Column: Accidental Master Planning, Part 2, John Lovaas, Reston Connection, May 26, 2010

Last time, we projected that the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force (with a moniker like that you know something’s wrong) is on a path to take Reston from 65,000 folks to upwards of 150,000 and to mega-urban commercial construction unless logic, vision and a sense of community soon join the profit and tax engines as equals in this process.

While the sharply limited mandate and piecemeal rather than comprehensive approach Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) dictated to the Task Force make the prospect of a favorable, livable community outcome doubtful, there are positive forces at work keeping hope alive. Principal among these are the several talented and caring people who somehow got onto the Task Force itself. Then, there is the Reston 2020 Committee, formed by the newly invigorated Reston Citizens Association (RCA), which is not only persistent, but has fine leadership and an unusually large group of committed residents fighting for the right to participate in shaping the future of their community. They also have created a dynamite, user-friendly blog, http://reston2020.blogspot.com, courtesy of Terry Maynard. To date, these citizen forces have successfully pressed the Chair to get ideas before the Task Force despite resistance from the developer clan.

But, the challenges to a community-friendly result are formidable. Take the example of the Town Center Subcommittee of the Task Force ably led by TC resident Robert Goudie. Their job would seem easiest of the three station subcommittees. But, flaws in the in-place Town Center grid — namely three 4-6 lane, east-west arteries cutting through it, frustrate pedestrian connectivity and effectively chop TC into three separate areas. Also, in north Town Center, besides developer pressure to keep density here at levels more appropriate nearer the rail station, the county is the problem — planning a giant new, fortress police station (and new Supervisor digs?), maintaining a foul fuel depot for county vehicles on prime land, and refusing to clean up a potentially beautiful, 5-acre Park Authority-owned plot on Fountain Drive.

And, the entirety of the corridor rail station areas is being looked at piecemeal with: ZERO planned park areas (according to RA and the Park Authority itself); no mention of basic public facilities like schools anywhere; and potential density including as many as 23,000 new residences. The lack of a vision for even the Phase I study area is ominous both for the study area and for study Phase 2. Imagine what it may look like when they finally add up all the pieces for Phase 1. Would you want to live there?

If the ugly scenario I am projecting is realized, will it be enough to get the attention of Task Force leadership and County staff? Will it be enough to get them to think vision and community, to listen to voices of the community which surround them on the Task Force and in Reston 2020, and to head in a new direction before visiting the Phase 1 disaster on all of Reston?


By John Lovaas
Reston Impact Producer/Host

Column: How Much Is Enough?, Jack Kenny, Reston Connection, May 18, 2010

Reviewing the recent actions of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at just one meeting brought to light an interesting statistic. If one totals up the proposals for residential development of Reston, it appears that Reston population will grow about 5 percent. Our 60,000 residents will become 63,000 soon if all of the proposals are approved. Five percent might not seem like much. We can all say a mere 3,000 more residents will be a drop on the bucket. Our infrastructure should easily be able to accommodate that population increase.

Hold on. Those are the actions coming out of just one meeting. How many more Board meetings are on the calendar and how many more proposals for additional high-rise residential units are waiting for approval action? It is not inconceivable that mere 5 percent could grow to 25 percent in a very short time. Now we start to talk real numbers. Can Reston's infrastructure support a 25 percent increase? . . .

For the rest of this column, click here.

Metrorail Impact Debated, Reston Connection, May 19, 2010

Learning from neighbors’ experiences.

By Emily Poe

Reston community members and leaders met Saturday, May 15 to discuss options and concerns for the new Reston Metrorail project, which is part of the larger Dulles Corridor Metro Project.

Chief among many community members’ interests in the new transit development plan is how local traffic patterns would be affected, especially in light of the planned Wiehle Metro station, which is set to open in 2013, with 2,000-plus spaces in a parking lot and station entrances on both sides of the Dulles Toll Road, according to the Dulles Metro website.

Click here for the rest of this article.

Interview with John T. Hazel: Dubious on Tysons plans, Washington Post, May 17, 2010

Developer and lawyer, Til Hazel talks with reporters over lunch at the Towers Club.

