Please attend the Reston P&Z Meeting on Campus Commons

Please attend the Reston P & Z Meeting  on Campus Commons     Monday  Sept. 16th @7:30 pm              North County Government Center

The Campus Commons developer is seeking another vote on its proposed
development at Wiehle and Sunrise Valley this coming MONDAY at the next
Reston Planning & Zoning Committee meeting. The P&Z meeting starts at 7:30
and will first review another project on the agenda first before moving on to the
Campus Commons presentation.

PLEASE ATTEND if you can and wear YELLOW! It is critical to have a good
community turnout for this important hearing since the developer’s project is still on the Fairfax County Planning Commission agenda for 25 September. Your voice is important!

While the developer has just offered to consider a pedestrian bridge at the
Wiehle-Toll Road intersection as well as minor adjustments to building heights,
these are tentative proposals that do not alter the serious concerns over the size, scale, and impact of this large proposal on the residential communities in South Reston and beyond. Further details on those issues can be found in the attached PDF summarizing the questions raised at the 5 September community meeting, along with developer responses and comments.

And please SHARE this announcement with your neighborhoods and clusters to ensure all are informed and to encourage as many affected residents as possible to attend.

Thank you!

                   

Click here to read: Community Concerns by Category

Reston 20/20 Statement to RP&Z on County Reston PRC Proposal, May 15, 2017

Statement to the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee

By Terry Maynard, Co-Chair, Reston 20/20 Committee

Re the Proposed Reston PRC Zoning Ordinance Amendment

May 15, 2017

Good evening.  I am Terry Maynard, 2217 Wakerobin Lane, speaking on behalf of the Reston 20/20 Committee.  

First, thank you for taking your time to listen to the many voices of Reston on the County’s proposed PRC zoning ordinance amendment. 

Most importantly, the PRC zoning amendment proposal removes all concrete zoning constraints on high-density residential construction in Town Center, a situation that can lead to serious unforeseeable circumstances.   We must rely on Board discretion.  Just look at the Board approval given to a FAR 4, 26-story office building to replace the Town Center Office Building that is dramatically inconsistent with the Reston plan and its own TOD policy. 

As we read it, the PRC amendment would allow the addition of more than 28,000 residents to our community, virtually all in high-density housing in the half of Reston Town Center north of the toll road.   In 2010, about 8,000 people lived in the Town Center PRC after nearly a quarter century of development.  In the last 7 years, residences for another 8,000 people have been built or approved in there.  Longer term, Board approval of the zoning ordinance would allow about 45,000 people to live in Town Center.  This would be in addition to the 45,000 people or so who could be added to the non-PRC portions of Reston’s station areas under the Reston plan and other zoning codes.  

I would like to speak to you briefly about how this development will affect infrastructure and commercial development issues in Reston. 

Transportation may present the most pressing infrastructure challenge as this unfolds in the PRC.  County data shows that, of the two-dozen Board-approved Reston station area transportation projects, only one sidewalk improvement at Wiehle Station has been completed.  Of the dozen projects in the RTC PRC area, none except the Town Center Parkway tunnel has begun and one has been put on hold.  The Soapstone Connector won’t be put out for contract until 2025.  None of this includes the still concept-level intersection improvements postulated by RNAG and the absence of any planned bus transit expansion for the PRC. 

Yet station area development, including development in the RTC PRC and its approval continues unabated.

All of the additional residential development also has implications for planned commercial development in the Town Center PRC.  Approval of the zoning ordinance amendment could unhinge the planned balance between residential and commercial development there and the desirable effect it has on reducing driving.    

Worse yet, developers—never ones to miss an opportunity—could use the high, if not unconstrained, residential construction limits to leverage even higher or unlimited commercial development in the PRC.  This alone suggests the urgency of a concrete upper limit on station area PRC density, not just Board discretion. 

One particular concern in this process is the availability of essential retail facilities, not to mention amenities such as theaters, restaurants, etc., for a population approaching 90,000 in Reston’s station areas, including the 45,000 in the Town Center PRC.  Two supermarkets and one pharmacy are not adequate, and to the extent that there is a shortage of these and other essential and desirable shopping in the PRC will mean more residents driving.

