Lake Anne Land Swap: Explore Parking Options to Protect Trees

by Connie Hartke

 

The Reston Citizens Association has 7 founding principles.  The first and last apply to our thoughts about the Lane Anne Land Swap:

• Fostering man-made and natural beauty
• Being a financial success as a community

The Republic/Lake Anne Development Partners have an excellent plan for Lake Anne revitalization, and RCA very much supports revitalizing the village center.  The problem: underground sewer pipes and a stormwater culvert were discovered in the middle of the spot where Republic Land Development was going to put underground merchant parking.  They can still put some parking there, but are 120 spaces short.

The previous Reston Association CEO agreed in principle to the proposed land swap, which runs counter to the RA Board’s adopted policy “Environmental Considerations for Future Development and Redevelopment within Reston.” It is also contrary to Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan specific to this land.  From page 162 of Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, 2013 edition:

“Tree preservation and/or tree cover should be a key condition of redevelopment in this Land Unit, in accordance with guidance in the Environmental section of the Fairfax County Policy Plan. The existing tree canopy in this Land Unit should be preserved to the greatest extent possible.”

Kevin Munroe has given a very clear and detailed review of the value of the RA parcel in his article on Reston Patch.  He is well qualified, having previously worked 11 years for RA as an Environmental Resource Specialist plus 2 years with the Audubon Society of Northern VA as their Staff Naturalist and Program Coordinator, and the last 7 as the Manager of Huntley Meadows Park.  He suggests near the end of his article that “Parking lot designs can always be tweaked and re-oriented – if clearing a Reston Association natural area was taken off the table as an option, a creative solution would be found.”  We agree.

If this land swap proposal was brought to the table now under the current leadership of CEO Cate Fulkerson, we believe this would only be an option of last resort. Unfortunately it has moved beyond her control to a vote of the RA Board of Directors.  RCA urges the RA Board to defer the land swap proposal to allow time for alternative parking options to be fully explored.  Since RA and Republic are both working against a County-imposed deadline to start construction, we propose that the County’s deadline be extended to allow time for this exploration.

Cities across America are investing in planting projects trying to get what we already have on this RA parcel. If this stand of trees is leveled for a parking lot, which is so clearly counter to all that is Reston and the County Comprehensive Plan, then what precedent does this set for Reston redevelopment?

Reston Association and Fairfax County have an ethical obligation to exhaust all resources for alternative parking to save these trees.

RCA Approves Resolution on Proposed RA Land Swap at Lake Anne, November 11, 2013

Whereas, the revitalization of the Lake Anne Village Center should make it a model for renewal of the Reston Village Centers, and,

Whereas, the Reston Association (RA) and Lake Anne Development Partners (LADP) are proposing a land swap of a forested area of dedicated open space near the center of the redevelopment area in return for less desirable land on the periphery, and,

Whereas, preservation of the forested parcel would be consistent with Fairfax County's tree canopy goals and the Comprehensive Plan for this Land Unit, and,

Whereas, the RA land, with some enhancements, could serve as a wooded pocket park that would add visual, recreational and environmental benefits to the area, and,

Whereas, experts from both RA and LADP have said this land is of particular value and that the alternatives have not been fully considered, and,

Whereas, no environmental impact study has been performed on the subject parcels, and,

Whereas, other potentially feasible options for the needed parking exist, including additional rooftop parking and constructing the garage in part of the existing parking area of the Lake Anne of Reston, a Condominium Association (LARCA), and, 

Whereas, as Reston’s redevelopment proceeds, the current proposal will create a precedent for Reston’s natural areas that is contrary to the RA Board’s environmental policies adopted in 2010 and 2011,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The Reston Citizens Association strongly urges that RA defer the current land swap proposal, and requests that the County deadline for the commencement of construction be delayed until all alternatives for parking have been fully examined.

Approved by the Reston Citizens Association Board of Directors via email on November 11, 2013, by a vote of 8 to 1, with one abstention.

Redevelopers of Reston’s Lake Anne propose replacing trees with parking, residents divided, Tom Jackman, WaPo, November 12, 2013

Tom Jackman, Washington Post local reporter, has picked up on the dispute over clearing an acre of mature trees to put in a parking lot at Lake Anne in a new post on his blog.  Here's how he starts:

A small controversy has arisen in the big plan to redevelop the area around Reston’s Lake Anne Village Center, which includes the razing of the Crescent apartment complex and replacing it with 935 townhouses and apartments. The developers, Republic Land Development, want a 1.1-acre piece of land along North Shore Drive to create parking, since the new project will eliminate the current surface parking lot. That piece of land is full of mature trees and a number of nearby residents are protesting. . . .

On the northeast side of the Lake Anne Village Center is an unoccupied 1.1-acre piece of land along North Shore Drive (in bright red) that developers say they need to build parking for the center’s redevelopment. Residents say they would hate to see the trees there go. (Reston Association)

Click here for the rest of Jackman's post, including links to posts by Karen Goff in RestonNow and Kevin Munroe who posted a piece in Reston Patch.  

Clearing of RA Forested Parkland for Parking Lots, Kevin Munroe, Reston Patch, November 8, 2013

In the best written, most complete commentary yet on the proposed RA land swap at Lake Anne, Kevin Munroe, a knowledgeable long-time Reston resident, argues why the proposal is a very bad one for Reston.  Here is his summary:

In Summary, clearing forested RA parkland with mature oaks and hollies (trees that cannot be relocated, replaced or worked-around) in order to add parking spaces is unacceptable and unnecessary, so please let your Reston Association board members know that it cannot happen.

