I was recently interviewed by Rebecca Blacksmith on her Leaders Portfolio radio talk show. The show will air live at 11am Feb 3rd on Washington DC’s business talk Radio 1260AM WWRC and is currently available online! Take a listen and let me know what you think!
I have posted an extended description and commentary on Tuesday night’s meeting on the Reston 2020 blog. If you are interested in reading it, you can find it here.
I am writing this morning to request that you take time to attend and participate in this evening’s critical Community Workshop of the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force. The meeting is at Langston Hughes Intermediate School at 7 PM.
The purpose of this evening’s meeting is to generate and prioritize ideas for planning principles that will guide the task force’s planning process. The agenda includes presentation of the county’s draft strawman planning principles, as well as the presentation of alternative planning principles by local groups. This will be followed by a period in which some sense of prioritization of the principles will be generated.
This meeting is the first substantive step in the task force effort and it must reflect the views of the diverse Reston community. If you have an interest, idea, or concern about Reston’s future, including density, transportation, parks & recreation, business development, environment, diversity, or any of a number of other matters, this is the best opportunity you will have to make a case. Moreover, if the process of identifying planning principles is not done well, it could start the task force Reston development and redevelopment off on the wrong path for decades to come.
More important than any particular direction the task force takes, it is imperative that the task force see and understand that Restonians care about the future of the community. Only a large number of people willing to take the time to participate in a community workshop like this will show that Restonians care. If few people participate, the task force may discern that Restonians do not care and they will set off on a course of their own choosing.
Here are some key links to documents for this evening’s session:
1. The agenda
2. The county draft strawman planning principles
3. The Reston 2020 Committee proposed planning principles
4. The ARCH draft proposed planning principles
5. The Rando-Kaplan proposed planning principles
6. Other background material handouts for the meeting, including the Tysons Corner planning principles, the Comprehensive Plan Suburban Areawide Recommendations, and the Lake Anne Areawide Plan.
Please come to this evening’s community workshop. Please participate in the task force’s planning process. And please share this information with your family and friends. This is your first best chance to help shape Reston’s future.
I look forward to seeing you there this evening.
Terry Maynard
Reston, VA
Live
Community News
- Call for Candidates: Reston Association Board of Directors Election
- Stream Restoration Meeting –Colvin Run
- Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force –Community Meeting
- Freezin’ for a Reason – Take the Polar Dip
Work
- Special events assistant opening
- Camps openings
- Aquatics job openings
Play
- Camp Registration
- Early February Bird Walk
- Organic Gardening Workshop
- Ice Skating at the Pavilion
Live
Call for Candidates
Reston Association is seeking candidates to fill three open positions on the Board of Directors this spring. These positions are one at-large director, the North Point District director and the Lake Anne/Tall Oaks director. Directors determine the Association’s goals and policies, making a significant and lasting contribution to the community. For additional information log on to Reston Association’s Web site, www.reston.org or call 703-435-6512.
Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force Meetings
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2009
7 p.m.
Langston Hughes Middle School cafeteria
Community meeting on the guiding planning principles for Reston.
The special task force appointed by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will meet the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month to develop a set of recommendations on amendments to the Reston Master Plan. These recommendations will be presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors later in the year. Meetings are open to the public.
Stream Restoration Meeting – Colvin Run Community Outreach
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
9 a.m. – Noon
Forest Edge Elementary School
1501 Becontree Lane, Reston, VA 20190
If you live East of Reston Parkway and north of the Dulles Toll Road, you are invited to hear about Reston’s Stream Restoration Project in the Colvin Run watershed. Preliminary designs are underway for the Uplands – Tall Oaks area. Learn about the history and purpose of the restoration project and the plans for this segment. For more information, contact Nicki Foremsky, RA’s watershed supervisor at 703-435-6560 or Nicki@reston.org.
Freezin’ for a Reason: Virginia Polar Dip
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010
2 p.m.
Lake Anne Village Center
Reston Association is proud to support “Freezin’ for a Reason”. This annual fundraiser benefits Camp Sunshine, a national year-round retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses. Several families from Reston have benefitted from time at Camp Sunshine, which is located in Casco, Maine.
There are several ways you can help. First, you can support Reston Association’s Director of Parks and Recreation, Larry Butler who will be taking the plunge into Lake Anne. Larry has set up a Web site to raise money. http://www.freezinforareason.com/members/member.php?mem_id=746
Second, you could take the plunge yourself or get your organization involved. To learn more, log onto www. Freezinforareason.com.