By Jonathan O'Connell
Monday, May 17, 2010

To Til Hazel, you are either "open for business" or you're an "anti" -- as in anti-growth, anti-prosperity. There isn't much in between. As a land-use attorney and later a developer in partnership with Milton Peterson, John Tilghman Hazel Jr., 80, has argued for pro-growth policies in Fairfax County for more than 50 years, leading its march from a spread of dairy farms to a home for more than 1 million residents and 570,000 jobs. Today, Hazel is dissatisfied enough with the region's elected officials that he and Robert E. Buchanan of Buchanan Partners recently launched a new organization, the 2030 Group, to push for policies to benefit long-term economic prosperity.

Capital Business recently interviewed Hazel. Following are excerpts:

You don't seem pleased with the local political leadership.

Well, when you put it all together, what concerns me, 50 years later, we're sort of at a tipping point. We're seeing all these projections. Steve Fuller, in that article ["A place to lay their slippers ... (x 694,000), Capital Business, May 10], is talking about the possibility of 1,600,000 jobs, but to do that you need places for people to live. The political world is totally without leadership, at all levels. . . .

Click here for the rest of this article.

Lerner Enterprises sues Fairfax County over north Reston Town Center density, Washington Business Journal, May 14, 2010

UPDATE: The full text of this article is now available here.

UPDATE #2: ...and here is Restonian's take on the Lerner lawsuit, including mourning the loss of the Macaroni Grill.

by Sarah Krouse

A Lerner Enterprises Inc. affiliate is suing Fairfax County over the way the county allots density in the area just north of Reston Town Center.

The entity, Reston Spectrum LLP, filed suit in March in Fairfax County Circuit Court, arguing that it should be able to develop its site to the specifications the county approved in a 2006 conceptual plan.

The Lerner site sits between Route 602 and Fountain Drive and includes retailers such as Harris Teeter, Best Buy and Elizabeth Arden. Lerner wants to transform the 24-acre stretch into as many as 562 residential units and up to 406,000 square feet of retail or office use.

It secured county approval of a finalized conceptual site plan in 2008 using extra density from the neighboring Reston Regional Library, which was deemed a park in 1992, allowing it to transfer density to nearby developers.

Regrettably, the rest of this article is for "paid subscribers only."

Fairfax County outlines tax options for Tysons Corner road projects, Washington Post, May 8, 2010

By Kafia A. Hosh
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 8, 2010

A mix of financing options, including tax increases, are needed to pay for road upgrades as Tysons Corner transforms into a city, according to a Fairfax County report.

Although the future of Tysons is transit-oriented via Metro's Silver Line, county transportation officials say road improvements are essential to increasing mobility within the congested business district.

The report, released Thursday, says Tysons needs an estimated $646 million in transportation improvements to accommodate growth over the next 20 years. To pay for those upgrades, county officials have outlined a financing plan that calls for the public to fund 67.5 percent of the cost, and the private sector 32.5 percent....

Click here for the rest of the article.

Approval Recommended for Comstock Development, Reston Connection, May 5, 2010

Planning commissioner cites cooperation by developer.

By Mike DiCicco
Wednesday, May 05, 2010

At its meeting last Thursday, April 29, the county Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the development proposed by Comstock Partners next to the future Wiehle Avenue Metro Station.

Before recommending approval, Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner Frank de la Fe noted that the commission had received numerous public comments on the development proposal and that, as of the March 25 public hearing, county staff had recommended denying the application. At that time, he said, staff still had three major issues with the application — a failure to address environmentally friendly building standards, lack of an adequate plan to cut down on vehicle trips and unrestricted vehicular access to the plaza at the heart of the proposed development.

Since then, Comstock had continued to work with the county, and staff now recommended approval, de la Fe said.

However, he said that, although the issues of "green" building and traffic management had been resolved, "The issue of vehicular access to the plaza remains problematic." . . . .

Click here for the rest of the story.

Fairfax officials roll out tax options to pay for Tysons, Washington Examiner, May 7, 2010

Brian Hughes
Examiner Staff Writer

Fairfax County officials Thursday announced a mix of public and private funding options -- many of which involve raising taxes -- to pay for the road network for a redesigned Tysons Corner.

Planners had called it perhaps the most daunting in a series of hurdles that must be cleared before supervisors can sign off on plans next month.

Options include using an extra penny from property taxes, establishing a 4 percent meals tax or designating special tax districts. Officials say they also could turn to general obligation bonds, a commercial transportation tax or tax-increment financing to drum up cash. . . .

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Fairfax-officials-roll-out-tax-options-to-pay-for-Tysons-93028664.html#ixzz0nGUhRSAE

Reston's Wiehle Ave. development plan poised for approval, Fairfax Times, May 4, 2010

After monthlong delay, planners give public-private partnership green light
by Kali Schumitz | Staff Writer


A proposed office and residential complex at the Wiehle Avenue Metro station in Reston received the green light from county planners April 27.

Under a public-private partnership deal with Fairfax County, developer Comstock Partners proposed building a parking garage and bus facilities for the new Wiehle station as well as a seven-building office and residential complex.

County planning staff had some concerns with Comstock's designs, particularly regarding vehicle access to the complex's main plaza . . .

. . . The builder made adjustments to the planned use of the plaza and strengthened the plan language regarding environmentally friendly building design and encouraging transit use.

The Planning Commission subsequently recommended approval of the application, which the Board of Supervisors could take up later this month....

Click here for the rest of this story.

News: Connector Bus Service Preserved, Reston Connection, April 28, 2010

County dips into General Fund to cover loss of toll revenue for buses.

By Mike DiCicco
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A month ago, it looked like seven Connector bus routes in the area were going to be replaced by a single route that would run between the Reston East Park and Ride and the West Falls Church Metro Station. However, the Board of Supervisors has decided to dip into the county’s General Fund to preserve bus service throughout the county, although some spare buses will not receive funding....

Click here for the rest of this article.

Reston Looks at Town Center Metro Station, The Observer, April 22, 2010

Written by Leslie Perales • Observer Editor Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:46

Area residents took a closer look at land use around Reston Town Center and the future Metro station that will be constructed there on Saturday.

The Reston Master Plan Special Study community meeting allowed residents to get to know what the current county plans allow in the area and discuss what they would prefer to see once landowners begin redevelopment.

Fairfax County senior planner Heidi Merkel said the station will be a destination station, where people will go to spend time, rather than a collector station where people will park to ride the Metro to other areas. The station will include bus loops and kiss-and-rides on each side, but no parking garages will be built. . . .

For the rest of this article, click here.

Dulles Rail Project Hits Snag Over Cost of Rail Cars, WaPo, April 21, 2010

By Lisa Rein.,
Washington Post Staff Writer

Officials building a subway line to Dulles International Airport say Metro is overcharging them for new rail cars, a budget-busting cost they predict could delay the opening of the extension and force higher fees for Dulles Toll Road commuters.

Unless Metro agrees to eliminate a $75 million markup on 64 rail cars it is preparing to buy for the new Silver Line, the regional airports authority won't agree to the deal, officials said. . . .

For the rest of this article, click here.

News: Traffic Main Concern for Future Wiehle Station, Reston Observer, March 25, 2010

Written by Leslie Perales • Observer Editor Thursday, 25 March 2010 14:10

More than 75 people attended the last community workshop for the Reston Master Plan Special Study, which focused on land surrounding the future Wiehle Metro station.

Prior to the meeting members of Save OUR Buses, a group working to petition the county to keep a number of area buses slated for cuts, handed out flyers and collected signatures outside.

The workshop began with an overview of the area. Fairfax County Senior Planner Heidi Merkel said the county wants to ensure that existing neighborhoods close to the future Wiehle Metro station are preserved.

Merkel said the county’s vision for the area includes high-density use on the north side of the Dulles Toll Road and medium density on the south side of the DTR to help protect close neighborhoods. . . .

For the rest of this article on the Wiehle Station community meeting, click here.

News: Tysons panel to weigh density maximums, 40-year span for planning, Washington Post, March 19, 2010

By Kafia A. Hosh
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2010

Fairfax County officials will consider a proposal that removes density maximums but limits development and slashes the planning horizon in the county's draft blueprint to remake Tysons Corner.

The proposal suggested by Planning Commissioner Walter L. Alcorn is a significant departure from the blueprint, which lays out a 40-year plan and recommends densities for buildings based on their distances from future Metro stations. . . .

For the rest of this important article, click here.

News: Reston Buses Grind to Halt? Reston Connection, March 17, 2010

Meanwhile, toll money to be spent in Loudoun.

By Mike DiCicco
Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The possible loss of seven Fairfax Connector bus routes in the Reston area drew attention after County Executive Tony Griffin released a proposed budget in late February under which the routes would be eliminated, but a debate over funding for bus service in the Dulles Corridor has been ongoing between the county, the state and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) since the summer of 2008.

That was when the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) alerted Fairfax County that a grant that helped fund the bus routes would be terminated at the end of this fiscal year.

Click here for the rest of the article.

News: Community Meeting on Wiehle Avenue Station, Reston Connection, March 17, 2010

On Saturday, March 20, at 9 a.m. Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D- Hunter Mill) and the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) will host a community meeting to provide the community an opportunity to generate ideas for the Wiehle Avenue Transit station. The meeting takes place at Langston Hughes Middle School, Cafeteria, 11401 Ridge Heights Road, Reston.

DPZ will also be reporting on the results for the Brainstorming Activity for the Herndon/Monroe station area.

Hudgins encourages all Reston residents to come out and participate in the planning process for the Wiehle station. “The whole community should be involved in the process,” Hudgins said. “We all want to retain Reston’s existing natural beauty, vibrancy and sense of community. Working together, I know we can do that.”

Questions regarding the meeting may be forwarded to Heidi Merkel of Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-324-1380.

News: McLean Citizens Talk Tysons Corner, Vienna Connection, March 10, 2010

MCA makes redevelopment of commercial center into mini-city focus of winter meeting.

By Mike DiCicco
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Edwin Kuhn said he and his neighbors in the Evermay community were concerned with the additional traffic on Dolley Madison Boulevard that they expected to result from proposals to redevelop Tysons Corner. "We’re totally dependent on [Route] 123 to get anywhere," he said at the McLean Citizens Association’s winter membership meeting, on Tuesday, March 2, where the topic of the night was planning for Tysons Corner. Kuhn said traffic on the road near his neighborhood had already increased by 30 percent in the last eight years, and three intersections along the route were predicted to have failing levels of service by 2030, according to county staff projections and recommendations for higher densities at Tysons Corner.

Traffic and transportation infrastructure have been the concerns most often brought up by neighbors of Tysons Corner as talks about its redevelopment with the advent of the Metro Silver Line have unfolded over the last several years. . . .

For the rest of this article, click here.

News: RA Discusses Importance of Wiehle Metro Station Design, Reston Observer, March 11, 2010

Written by Leslie Perales • Observer Editor Thursday, 11 March 2010 18:33

Reston Association's board of directors held a special meeting on Monday to discuss a letter regarding the future site of the Wiehle Metro Station that is to be sent to the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Comstock Partners was chosen to construct a parking garage for the station and has plans to develop the property above and surrounding the parking garage near the intersection of Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills Road. The site will include up to six multi-story buildings, including more than 1 million square feet of office, retail, hotel and residential space. The county is requiring Comstock to build a 2,300-space parking garage by 2013, in time for the Metro to open at the site.

The draft letter, created by RA's transportation advisory committee, includes a list of concerns and considerations they would like both the county and developer to keep in mind. . . .

Here is the rest of this article.

News: Dulles Rail project on track, Wolf says, WTOP, March 8, 2010

WASHINGTON - Despite wrangling over funding that put the brakes on the Dulles Rail Project for years, one Virginia congressman says the project is now moving ahead at a good pace.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., says the first phase of the Silver Line, running from East Falls Church to Reston, is set to open by 2013.

"The next section, they're doing the planning and engineering, and that will take you out to Dulles (International Airport) and several miles beyond," Wolf says.

Click here for the rest of the story.

News: Fairfax plans Metro development around wetlands, Washington Examiner, March 8, 2010

By: Brian Hughes
Examiner Staff Writer
March 8, 2010

A wetlands area near the expected Herndon-Monroe Metro station is complicating plans for an urban, walkable community around the transit center.

The Sunrise Valley Wetlands are nestled within a quarter-mile of the planned station, with a pocket of single-family homes -- both of which area leaders and residents say should remain.

But those wetlands could diminish visions of high-density development near the station, the blueprint for planned Metro stations on the Metrorail extension to Washington Dulles International Airport. . . .

Click here to read more at the Washington Examiner.