RISE UP, RESTON!

RA calls for Restonians to attend January 23rd Planning Commission meeting on Reston PRC zoning ordinance amendment

Rise up, Reston! Stop the Reston PRC density increase!

All Restonians who wish to preserve Reston as a well-planned and executed planned community must rise up now and express their disgust with the county’s proposal to increase the allowable density, potentially tripling “ONE Reston’s” population. 

On January 23, the county Planning Commission will be considering an amendment to Reston’s Planned Residential Community (PRC) zoning category to increase the allowable density from 13 to 15 persons per acre.  The zoning ordinance covers Reston’s suburban areas, including the village centers and most of Reston Town Center.  While that increase sounds relatively modest, it does NOT consider:

• At present, the Reston PRC’s density is about 18,000 people (more than 20%) below its allowable capacity of more than 81,000 people.  Reston’s growth over its lifetime, virtually all in the PRC area to date, has averaged less than 1,000 people per year.
• Up to a 20 percent “bonus” to developers for building affordable (low- and middle-income) housing that is not counted per the PRC zoning ordinance, adding capacity for another 7,400 people to live in the PRC area.
• Existing plans and zoning authority to build 40,000 new high-rise, multi-family housing units (84,000 added people) in Reston’s three transit station areas (TSAs) beyond the PRC boundaries, but affecting everyone in Reston and beyond.

All in all, these changes would allow an increase Reston’s population from about 63,000 to about 190,000 people in ONE Reston.   

At the same time, the county has not funded plans to meet Reston’s transportation, school, park, and other needs associated with this growth, even as required by its own county policies.  In fact, the Fairfax schools just rejected funding again for a new high school to meet the growing needs along the Dulles Corridor.  Yet that hasn’t stopped the county from placing another tax on Reston homeowners in the transit station areas for the “grid of streets” that only helps developers complete their projects more profitably.   

The result of this massive unplanned imbalance between growth and infrastructure will be a dramatic loss of quality of life in Reston for everyone, new or longtime resident.

In the process of moving forward, the county and our supervisor have reneged on their explicit commitment to the community to follow through with community-county staff meetings to address the surrounding the proposed Reston density increase before proceeding with legislative steps.  Their disrespect for Reston and Restonians is profound.  They see Reston as a plantation that they own and will oversee as they wish with no regard for its residents or their needs.

The Coalition for a Planned Reston (CPR) has detailed a list of ten reasons to keep the Reston PRC density cap at 13 persons per acre that includes the above and other reasons NOT to increase the density cap.  

While CPR and RA are planning to testify at the Planning Commission hearing, individual Restonians must rise up to stop this authoritarian county behavior.  Attend the Planning Commission hearing at 7PM, January 23, in the government center auditorium.  Wear your YELLOW shirt. 

Bear witness, speak out, and demand that the county meet the community’s needs as well as its own politically-driven agenda.  This may be your last chance to preserve the planned Reston we have known for more than a half century while allowing for reasonable future growth.  We need to fill the Fairfax County Government Center auditorium (12000 Government Center Parkway) with hundreds of YELLOW-shirted Restonians to have a chance to stop the county’s effort to ram this amendment through. 

RA comment on proposed Reston PRC zoning amendment and upcoming schedule

CPR calls for suspending PRC zoning ordinance amendment process

Coalition for a Planned Reston

A voluntary group of residents from the Reston Citizens Association,

Reclaim Reston, and Reston 20/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 19, 2018

Coalition for a Planned Reston (CPR) calls for suspension of Fairfax County’s schedule to amend zoning to authorize increased density in the Reston Planned Residential Community (PRC). CPR rejects as “form over substance” the County’s belated response to community questions after moving forward with formal approval by the Board of Supervisors.

In a letter to County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, CPR acknowledged receipt of a portion of the long-delayed information promised by County staff in community meetings in June and July, 2018. However, CPR advised Supervisor Hudgins that “the County’s belated information ‘dump’ provides little responsive information despite its volume, some of which is not relevant or is outdated or inaccurate.” Further, the letter points out that the County’s December 11 submission appears to have been provided only “in a face-saving effort” in light of concerns expressed by the Board of Supervisors when the zoning amendment was discussed in their December 4, 2018 meeting. The CPR letter states, “In short, the timing, substance and motivation for the County’s long-delayed responses to CPR and Reston Association appear to be form over substance.”