Work
RA Events Assistant Job opening this summer
Check the RA Web site beginning Feb. 1, 2010 for details/application
Work with the Events Specialist planning and implementing events for all ages.
Employment dates: Mid May – Mid Aug.
Contact: Reston Association Human Resources at hr@reston.org or Ashleigh Soloff, events specialist at 703-435-6577 or via e-mail at Ashleigh@reston.org.
RA Camp Jobs—Coming in February
Check the RA Web site beginning Feb. 1, 2010
Work with kids in a fun environment. Great jobs for education, parks & recreation and science majors.
Camp dates: June 24 – Aug.20, 2010
Contact: Reston Association Human Resources at hr@reston.org or Barb Beaver, camp program supervisor at 703-435-6567 or via e-mail at campadmin@reston.org.
Jobs include directors, assistant directors, specialists, senior counselors and counselors. The pay range is $15.00 for directors to $8.50 for counselors.
Types of Camps
Nature Camps (3-5 & 6-8 years old). Hug-a-Tree (5-7 years old). Sportsters (6-8 years old). Day Camp (7-11 years old). Science Camp (8-12 years old). Teen Camp (11-14 years old), and Counselor in Training (14-16 years old.)
RA Aquatics Jobs—Coming in February
Check the RA Web site beginning Feb. 1, 2010 for a listing of our seasonal aquatics positions.
Positions include lifeguards, assistant pool managers, office assistant, maintenance staff, and program instructors.
Contact: Reston Association Human Resources a hr@reston.org or Willa Whitacre, aquatics assistant at 703-435-6532 or via e-mail at aquaticsinfo@reston.org.
Play
Summer Camp Registration
Online or in person at 1930 Isaac Newton Square
Jan. 25, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. for members
Feb. 1, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. for non-members
Contact 703-435-6530.
Friendship and fun for over 35 years for kids ages 3-16. Small groups and award-winning activities.
Camp descriptions can be found in Reston magazine, which was mailed to RA Member homes or is available online, Register online at www.reston.org.
Early February Bird Walk
Sunday, February 7
7:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Walker Nature Education Center, 11450 Glade Drive
No reservations required.
FREE
Adults
This walk will explore the upper Glade stream valley. We will meet at the Nature Center parking lot and walk down to the Glade Stream valley and continue upstream (west).
Leader: Gavin Small.
Organic Gardening Workshop
Thursday, February 25
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Walker Nature Education Center – 11450 Glade Drive
Reservations required by February 22.
$5/person RA members, $8/person non-members
Adults
To register, call (703) 476-9689 ext. 6540 or e-mail naturalist@reston.org.
It’s time to start thinking about your garden plots. Join a master gardener for some great tips on organic gardening. Get the latest information from soil amendments to pest control. Soil testing kits will be available.
Ice Skating at the Pavilion
Through mid March 2010
Reston Town Center
Public skating and skate rentals daily. Also available: private lessons, birthday parties and reservations for private and corporate parties. For information, rates and schedules call 703.709.6300 or visit www.restontowncenter.com
Local friends have organized to send baby Infant and baby products, medicines and non-perishable food items to The God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti. They are asking that you drop off supplies to Sisson Landscapes in Greatfalls today (Sat Jan 23rd from 9am – 2pm. Sisson is located at 10120 Colvin Run Road on the corner of Walker and Colvin Run Roads. Help support the Children of Haiti today!
We received the following via email from Dick Rogers, Former Associate Member of the Reston PZ Committee:
To the Editor:
Although Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) has established a task force to look at the “future of Reston,” in fact a likely future is apparent now. JBG, a well-heeled and well- connected developer, is far along in gaining approval of a plan to demolish the Fairways Apartments across from the Lake Anne School and replace it with a big, up-market, high rise development.
The revised JBG plan presented at the Jan. 4 Reston Planning and Zoning Committee (PZ COM) meeting made some limited revisions in response to Committee and RA Design Review Board concerns. But the basic plan for a more intensive development remains. It will have at least twice the people and about three time the cars of the current Fairways (Fairways now has 345 units and 520 parking spaces; the new proposal is for 940 units and 1,500 parking spaces). And to respond to the interest in more open space and trees, one of the towers will now be 21 stories high.
Many believe that intensive development in Reston should be transit-oriented, located adjacent to jobs and concentrated near the Metro stations, along the Dulles corridor, in the Town Center and at re-developed village centers. But this proposal is isolated from those locations and is car dependent.
