At
its March 26, 2015 meeting, the RA Board of Directors will move to approve a
draft Strategic Plan for 2016-2020. Included
in the draft are major changes in language that would dilute Reston’s historic
efforts to preserve, protect, and restore the environment despite Reston’s
Master Plan and RA’s Essential Elements calling for that effort. The proposed changes are the result of
changes made by RA’s Board Planning Committee (BPC) about two weeks ago. Besides undermining long-established Reston
principles, it puts RA in the position of both advocating expanded development
and protecting open space, a potential contradiction that could undermine its established and broadly supported
position opposing development of Reston National Golf Course, for example. We
strongly recommend that the RA Board of Directors return the draft plan to the Board Planning Committee for revision consistent with Reston's planning principles and history of pursuing environmental sustainability.
On Thursday, the Reston Association Board of Directors will
consider a draft Strategic Plan to guide the Association for the next four
years. One of the major proposed changes
is combining and eroding current language that is at the heart of the
community’s effort to advance sustainability and protect the environment. The Strategic Plan draft the Board will
review was last revised by RA’s Board Planning Committee (BPC) a couple of
weeks ago, and reflects the Committee’s changes.
The draft plan language is being diluted so that the
Strategic Plan does not stand in the way of redevelopment in Reston, bringing it
more in line with County ambitions for Reston and RA’s own quest for additional
members and assessment revenues. (Appended to this post is the current and
proposed language on environmental sustainability issues.) At the heart of this effort is RA's BPC. The committee establishes the monthly RA
Board meeting agenda and prepares final drafts of documents for consideration
by the Board among other functions. It comprises
the RA Board’s officers, two other Board members, and the CEO and Board/Staff
Liaison as non-voting members. Also participating
at the meeting discussing the draft Strategic Plan were RA’s legal counsel and
the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources.
The draft plan language proposed by the BPC undercuts a core
Reston principle of protecting and restoring our environment.
Indeed, sustainability constitutes the second
Planning Principle in the Reston Master Plan approved by the County Board of
Supervisors little more than a year ago.
Moreover, Reston Association’s own “
Essential
Elements of Reston”—referenced in both the current and draft strategic
goal-- lists Environmental Stewardship as its first priority.
(We have
appended these two vital statements at the end of this post for your
information.)
The Current Strategic
Plan
Consistent with the County’s Planning Principles and Reston’s
Essential Elements, RA’s current strategic
plan already anticipates redevelopment and revitalization, but emphasizes the
importance of preserving existing
neighborhoods, protecting and restoring environmental resources, and promoting
a sustainable and viable community.
The new draft plan lacks these clear directives, which are essential to
maintaining Reston’s quality of life. At a
minimum, these must be restored in any new strategic plan.
RA’s current (2012-2016)
Strategic Plan has
five ‘focus areas.’
These include
Change & Opportunity and
Sustainability & Community
Viability.
The ‘strategic goals’
for these areas are ‘promote the Essential Elements of Reston as standards for
the development, redevelopment, and revitalization,’ and ‘effectively manage
all resources, resulting in a sustainable and viable community.’
The ‘objectives’ to achieve these goals include:
‘preserve the integrity of our neighborhoods and their distinctive
characteristics’; and ‘protect, enhance and restore environmental resources.’
The Board Planning Committee’s Draft
Several weeks ago, the BPC reviewed an
early draft 2016‑2020 strategic
plan developed by a working group that combined the current
Change and
Sustainability focus areas into a single section, entitled
Leading Sustainable Change.
The strategic goal for this consolidated
section was ‘enhance and protect Reston’s built and natural environments to
ensure that development and redevelopment is consistent with the Essential
Elements of Reston.’
Surprisingly, the current
sustainability goal language was not included.
The accompanying four objectives were new, and did not include the
current language.
The Board Planning Committee retained the
Leading Sustainable Change title and a new,
more narrow strategic goal.
The
Committee considered reusing objectives from the current strategic plan, but
some directors expressed concern that they “could be used as a stick” by
opponents of redevelopment.
After much
discussion, the BPC rewrote the objectives, producing the
revised draft strategic plan
to be discussed and voted on at Thursday’s Board meeting.
Some Implications of
the Proposed Changes
While the new draft strategic goal still references the
Essential Elements, the revised
objectives fail to match the current RA strategic plan’s clear and
unambiguous mandates to preserve, protect, and restore existing neighborhoods
and the environment. Indeed, the
revised objectives do not even use the terms preserve, protect or restore,
instead substituting the word “conserve,“ which has a far different
meaning. Other draft language also is
ambiguous or phrased in a manner that renders it nearly meaningless. As a result, the draft objectives do not adequately
support the stated goal, much less the County’s and RA’s historic strategic
vision of Reston.