CPR asked Supervisor Hudgins to request that the Reston PRC zoning amendment be withdrawn from the Board of Supervisors’ calendar, and “to re-engage in the process for meaningful dialogue with the community, to which you previously committed.”

Currently the PRC zoning amendment is scheduled for a Fairfax County Zoning Commission workshop on January 10, 2018, but no community input will be permitted. A Planning Commission Public Hearing is on the calendar for January 23, 2019 at 7:00pm. A large public turnout is planned for that Public Hearing and, if necessary, a Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on or about March 5, 2018.

  

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Letter to Supervisor Cathy Hudgins

CPR Letter to Supervisor Hu... by on Scribd

Take Action NOW to Stop Density Increase!

Supervisor Hudgins IGNORES Requests to Complete Community Engagement on Reston Zoning Density Increase
 

Speak Up! Let ALL Fairfax County Supervisors Know That You Oppose the Zoning Ordinance Amendment 

The zoning approval process to raise density from 13 to 15 persons per acre in the Reston Planned Residential Community (PRC) District is continuing. The proposed zoning amendment will be presented to the County Board of Supervisors on December 4, 2018 as the initial step for approval early in 2019.
 
Both CPR and Reston Association have asked Supervisor Hudgins to complete community engagement, including providing information and responses to items raised in small group meetings.  

The County has not completed its submissions, leaving some 23 open issues. 

You can make a difference! PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
Write to all the County Supervisors and tell them:

• Increased density in Reston without needed infrastructure is wrong.
• The community deserves information and dialogue promised by County officials before a zoning amendment increasing density moves forward.
• Please vote against advertising the Zoning Ordinance Amendment before the completion of the exchange of information with our community.

Fairfax County Supervisors Contact Information:
chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov
braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov
dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov
hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov
leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov
mason@fairfaxcounty.gov
mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov
provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov
springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov
sully@fairfaxcounty.gov

More information is available on the CPR website:  https://plannedreston.wordpress.com/

Coalition for a Planned Reston Objections to PRC Zoning Ordinance Plans

From:  Coalition for a Planned Reston 

To:huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov

Cc:chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov,mason@fairfaxcounty.gov,braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov,dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov,leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov,mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov,provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov,springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov,sully@fairfaxcounty.gov,clerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov,achamp@reston.org,lbutler@reston.org,fred.selden@fairfaxcounty.gov,leslie.johnson@fairfaxcounty.gov,robert.stalzer@fairfaxcounty.gov,catherine.belgin@fairfaxcounty.gov,JohnCarter@fairfaxcounty.gov,Barbara.Byron@fairfaxcounty.gov,Tom.Biesiadny@fairfaxcounty.gov,Gregg.Steverson@fairfaxcounty.gov,David.Bowden@fairfaxcounty.gov,suzianne.battista@fairfaxcounty.gov,kevin.sneed@fcps.edu,BoardOfDirectors@reston.org

 

Nov 29 at 6:40 PM

Dear Supervisor Hudgins:

The Coalition for a Planned Reston (CPR) is deeply concerned and dismayed by the announcement that you have requested County staff to move forward with the proposed PRC Zoning Ordinance Amendment.  For the reasons explained below, we strongly urge you to withdraw your request immediately and to complete the community dialogue to which you committed.

This past summer your staff, County officials and representatives from the Reston Association (RA) and CPR met in four working groups to examine significant issues arising from the Revised Reston Master Plan, which, according to County officials, triggered the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment. In the course of those meetings, County officials and the community representatives agreed that additional data was needed in a number of key areas before further face-to-face discussions should be held and conclusions could be reached.  There was universal agreement, well documented in the videos of the small group meetings and follow-up communications by CPR and RA, that each side would research and produce the requested information before any further action to move forward with the Zoning Ordinance Amendment.  The RA/CPR team quickly provided all that was requested of them.  Sadly, the County side has not.  