Through the magic of Reston numerology, the proposed density is apparently “legal.” But the original Reston Master plan said high density development would be confined to 60 people per acre, about what Fairways has now. This means that the existing infrastructure — North Shore Drive, Temporary Road and neighboring schools, pathways and recreational facilities — were planned with smaller numbers in mind.
Although Fairways is currently reasonably priced, JBG says it has no legal responsibility to provide affordable housing. But it says it will voluntarily meet the county goal of 12 percent affordable housing.
The plan will obviously divert energy, dollars and potential future residents from Lake Anne. Yet some think its already approved redevelopment should be a Reston priority.
As to the future of Reston, one supporter at the Jan. 4 meeting said this plan will be a good model for the future of other Reston garden apartments. Ballston and Forest Hills, here we come!
Dick Rogers
Former Associate Member, Reston PZ Committee
Jan 17 10
Reston 2020 Committee Blog Update
Please see my new post to Reston 2020 Committee blog:
“A Green Corridor, or a Glass and Steel Corridor”
http://reston2020.blogspot.com/2010/01/green-corridor-or-corridor-of-glass-and.html
Live
Community News
- Elections Information Session
- Stream Restoration Meeting –Colvin Run
- Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force
- Reston Safety Alert – Fairfax County Police
Work
Camps Counselors – Apply beginning in Feb.
Play
- Winter Wonderland
- Camp Registration
- Ice Skating at the Pavilion
Get Involved
- Pedestrian & Bicycling Advisory Committee
- Initiative for Public Art Reston Committee
- Covenants Advisory Committee: Hunters Woods/Dogwood District
- Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children
Live
Call for Candidates & Election Information Session
Reston Association Members are invited to attend an Election Information Session on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010, 7 p.m. at Reston Association, 1930 Isaac Newton Square.
Reston Association is seeking candidates to fill three open positions on the Board of Directors this spring. These positions are one at-large director, the North Point District director and the Lake Anne/Tall Oaks director. Directors determine the Association’s goals and policies, making a significant and lasting contribution to the community. For additional information log on to Reston Association’s Web site, www.reston.org or call 703-435-6512.
Stream Restoration Meeting – Colvin Run Community Outreach
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
9 a.m. – Noon
Forest Edge Elementary School
1501 Becontree Lane, Reston, VA 20190
If you live East of Reston Parkway and north of the Dulles Toll Road, you are invited to hear about Reston’s Stream Restoration Project in the Colvin Run watershed. Preliminary designs are underway for the Uplands – Tall Oaks area. Learn about the history and purpose of the restoration project and the plans for this segment. For more information, contact Nicki Foremsky, RA’s Watershed Supervisor at 703-435-6560 or Nicki@reston.org.
Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force Meetings
Tuesday, Jan. 12 and Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2009
7 p.m.
Jo Ann Rose Gallery – Reston Community Center at Lake Anne
The special task force appointed by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will meet the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month to develop a set of recommendations on amendments to the Reston Master Plan. These recommendations will be presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors later in the year. Meetings are open to the public.
Safety Alert: Catalytic Converter Thefts
The Reston Division of the Fairfax County Police is warning residents of an increase in the thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles. According to police there has been an increase in this theft in the last few months. Police say in a minute thieves are taking catalytic converters from cars in commuter lots and neighborhoods – mostly during the workweek. Thefts have occurred day and night. Police are asking you to be aware of any suspicious activity and call the police at either 911 for emergencies or to make a report, call 703-691-2131. Callers may remain anonymous.
Work
RA Camp Jobs—Coming in February
Check the RA Web site beginning Feb. 1, 2010
Work with kids in a fun environment. Great jobs for education, parks & recreation and science majors.
Camp dates: June 24-Aug.20, 2010
Contact: Reston Association Human Resources at hr@reston.org or Barb Beaver, Camp Program Supervisor at 703-435-6567 or via e-mail at campadmin@reston.org.
Jobs include directors, assistant directors, specialists, senior counselors and counselors. The pay range is $15.00 for directors to $8.50 for counselors.
Types of Camps:
Nature camps (3-5 & 6-8 years old). Hug-a-Tree (5-7 years old). Sportsters (5-8 years old). Day Camp (7-11 years old). Science Camp (8-12 years old). Sports Camp (9-13 years old). Teen Camp (11-14 years old), and Counselor in Training (14-16 years old.)
Play
Winter Wonderland
Monday, Jan. 11, 2010
10 – 11 a.m.
$4/child RA members, $7/child non-members
Walker Nature Education Center – 11450 Glade Drive
Ages: 18 months to 35 months
Reservations required. Call (703) 476-9689 ext. 6518 or e-mail naturalist@reston.org.