All this suggests that the County and the community need to understand the implications for Reston of the zoning ordinance amendment and quite possibly amend it so that it is consistent with Reston’s vision and planning principles.  This will take time, not the head-long rush the County and Board seem to be in to get this amendment passed with three public meetings in three weeks this month. 

What’s the rush?

Based on future analysis of the implications of the allowable development for infrastructure and other community needs, some amendments to the proposal that might be considered are:

• Raising the overall residential density per acre incrementally to, say, 14 people per acre and seeing how infrastructure, commercial development, and the Reston community adjusts to that density before moving another step higher.
• Creating a fourth residential density category called “urban” for the station area that has a concrete cap on it of, say, 60-70 DUs per acre.
• Not raising the zoning cap at all until at least the current approved transportation and other infrastructure projects, such as schools, open space and parks, etc., are completed.

While these are just ideas, they and other ideas need to be considered in a thorough, systematic, and unbiased way based on a consideration of the facts in a manner that meets the needs of the community as well as the County. 

An Open Letter Concerning the St. Johns Wood Proposed Re-Development

An Open Letter Concerning the St. Johns Wood Proposed Re-Development

To: The Reston Planning & Zoning Committee, Reston Design Review Board, Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning, Fairfax County Supervisors, and all affected community members-

A plea for adequate time for public review and comment on the next round of developer changes to its St. Johns Wood re-development proposal.

The undersigned residents of the North Point area of Reston seek your attention and assistance regarding anticipated changes to plans for redevelopment of the St. Johns Wood apartment complex.  The property is located at the intersection of Reston Parkway and Center Harbor Road. Please assure that Bozzuto Development Company, Inc. (Bozzuto) provides all affected reviewing authorities and the public-at-large sufficient time and information to review the revised plans that the developer has indicated will be made.

The numerous submissions by Bozzuto for redevelopment of the property, seeking to convert 250 multi-family garden apartments in nine-three story buildings to 467 new apartments and forty-four townhomes, have undergone many changes over several years.  County Supervisor Hudgins currently advises on her website, “Bozzuto is in the process of revising their plan; therefore, the public hearing was deferred until May 25, 2017.”  This postponement by County Planning follows deferral of review by the Reston Design Review Board in October 2016 and a statement of non-support for the Bozzuto application by the Reston Association in September 2016.

More recently, the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee calendared the review of a yet-to-be publically released revision of the developer’s redevelopment plans for St. Johns Wood. That meeting is scheduled for March 27.

Despite the rapidly approaching dates for Reston Planning & Zoning Committee review and the County Planning public hearing, to date Bozzuto has not provided the public with any information about changes to its application.

If the changes are not significant, it is unconscionable to withhold public scrutiny of this potentially neighborhood-altering project. If as is suspected the changes to the application are significant, it is even more imperative that the public be provided meaningful opportunity to examine and comment.  This is particularly important given the troubling deficiencies cited by the Reston Design Review Board and the Reston Association.

The St. Johns Wood project will so greatly affect the quality of life, environment, safety, and property values of the North Point area of Reston that the project must be reviewed in the most transparent manner possible. Please help!

Susan Barse

Stephen Canner

Mark Clyman

Arlene Krieger

Patricia Lentz

John Mooney

Dabney Narvaez

Linda Platt

Jeanne Vasterling

RPZ and DRB plan to hear key development/redevelopment proposals next week.

The following is an e-mail from RA's Larry Butler to key community groups about the agenda of the RPZ and DRB next week. 


From: Larry Butler <Larry@reston.org>
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015
Subject: Upcoming Meetings
To:  (Deleted)

Greetings everyone.  I wanted to let you know about two meetings next week of importance to the community.  On Monday November 16 at 7:30 at Supervisor Hudgins’ office conference room at the North County Government Center the Planning and Zoning Committee will be meeting.  Included on their agenda are the Reston Town Center Rail Station, North Entrance Update, Tall Oaks Village Center redevelopment proposal (informational), and the Sekas Homes application for 11690 Sunrise Valley Drive off Roland Clarke Place to rezone from industrial to the PDH-12 District (residential) in order to construct 37 urban-style single family attached dwelling units with associated parking and recreational amenities.