Please refer to the list of twenty-three (23) specific areas where we have been waiting for responses from County officials (attached).  We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our County employees and understand how heavy workloads and competing responsibilities can sometimes delay progress in specific areas.  However, this cannot justify failing to conduct the needed research and consultations to which you and the County have committed. In light of this, it is premature and inappropriate to move forward as you have requested.  

Over the past three months we have repeatedly stated our readiness to meet in the working groups again when the County has completed its work.   We continue to stand ready to do that.   If there is a need or desire to move forward quickly on the part of the County, perhaps developing the required information can be given a higher priority by County officials.   

Madame Supervisor, the issues before us are too important to be pushed forward without completing the community engagement that is the hallmark of the Reston community.  Your constituents urge you, in the spirit of transparent and responsive government, to withdraw your request until the collaborative review has been completed. 

Sincerely,

Coalition for a Planned Reston

Specific Areas Awaiting Responses from Fairfax County Officials

The follow are specific areas for which CPR is waiting for the County to provide information or analysis.   This listing does not include a number of more general discussion points, which are important in their own right, but not listed here. 

1.  Provide status of County plans to finally build an indoor athletic center in Reston (Hunter Mill is the only district without one.  Other districts have had athletic centers for decades.

2.  Provide status on exactly where the additional outdoor athletic fields required in the Master Plan will be located.

3.  Remove from planning documentation and maps the unauthorized and unneeded "Road from Nowhere" that would mar and deface Reston's open space. 

4.  Share information on the safety, cost, and benefit of "turfing" and lighting fields.  In an interim response on this topic the County speaks of "upgrading Reston Association properties" to partially meet the County's requirements.  However, no proposal to or discussion with RA has taken place.  

5.  Provide information on the status of the "Commission to Assess Reston's Athletic Fields."   We are unaware of the existence of any such commission. 

6.  Provide an update on the County's plans for Reston Town Center North, including the required 10 acres of open space.  

7.  Schedule the County's own proposal to bring "all parties" together to work on land management issues.   

8. Clarify specifically which areas of “One Reston” (i.e., including PRC, TSAs and Town Center) are considered "urban" for planning purposes, as the designation impacts the level of services provided. 

9.  Explain the frequent exemptions given to developers when their proposals are not in conformance with the Master Plan.  This includes numerous cases where the County's own Planning and Zoning staff have found proposals to be deficient. 

10. Schedule the agreed upon meeting between County staff and the community to determine the geographic and demographic inputs to be used to determine the population of One Reston for the purpose of re-establishing a population limit for Reston as a whole.   

11.  Explain the dichotomy between the County's density proposals in the Village Centers and the Master Plan's call for any new development to be at an appropriate scale for the neighborhood under consideration. 

12.  Provide a statement on the County's plans to conform to Virginia law and review the Reston Master Plan Phase I in early 2019 and Phase II in 2020.

13.  Address the need for follow-on discussions concerning storm water management, police and fire coverage and related social services topics.

14. Submit written confirmation of the Population-based Countywide Service Level Standard for golf:  with a projected Reston population of over 115,200, Reston requires two 18-hole golf courses. (Please see page 22, 2017 Edition of the Policy Plan - Parks and Recreation.)

15. Provide a status update on changes to the proffer formula for private development and suggestions on how RA, CPR and the broader community can support County efforts.

16.  Provide data on the expected number of additional students entering the school system using current methodology.  Provide data on past reliability of this methodology.

17.  Report on student utilization of the Connector Bus since the adoption of student passes.

18. Resolve discrepancies between language regarding school capacity provided in the Comprehensive Plan and actual County practice.

19.  Develop a comprehensive Transportation Implementation and Monitoring Plan - to include all projects identified in the Reston Network Analysis (RNA) with their estimated prioritization, timeline, projected costs and funding sources.

20. Provide a chart and map of planned intersection improvements.

21. Provide a model of projected traffic impact of any increased density in the “One Reston” region on the non-TSA areas of Reston (like the PRC).

22. Institute the universal adoption of data that includes residents of Affordable Dwelling Units (ADU) and Work Force Housing (WFH) in all computations of population and density.    

23. Provide periodic updates and information on the provision of needed infrastructure along with development as is done in Tysons.