Brrr! Come out of the cold and learn about the frosty winter season. Make icicles, sing winter songs and decorate cookies with icing.
Summer Camp Registration Coming Up
Online or in person at 1930 Isaac Newton Square, Reston
Jan. 25 at 8:30 a.m. for members
Feb. 1 at 8:30 a.m. for non-member
Contact 703-435-6530.
Summer fun for 35 years for kids ages 3-16. Small groups and award-winning activities.
Camp descriptions can be found in Reston magazine, arriving in homes the week of Jan. 11, 2010.
Online at www.reston.org.
45th Anniversary of ‘Reston Pioneers’ Arrival
Sunday, Jan. 17 1 – 3 p.m.
Reston Museum & Shop
Lake Anne Plaza
Come and hear and share stories from Reston pioneers, including the Rogers family who moved into their Lake Anne townhome in December 1964. A short video will be shown and refreshments served.
(Note: This event was scheduled for Dec. 19, 2009 and was postponed due to the snowstorm. It is being held in conjunction with Oral Histories scheduled for this day.)
Open Readings
Friday, Jan.15, 7:30 p.m.
Reston Used Book Shop
Lake Anne Plaza
Poetry readings by professional and amateur writers.
Poets interested in participating should contact Neal Warren, AFoggyWord@yahoo.com. Listeners welcome. (Ongoing schedule for “Open Readings”: third Friday of each month)
Ice Skating
Nov.1, 2009 – mid March 2010
Reston Town Center
Public skating and skate rentals daily. Also available: private lessons, birthday parties and reservations for private and corporate parties. For information, rates and schedules call 703.709.6300 or visit www.restontowncenter.com.
Get Involved
Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Committee
If you are interested in walking or biking in Reston, you may wish to volunteer for the Pedestrian & Bicycling Advisory Committee. It advises the Board of Directors on the sound development, management, and safe use of Reston’s pedestrian and bicycle systems as they relate to infrastructure improvements, accessibility, and promoting the benefits of these systems.
Covenants Committee Positions
One member each from Reston’s Hunters Woods/Dogwood District and South Lakes District are needed to serve three-year terms on the Covenants Committee. This committee is responsible for administering the Use of Property (maintenance) and Residential Property (use) Covenants and considers/determines cases concerning these areas.
Public Art Committee
Reston Association seeks volunteers to serve on its Special Committee for Public Art in Reston. This committee is charged with the task of developing, as part of the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) Public Art Master Plan, a work plan to implement art in Reston Association common areas. The deadline to apply is Jan. 4, 2009.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying to be a member of these committees, please forward a brief statement of interest and any pertinent qualifications by fax 703 – 435-9481, e-mail cate@reston.org or U.S. mail to Reston Association, 1930 Isaac Newton Square, Reston VA 20190 ATTN: Cate Fulkerson.
Will you speak for a child? Volunteers Information Session.
Saturday Jan. 16, 2009
11 a.m. – Noon
Reston Regional Library
Free/Reservations required.
Reservations or information: Elisa Kosarian, Recruitment & Training Manager 703-273-3526, ext. 22 or via e-mail ekosarian@casafairfax.org. On the Web www.casafairfax.org.
A new case of child abuse or neglect enters the Fairfax County Domestic & Juvenile Relations Court system once every 36 hours. These children need caring advocates to help ensure that they grow up in safe and permanent homes.
That’s where Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) comes in. An independent nonprofit organization, Fairfax CASA recruits and trains volunteers to investigate a child’s situation and to advocate for the best interests of the child in court.
All CASA volunteers undergo extensive training. No prior experience in child welfare or the law is required.
We received the following news release this morning:
The Reston 2020 Committee, an open committee of Reston citizens created by the Reston Citizens Association (RCA), in partnership with Reston Association (RA) and the Association of Reston Clusters and Homeowners (ARCH), is pleased to announce the launch of its blog, Reston 2020: Citizens Shaping Reston’s Future. The blog reflects the Reston 2020 Committee’s view that Reston’s citizens ought to have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to efforts to re-think the future of Reston.
The Committee has created this blog to keep Restonians and others interested in Reston informed about what the recently launched, County-created Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force is doing. The task force is charged with re-thinking development in Reston as reflected in the County’s current Comprehensive Plan. At present, the Task Force is beginning to look at proposed modifications of the Plan for the Dulles Corridor area. Over the next two years, it will re-evaluate planning for all of Reston, including Reston Town Center, Village Centers, and residential areas.
