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Showing posts with label Sustainable Reston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sustainable Reston. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Letter: What We Can Learn From The Lake Anne Land Swap, Diane Blust, RestonNow, November 26, 2013

Diane Blust, who last week resigned from RA's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) in the wake of the RA Board land swap decision, is a longtime Reston resident who is extremely knowledgeable about sustainability issues and has been deeply committed to helping Reston protect its environment.  In this letter, she explains what happened and how the proposed swap might have been handled more effectively.  Here is how she begins:
Diane Blust/File photoAs some of you know, I took the extraordinary step of resigning last week from Reston Association’s Environmental Advisory Committee and as the Chair of RA’s Sustainability Working Group, which was established just last spring by the RA Board to design a sustainability road map for RA.
It would be easy to say I stepped down because of a few trees.  But, that would be a gross oversimplification.  The RA Board decision to swap an acre of mature upland forest for land that serves in part as a drainage ditch for Baron Cameron came at the end of a long process marked by a lack of transparency and bad management.  Changes must be made if Reston is to develop and redevelop in a truly sustainable manner, one that meets “the community’s present needs while preserving Reston’s essential character and ensuring the ability of future generations to meet their needs” — the RA Board’s own definition of sustainability.
The management of the land swap process was flawed, largely due to a lack of transparency. . . .
For the rest of Diane's letter, please click here.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Talking About a Sustainable Reston, Reston Patch, October 24, 2011

Forum kicks off initiative to make changes for a better future.
by Karen Goff
Ideally, the Reston of the next 50 years will have fewer cars, more bikes, greener homes and more people buying local.
Those were some of the topics discussed on Saturday at Sustainable Reston's "Looking Back, Moving Forward," conference at Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods.
The event was the kickoff of a three-year initiative by Sustainable Reston. . . .
 The Champions Panel explains how small changes can have 
a big impact.

 Click here for the rest of this article, including overviews of key points from keynote speaker Michael Shuman's speech on buying local, comments by the Sustainability Champions Panel, and this year's Reston Sustainability Award winners.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sustainable Reston Organizing Online Petition Against Fairway Redevelopment, Reston Patch, August 15, 2011

Group details reasons why plan is not good for the community, and urges community to sign.

By Karen Goff  Email the author

How do you feel about the proposed redevelopment at Reston's Fairway Apartments?
Sustainable Reston, a project of the Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth, is against the JBG Companies' plan, which, after two years of trying, was recommended for approval by the Fairfax County Planning Commission last month.

The plan, for several five-story buildings, underground parking and 131 townhouses, still has to go to before the county Board of Supervisors and then back to the Reston Association's Design Review Board.

Sustainable Reston wants citizens to sign a petition detailing why this is a bad idea and how JBG should rethink and redesign. Among the reasons: increasing housing units by 230 percent, reducing affordable housing, increasing pollution and creating tangled traffic.

"The proposed development is a knife in the back of true Transit Oriented Development, . . .
 Click here for the rest of this article...and then SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP FAIRWAY APARTMENTS REDEVELOPMENT!

Sustainable Reston's initiative follows and closely parallels the unanimous resolution of the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) Board of Directors opposing the approval of the Fairway apartments re-development. 

Friday, May 28, 2010

Announcement: 2010 RCA Sustainable Reston Awards Program

We are happy to announce the opening of the Second Annual Reston Sustainability Awards, in which we will present four awards to two individuals and two organizations, that our judges feel exemplify the principle of Sustainable Development: “activities that meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of generations to come.”

Nominees must reside or be headquartered in Reston. If you know of a deserving candidate (including yourself or your own organization) please read the attached details and fill out and submit the nomination form.

If you have any questions, please contact us at sr.info@restoncitizensassociation.org.

2010 Reston Sustainability Awards Program

RCA Reston Sustainability Awards Nomination Form