 Click here to read the full article.  It's excellent!

Residents of Reston’s Crescent apartments wary as redevelopment process starts, Washington Post, June 24, 2013

This is an excellent article by Tom Jackman on the many issues surrounding the redevelopment of Crescent Apartments, including issues of displacing hundreds of current families.

Marchers walk through Reston last month to call for the preservation of affordable housing at the Crescent apartments on North Shore Drive. The walk, titled “One Reston,” was organized by Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagemant, an organization of 45 faith communities in Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria. (Shamus Ian Fatzinger – Fairfax County Times)

When Fairfax County spent $49.5 million to buy the Crescent apartment complex near Lake Anne in Reston, in 2006, it was with the stated goal of preserving affordable housing in the county as real estate values continued their upward climb. So it came as a surprise to the residents when they learned that Fairfax was already looking to sell or lease the property for redevelopment, as part of a bigger plan to revitalize the Lake Anne area. The county’s plan is to replace the 181 apartments in the 50-year-old, three-story buildings with up to 935 apartments overlooking the lake and close to shopping and a new Metro station.

The current residents love the place, not only because their rents are low ($1,150 for a two-bedroom place) but because it’s near two elementary schools and many bus lines. “There are good people living here,” said Andres Paz, a dental assistant who’s lived in the Crescent for 8 1/2 years. “We are somebody. We are poor, but we are good people.”

Fairfax officials say they are determined to keep the low-income residents in the Crescent, even if they’re ultimately surrounded by more upscale types. “The county has made it clear,” County Board Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said, “we don’t want to lose [affordable housing]…People who are living at the Crescent will be able to live at the redeveloped Crescent.”  (NOTE:  She didn't say "we won't lose . . ." and she certainly didn't say "we will add . . ."

The county’s request for proposals for the property requires developers to replace all 181 of the current units with similarly affordable units, and make arrangements for relocation while the construction is underway. In addition, another 151 units are required to be affordable under the county’s “workforce dwelling unit” policy, which means 332 of the 935 units would have below-market rates, according to the county’s documents.

“I know some people may be uncertain that the preservation of affordable housing will occur,” Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) wrote in a letter to the residents last month, and reaffirmed in a conversation with me. But she noted that other Reston communities reserved for low-income residents have been maintained and rehabbed, and added, “Rest assured: when it comes to affordable housing in Reston, I stand up for residents in this community.”     (NOTE:  She stands up for them until the developer threatens to withdraw or, in this case, not submit a proposal.  We understand that two proposals are or have been on the table--but that was months ago and we have no information on details.) ...

 Click here for the rest of this article.  

  

Residents Irked at Lack of Lake Anne Plan, Reston Patch, October 2, 2012

County has few details to offer for redevelopment of Reston's historic village center at Monday meeting.

• By Karen Goff

Lake Anne residents have been here before. Many of them sat through the 2005 charrette to discuss Lake Anne's future. Lots of them took part in the 2009 plan adopted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors that featured goals for the revitalization of Reston's original village center.

They listened to consultants recommend in 2011 that Lake Anne become a dining destination and looked towards the future earlier this year when the county opened up a request for proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of Crescent Apartments.

So when representatives of the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization showed attendees of Monday's community meeting a timeline for Crescent redevelopment that stretched into 2016 and beyond, it was too much for some of them to take.

"I have been to 10 or 12 meetings," said Linda Fuller, owner of Lake Anne Florist and Wine Shop. "Why are we doing this again? Are we going to sit here at Lake Anne while Reston Station, Fairway, and Parc Reston are redeveloped? How does Lake Anne Village Center take advantage of Reston Station if we have nothing to offer? I have been on the plaza for 38 years. I am not gonna sit here again and listen to something I have heard before."

With that, Fuller left the room. She was soon joined by another neighbor.

"I am wondering why you called this meeting," the woman said. "We have told you 15 times what we want for Lake Anne. This is [expletive]." . . .

Click here for the rest of this article on Fairfax County's nearly decade-long continuing fiasco in planning the renewal of the Lake Anne area. 

MEETING: County Meeting on Crescent's Future Oct. 1, Reston Patch, September 17, 2012

What does the future hold for 16-acre apartment complex near Lake Anne Plaza?

By Karen Goff

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will host a community meeting Oct. 1 about proposals Fairfax County has received for future development at Crescent Apartments. . . .

Meeting time is 7 p.m. at Reston Community Center Lake Anne.

Crescent is a 1960s-era, 16-acre, 180-unit development across the street from Lake Anne Plaza.

The county guidelines to those submitting a proposal (to redevelop the apartments):

• Create a high quality development that complements the existing Lake Anne Community 
• Ensure diverse housing options exist in Lake Anne including workforce, senior and affordable housing 
• Enhance pedestrian, and bicycle connections throughout the Lake Anne area 
• Increase the viability of the Lake Anne Village Center by adding new residents

The redevelopment of the complex, which was acquired by the county in 2006 as part of an effort to add affordable housing units, is part of ongoing discussions for the redevelopment near Lake Anne. . . .

 Click here for the rest of this article. 

 

County Opens Proposal Process for Crescent Apartments, Reston Connection, February 15, 2012

Click on the title for access to this article and the rest of this week's Reston Connection.