The intent of this blog is to provide timely accounts of schedules, agendas, and events as well as reports by Reston 2020 and other Reston civic organizations in a way that encourages citizen participation. The blog will include responsible posts and comments of all viewpoints by individuals and organizations who wish to contribute. The Committee’s belief is that a broad-based community dialogue and other participation in the county’s planning effort will lead to more informed and wiser decisions consistent with Reston’s role as a model for a 21st century planned community.
The blog may be at this link: http://reston2020.blogspot.com/
We hope that you find this blog informative and that it will lead you to participate more fully in the ongoing Reston planning effort. Moreover, we welcome your contributions, comments, and suggestions for the blog.
The county task force charged with making recommendations on Reston’s future development, clumsily named the “Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force,” begins its work in earnest this month with 7 PM meetings on the 12th and 26th at the Lake Anne community center.
Despite its nominal focus on the master plan, the primary activity of the task force over the next six months will be to review the County’s Comprehensive Plan for the Dulles corridor and recommend changes. There appear to be two key drivers for this: some 20 proposed modifications to the Comprehensive Plan from developers calling for increased density, largely driven by a stated need to adjust for the coming of Metrorail. That said, a read of the tediously technical Comprehensive Plan shows that the current plan explicitly identifies dozens of times development limits (height, FAR, dwelling units per acre, etc.) appropriate for the arrival of Metrorail. All the 20 proposed plan modifications call for increases in these limits. Given the dominance of developer, property owner, and property manager interests on the task force, its mid-summer recommendations are likely to propose even more density and height for structures, destruction of open space, loss of tree cover, etc., but few road or other improvements.
The effect of implementing the task force’s likely changes, almost certain to be approved by the County Planning Board and Board of Supervisors since they created the task force, would be to cut Reston in half from east to west, isolating north from south. Restonians would eventually face two impenetrable walls of concrete, steel, and glass buildings 200’ and taller—some half again as tall as any standing in Reston—on each side of the Dulles transportation corridor. For the moment, the plan limits building heights to 140’ in most areas; however, no such limits exist in the area surrounding the Metro station areas. For example, the current Comstock plan calls for building as many as eight such monster buildings in the small area north of the Wiehle Metrorail Station ranging from 140’-235’ tall under the existing Comprehensive Plan.
The Dulles transportation corridor roadways will also likely expand from 12 to 18 traffic lanes in the years ahead, although is not a concern of the task force. Current plans call for the widening of the Dulles access road to six lanes. Also, the preferred Tysons Corner “Strawman II” plan option calls for the addition of two eastbound and three westbound “collector-distributor” (CD) lanes outside the toll road as far west as Hunters Mill Rd–a design that resembles I-270 with its multiple express and separated local access CD lanes. Although not yet on the table, Reston will likely see two CD lanes each way alongside the current toll road to handle the anticipated traffic increases from intense Reston development. And Metrorail will run down the middle of this massive transportation moat. That’s 18 lanes of traffic and Metrorail in a 400’-wide trench.
In contrast, I believe that development along the Dulles corridor must drive the unification—not the isolation—of north and south Reston, integrating and complementing the Reston we already enjoy. In particular, development must include powerful attractants for all Restonians and others. These could include a major community recreation center, southward expansion of Town Center’s retail offerings, a major regional performing arts center near one of the Metro stops, and air rights for a public park some 100 yards wide spanning the transportation moat from Sunrise Valley to Sunset Hills, a mini-Central Park at Reston’s heart.
Additional roadways must also span the Dulles corridor transportation moat, more than the Soapstone extension to the Wiehle Metrorail station parking ramp under Comstock’s high-rise configuration. These would include at the minimum another similar road at the Reston Parkway Metro station and an extension of South Lakes Drive across the corridor. Otherwise, movement across and within the corridor will come to a virtual standstill despite public transportation improvements.
If you share my concerns about the current task force effort, please help all of us try to re-direct the task force effort. Attend the twice-monthly task force meetings—and speak out when afforded the opportunity. Work with your local citizens groups and their leaders—Reston Association, ARCH, and the Reston Citizens Association—who are working together and independently to bring constructive ideas to the task force. (Disclosure: I’m a member of the RCA Board, but these views are my own.) Contact Cathy Hudgins, our supervisor, who proposed the task force, or Kohann Williams, who represents Board Chair Sharon Bulova on the task force. In short, make your voice heard if you wish to see Reston’s share of the Dulles corridor developed as a model for an 21st century urban planned community rather than a Rosslyn on steroids.
Terry Maynard
Reston
