Reston Master Plan Meeting: The Rest of the Story

If it's another illustration depicting hot building-over-Toll-Road action on this site, you know we must be about to talk about the new Reston Master Plan. So here goes!

More than 100 people, including a few of the regulars on this filthy "web log," attended Tuesday's master plan kickoff meeting. Here's the official mainstream media account.

The last time the master plan was reviewed, county officials were planning on a number of phases of transportation alternatives to take shape, starting with bus rapid transit by the end of the decade, Merkel said. Now that the phased transportation plan has skipped straight to the rail phase, many of the plans the county had on file are obsolete, she said.

[Fairfax County senior planner Heidi] Merkel said by focusing on providing more housing in Reston's core it will help reduce the need for changing the surrounding neighborhoods and village centers that are already stable. She said because many of the areas jobs are in Reston Town Center, more high-density housing close to those jobs should be considered.

The Reston Master Plan Special Study will include a series of community meetings including workshops, as well as a task force that will meet to discuss the plans. