Statement of Terry
Maynard, Reston 20/20 Committee re
Proposed FCPS
Addition to South Lakes High School
Fairfax County Board
of Supervisors
October 20, 2015
Good evening
Chairman Bulova and members of the Board.
I am Terry Maynard, 2217 Wakerobin Lane, Reston, Virginia, and I am here
representing the Reston 20/20 Committee, a committee of community volunteers
that strives to protect the vision and planning principles laid out for Reston
by the late Bob Simon and encapsulated in the Comprehensive Plan.
I am here
this evening to speak specifically about the proposed addition to South Lakes
High School, a school just one block from my home. There
is absolutely no doubt that the classroom space that the School Board seeks is
needed. What is not needed, however, is
the added destruction of neighboring private properties from the increased stormwater
runoff the project will create, and ultimately the added pollution of the
Chesapeake Bay.
As noted in
the staff report accompanying the School Board’s proposal, FCPS has sought and
received a waiver grandfathering its use of old and inadequate stormwater
management standards, not the tougher standards you legislated last year. The result will be additional stormwater
runoff into the swale on the east side of South Lakes High School that drains
from FCPS property under South Lakes Drive and into a stream between the
residential areas downstream, specifically Cedar Cove cluster and Wakerobin
Lane. (See attached overview image.)
The
experience of both downstream neighborhoods has been that each addition to the
high school, including parking lots, has added to the stormwater flows from the
east side of the high school property, especially during storms. The stream from South Lakes High School’s
property has turned a once smooth ravine floor with lush plant life into a 3-6 foot
deep, 6-10 foot wide gash that floods out of its banks with each major storm along
its 1,000 foot length and 30’ foot drop.
While FCPS
cites costs as the driver of its decision to stick with the old, ineffective
stormwater management techniques and standards, there are dollar costs for the
County, RA, and homeowners for FCPS not doing what it can to prevent damage. Specifically:
- DPWES has already spent tens of thousands of
dollars preventing and repairing leaks in its sewer line that runs the length
of the creek. It has deposited rip-rap
three times in different places along the creek over the years, including
backfilling a 12’ deep, 300’ long washout at the outlet of the stream that
exposed two sewer lines. DPWES also had
to make emergency repairs this July when its sewer line ruptured, resulting in
at least 100 gallons of raw sewage spilling into the stream and lake. Now, DPWES is assessing the stream for a
complete stormwater remediation project at a cost we can only guess will exceed
a million dollars if it is approved.
- Reston Association is planning to clear scores
of mature trees on its property in the ravine to prevent future sewer line
breakages from fallen trees, a cost that will reach into the tens of thousands
of dollars. And it has cleared many such
trees in the past.
- Homeowners have paid to double-wrap their
laterals in an effort to reduce the risk that one of them may break at a cost
of a couple of thousand dollars each. One
Wakerobin resident had to remove a gazebo on her property that had been
undermined by the expanding stream bed. RA
is also planning to require that homeowners remove their trees that may fall
into the creek at a likely cost exceeding one to several thousand dollars per
household depending on how many trees are removed.
All
these costs stem from the stormwater flows coming from South Lakes High School
property.
And all of
this may blow back on the County. An
attorney has pointed out to Reston 20/20 that, by discharging additional
stormwater onto downstream private property without permission, FCPS may have
committed trespass and may be responsible for the damages it has caused and
will cause by the discharge of additional stormwater from the proposed project. The trespass could result in a suit by RA or
individual homeowners for injunctive relief, damages, and the requirement to
undertake the required restoration caused by its unauthorized actions. He added that the inadequacy of the FCPS plans
for the school addition could also compromise the integrity of any related County
bonding action.
That said, Reston 20/20 strongly recommends
that the Board of Supervisors defer a decision on the South Lakes High School
addition proposal until the County Attorney has provided a legal opinion that
the FCPS proposal to implement a minimal stormwater management program does not
create an unnecessary legal or financial risk for the County. In the meantime, we believe the Board should
also press FCPS to be a responsible Reston community partner and environmental
steward in addressing the problem it created, consistent with its own Student
Achievement Goal #3 (
“Demonstrate
Responsibility to the Community and the World”)
and Reston’s Planning Principle #2 (“Planning will provide for environmental
sustainability and green technology.
Natural resources and ecosystems, including natural areas, will be
protected and restored. . . .”)
With a
true “best practices” stormwater management plan for its proposed addition, FCPS
can reduce any legal threat and demonstrate its commitment to the Reston
community.
