Connection or the Reston Times (now Fairfax Times), there was the Reston Letter.

In fact, the Reston Letter predates Reston residents.

The Reston Letter was a combination newsletter and marketing material aimed at updating readers about the progress of this “New town” to be built in the cow pasture near the new Dulles International Airport.

See the entire first Reston Letter here.

Volume I, Number I is part of the George Mason University Digital Archives. Let’s take a look at what it was saying about Reston in February of 1963:

Reston is a 10-mile square tract of gently rolling Virginia hill country, 18 miles west of Washington, D.C.  and four miles east of the newly opened Dulles International Airport. It is bisected by the airport’s high-speed access highway which takes travelers quickly in and out of the nation’s capital.

Comprising 6,800 acres, Reston could easily have been developed along well trod, conventional lines. Instead, Reston has been planned in a way that suggests a new, creative solution to the twin dangers inherent in America’s enormous population increase and rapidly changing pattern of living — unsightly suburban sprawl and haphazard urban spread.

The letter says Reston hopes to have a population of 75,000 by 1980.

It details the plans for Lake Anne Village Center to resemble a European village where residents can live and shop in the same place. “The first of the seven villages was started in October 1962, when work began on a 500-foot earth dam which will create a crescent-shaped 35-acre lake,” it reads.

The plans for housing units at Lake Anne are detailed, as well as plans for the south end of Reston, where 100 acres would be turned into low density housing surrounding a community horse stable.

“Bridle paths are to be laid out so they lead from the [horse] academy to one of the village centers,” the letter said. “This village will be planned so horse riders will be able to actually ride into town.”

The homes were eventually built (with horse homage street names such as Steeplechase and Paddock). The stables were in action for several years (though hitching the horse at the Hunters Woods Safeway never quite caught on). The barn later burned down, and the site at Steeplechase and Triple Crown is now Pony Barn Pavilion, a Reston Association park.

The early materials encouraged prospective residents that things were about to happen very quickly here.

“By Spring of this year, Reston will be a good place to visit,” the letter says. “By Spring of next year, Reston will be well on its way to becoming one of the best places in the nation in which to live.”

More than 50 years later, has Reston lived up to its marketing? Tell us in the comments.

The Reston man who told Maryland officials he was shot while kayaking in April, shot himself in Reston last week when Fairfax County Police arrived at his home with a search warrant, Fairfax County Police said.

Fairfax County Police went to the Lakeshore Crest Drive home of David Seafolk-Kopp on Thursday with the warrant after Maryland Natural Resources Police found inconsistencies in Seafolk-Kopp’s account of being shot on Bodkin Creek in Maryland on April 12.

Investigators said Seafolk-Kopp’s hands showed gunpowder residue and the angle of the bullet wound was consistent with a self-inflicted wound. Seafolk-Kopp, a gun collector, had 31 guns registered to his name, police said.

“We were looking for guns consistent with what he was shot with,” said MDNR police spokesman Candy Thomson. “We were looking for a .38 mm, a .357 or 9mm, which was working with what the doctor removed from him.”

When authorities arrived at Seafolk-Kopp’s home, they found him with self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the the jaw and torso, said Thomson.

“The suspect was at home and he was injured,” said Fairfax County Police public information officer Lucy Caldwell. “We assisted with the rescue. Thompson said Seafolk-Kopp, 56, was taken to a hospital, where he remains sedated and in critical condition after several surgeries.

Thomson said Maryland authorities have a warrant to search the Glen Burnie, Md., home of Seafolk-Kopp’s daughter.

“We served the search warrants trying to close out this case and assure the public there is is not someone out there shooting,” said Thompson.

Seafolk-Kopp, a former Maryland resident who has lived in Reston since 2010, told police in April he was shot while taking a break from paddling on Bodkin Creek. He said he saw a red dot near the lower part of his stomach and felt an excruciating amount of pain shortly thereafter. He said he was unable to make it back to shore, where he had launched near Pasadena Md., until the next morning.

The bullet entered just below the sternum, hit Seafolk-Kopp’s ribs and lodged in his back. He was taken to Baltimore’s Shock Trauma, where he was treated and released.

According to the police affidavit, the medic who treated Seafolk-Kopp said the man exhibited no signs of hypothermia even though he said he was on the water all night long.

Police also said several guns were taken from Seafolk-Kopp’s home earlier this month.

Looking for a new home? Check out some of these open houses in Reston.

12001 Market Street
1 BR, 1 BA Condo
$339,900
Open Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m.
 

1426 Yellowwood Court
3 BR, 2.5 BA SFH
$459,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

1703 Red Oak Circle
3 BR, 3.5 BA SFH
$850,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

2107 Owls Cove Lane
3 BR, 3 BA SFH
$650,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

2210 Southgate Square
3 BR, 1 FB, 2 HB TH
$299,999
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

1659 Sierra Woods Court
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$349,999
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

11441 Washington Plaza West
3 BR, 2.5 BA TH
$585,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

1577 Autumn Ridge Circle
3 BR, 3.5 BA TH
$439,900
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 pm.
 

2026 Beacon Place
3 BR, 4.5 BA SFH
$925,000
Open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
 

1323 Garden Wall Court
2 BR, 1 BA Condo
$289,900
Open Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m.
 

For more open houses and real estate information, visit Reston Now’s Real Estate section.

A Reston man has been arrested after Fairfax County Police said he was manipulating a mentally incapacitated woman into performing sex acts for money.