Moreover, it seems clear that the BPC has not considered the potentially adverse consequences for
protecting Reston against highly undesirable development and redevelopment
effort. Possibly the single most
important current example is the ongoing case of redevelopment of the Reston National Golf Course as thousands
of dwellings by Northwestern Mutual.
As the Reston Master Plan states, selective high-quality development
is desirable and necessary, but Reston Association's first priority should be to preserve
and improve the quality of life in Reston to the maximum extent
possible. In this regard,
it is essential that the objectives include language demonstrating the RA’s
firm commitment to environmental sustainability. Absent a compelling, valid reason, the preserve,
protect, restore and enhance language in the current strategic plan should be
included in the 2016-2020 plan’s objectives.
Weakening the strategic plan would send the wrong message, particularly
when the Association is engaged in a public fight to preserve open space in
Reston.
The current draft
2016-2020 Strategic Plan should be rejected by the RA Board of Directors, and
the draft plan should be returned to the Board Planning Committee for further
revisions consistent with established County and RA principles.
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Extract from the Reston Master Plan Planning Principles approved
by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, February 14, 2014
2. Planning will provide for environmental
sustainability and green technology.
Natural
resources and ecosystems, including natural areas, will be protected and restored. Adverse impacts on the environment (land,
water, and air) will be
minimized,
and best practices will be used to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Green
neighborhood and building practices will meet high standards. Tree canopy
will
continue to be an important component of the Reston visual experience.
Extract from the Essential Elements of Reston, June 2010
1. Environmental
Stewardship
Reston
is a place where nature is valued and protected. Our trees are abundant and our
natural areas are right next door, no matter where in Reston we live. It is
RA’s goal to preserve, protect, and enhance our natural and built environment
for current and future residents. This includes, but is not limited to,
streams, trails, community pavilions, outdoor plazas, and open space areas,
whether natural or developed. Open space is more than just the natural areas,
outdoor community gathering pavilions, and our beautiful trees – open space is
the aesthetic and valued quality of nature so prevalent in our community and
throughout our neighborhoods. Open space is also close to virtually all
residences and within walking distance of commercial businesses. As such, the Reston Association recommends
that:
a.
Any new development or redevelopment project must take into consideration the
site’s existing and surrounding natural flora, fauna, and water resources; with
the goal of preserving undisturbed natural areas to the greatest extent
possible.
b.
All current state and county stormwater management regulations must be adhered
to and enforced.
c.
To maintain continuity with the surrounding community, all new development
and/or redevelopment must include green space, trees, and to the extent
possible, undisturbed natural areas.
d.
Projects must be environmentally sensitive, compatible with, and considerate
of, their surroundings; including consideration of building heights and
placement.
e.
Concerted efforts be made by Fairfax County and others to preserve in
perpetuity the Sunrise Valley Wetlands Nature Park and that the Park be donated
to the Reston Association for its continued use and management for benefit of
the community.
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Relevant language in
the current 2012-2016 RA Strategic Plan
(The BPC proposes
merging the following two focus areas in to a single focus area.)
Focus Area [1]:
Change & Opportunity
Strategic Goal:
To promote the Essential Elements1 of Reston as standards for the
development, redevelopment, and revitalization of our community.
Objectives to Achieve
Strategic Goal:
1.
Prepare Reston Association (RA) to incorporate
additional residential and mixed use properties into the Association, as
development occurs.
2.
Continuously advocate for, an increase in the
number of multi-model transportation facilities in the Reston Community.
3.
By 2013, establish procedures that will
ensure Reston Association’s interests are considered in redevelopment and
revitalization of our community.
Footnote 1 states: “Essential Elements: Refers to Reston’s design and
planning foundation principles which include
Environmental Stewardship, Commitment to the Arts, Accessibility,
Planning & Design Excellence,
Recreational Amenities, and Housing Opportunities.”
Focus Area [4]: Sustainability &
Community Viability
Strategic Goal:
To effectively manage all resources, resulting in a sustainable and viable
community.
Objectives to Achieve
Strategic Goal:
1.
Annually, develop and allocate appropriate
financial resources to sustain and enhance the Association’s physical
infrastructure.
2.
Continuously protect, enhance and restore
environmental resources.
3.
Continuously preserve the integrity of our
neighborhoods and their distinctive characteristics through covenants
compliance.
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Relevant language
in draft RA Strategic Plan, 2016-2020, showing changes made by the BPC