On Tuesday November 17 at 7 pm in the RA conference center the Full Design Review Board meeting will include a Tall Oaks Village Center redevelopment informational presentation (likely same as P&Z), 1760 Reston Parkway final development plan (23-story tower), an informational presentation on a parking garage at Reston International Center, and changes to the architectural plans and landscaping for the former United Christian Parish Church at 2222 Colt’s Neck Road that has been approved for redevelopment into 55+ housing, and is now seeking changes to provide some assisted living units as well.

These are important meetings and please let your committee members know.

Larry T. Butler

Senior Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources

Reston Association

12001 Sunrise Valley Drive

Reston, VA 20191

Direct: 703-435-6501

Live, Work, Play and Get Involved

www.reston.org

Three meetings this week on St. John’s Wood redevelopment proposal

Update:  We've appended to this post the full redevelopment engineering plan and various renderings, drawings, photos, etc., prepared by the developer.

Three important meetings will be held this week on Bozzuto Development’s proposal to raze the St. John’s Wood apartments in North Reston (northeast corner of Reston Parkway and Center Harbor Road) and build new medium or high-density residential on the site:

The Reston Planning & Zoning Committee (Reston P&Z), a local advisory group, will receive a presentation on the St. John’s Wood redevelopment proposal during its monthly meeting on Monday, April 20, 2015.  The Reston P&Z meeting (agenda not yet posted) begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the new North County Government Center, 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston VA.

The full Reston Association Design Review Board (Reston DRB) also will receive a presentation at its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2015.  The DRB meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Conference Center at Reston Association headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston VA.  According to the agenda, the presentation to the DRB is informational only; no decisions will be made.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on draft revised Comprehensive Plan text for Reston’s Phase 2 areas (all areas outside the transit corridor and Reston Town Center), including the St. John’s Wood site, at a meeting on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 beginning at 8:15 p.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax VA.  (Planning Commission meetings are televised on local Channel 16 and streamed live and on‑demand on the Planning Commission’s web site.)

Last summer, Bozzuto filed applications with Fairfax County government to replace the existing nine garden apartment buildings (250 units) with three new midrise buildings (625 units total) and 34 townhouses.  Occupancy would nearly triple on the site.

In December, Bozzuto made an informational presentation to a joint meeting of Reston P&Z, Reston DRB, and Reston Association senior leaders, where conceptual drawings of the St. John’s Wood project were shared.  At that meeting, the Bozzuto proposal was heavily criticized as too urban and totally inappropriate for a suburban area outside the corridor and village centers, and Bozzuto representatives suggested they might make changes.  Bozzuto’s changes, if any, have not yet been made public, and the meetings on Monday and Tuesday evenings (Reston P&Z and Reston DRB) will be the first opportunity for the public to learn the current status of Bozzuto’s proposal.

In addition, the current Reston Master Plan specifies high density for the St. John’s Wood site, but the county’s draft comprehensive plan text (to be considered by the Planning Commission on Wednesday) recommends medium or perhaps even low-density for the site.  (There are differing interpretations of the symbology on the county’s draft land use maps.)  The St. John’s Wood property owner did not submit a redevelopment proposal during the Reston Master Plan review process, but its counsel recently submitted a letter requesting the right to develop at higher density as permitted under the current Reston Master Plan or a site-specific exception for the property.  This letter likely will be discussed at Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, and may provide insights regarding the St. John’s Wood project’s prospects at the county level when the Bozzuto proposals are considered by the Planning Commission this summer.

Status information regarding the pending redevelopment applications is available on the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning site (under Tax Map Number, enter Grid 011, Quad 4, Double Circle 01, and Lot 0012).

Attached below are (a) the proffered redevelopment plan amendment for redeveloping St. Johns Woods and (b) some renderings on what the redeveloped site might look like.  

 

   St. Johns Woods Proferred Redevelopment Plan, October 2014

   Renderings of Proposed Redeveloped St. Johns Woods Site, December 2014