Robert Moore, 31, was charged with promoting prostitution, receiving earnings from prostitution and unauthorized use of a vehicle, police said.

Detectives from Fairfax County’s Human Trafficking Unit received information last week that a man was reportedly manipulating the 22-year-old woman into performing prostitution.

The investigation revealed that Moore has been using online advertising for the young woman’s commercial sex acts, transporting her to meet clients, and then keeping all money exchanged in the transactions, FCPD said in a news release.

FCPD has been trying to raise awareness of sex trafficking. Since January, FCPD has been conducting a public awareness campaign called “Just Ask.” The police have teamed with Fairfax County Public Schools and the county Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services to tackle the issue, particularly as many teenage girls are targeted.

Police define trafficking as “the act of manipulating or forcing anyone to engage in a sex act in exchange for anything of value (money, drugs, shelter, food, clothes, etc.). FCPD says it identifies an average of two new potential victims per week.

Photo: Robert Moore of Reston/Credit: FCPD

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) officially took possession of the Silver Line Tuesday morning, marking a significant milestone in the rail extension’s timeline towards opening this summer.

The handoff took place at 5:30 a.m., said Metro deputy general manager Rob Troup.

The opening of Phase 1, which will run from East Falls Church to Reston’s Wiehle Avenue, is more than six months behind its projected opening schedule, though neither Metro nor the Metropolitan Washington Transit Authority (MWAA) announced a firm opening date.

Operational readiness (ORD) means that MWAA, which built the $2.9 billion extension, is finished with its part and Metro can now begin a 90-day training and inspection period.

“We are very, very pleased to get to ORD,” Troup said in a conference call with reporters. “Service is going to be significant to the people in Northern Virginia.”

There was no announcement about when the line will be open for service, however.

“We feel we are in a very good position,” Troup said in response to a question about opening this summer. “We are working closely with MWAA, and they have allowed us to get our personnel in there early and we have done training for station managers [and other personnel].  I don’t want to give anything definitive. We may have to push [the opening] beyond if we find something of concern to us.

“But we are testing, hiring and training and feel we are in a very good position.”

Troup said there are a few small items that MWAA contractor Dulles Transit Services needs to address in the coming days. Among them: contract progress and paperwork; drainage systems in stations; and fencing work that needs to be finished.

The bobbing track issue and faulty station speakers have been fixed, Troup said.

Other news of note:

About a week prior to opening, there will be simulated rail service, where trains will run on their regular schedule. The simulated service will not include passengers. When the line opens, trains will run every six minutes during rush hour and every 12 to 20 minutes at other times.

Metro security has been working with local law enforcement (Fairfax County Police, Virginia State Police and Airport Authority Police) for a year, said Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik. Eight hundred first responders have been trained.

There will be two full-scale emergency exercises with law enforcement agencies, Fairfax County Fire Rescue, Virginia Department of Transportation and D.C. Department of Transportation, Pavlik said.

One will be a drill simulating a “real life scenario,” he said. The other will simulate an emergency on the aerial tracks near the Spring Hill station. The drills will likely occur on a weekend, but no date has been announced.

This is a sponsored article from Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. She writes twice weekly on Reston Now.

I’ve had several calls from agents this past week or so all asking the same question — “Does the market seem quiet?”

We almost whisper this question, as if saying it too loud will somehow make it true. I have to admit to engaging in some of this worry myself. It has been quieter the past few weeks, but when you look at the numbers it’s clear that the market is still very active.

There are 230 properties that are fully active, and 47 new listings. This represents a little more than a 2 month supply of houses in our market, which still translates to a competitive market.

Here are a few of the newly listed properties.

1647 FIELDTHORN DR 2BR 2 Baths $347,500

1402 BELCASTLE CT 4BR 3.5 Baths $925,000

11613 SOURWOOD LN 4BR 3.5 Baths $774,000

2627 STEEPLECHASE DR 5BR 3 Baths $672,500

11012 RACCOON RIDGE CT 4BR 2.5 Baths $849,000

D.C.-area home buyers need about $78,503 to purchase a home around here, according one survey.

The price of real estate may come as no surprise, but the numbers are more than $15,000 higher than they were by the same company’s estimate in February.

HSH.com, a publisher of mortgage and consumer loan information, says it took the National Association of Realtors’ first-quarter data for median home prices and HSH.com’s first-quarter average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages to determine how much of your salary it would take to afford the base cost of owning a home — the principal, interest, taxes and insurance — in 27 metro areas.

“We used standard 28 percent ‘front-end’ debt ratios, and a 20 percent down payment subtracted from the NAR’s median-home-price data to arrive at our figures,” says HSH.

HSH says “things were more affordable in D.C. during the first three months of the year. Like Denver, Washington, D.C.,’s housing market has had a reputation of stable, consistent growth. But since the second quarter of 2013, prices have been falling, taking the required salary down with it.”

The Washington area comes in sixth place, behind San Francisco (where one needs an income of $137,129), San Diego, New York City, Los Angeles and Boston.

HSH says that the median price of a home in the metro area is $358,900.

In Reston, here is what about $358,900 will get you:

A 2 BR, 2.5 Ba townhouse on Whisperwood Glen ($350,000)

A 3 BR, 3.5 BA townhouse on Twisted Oak Drive ($369,900)

A 2 BR, 1 BA condo overlooking Lake Anne ($349,900)

A 2 BR, 2 BA condo at Stratford House ($349,00)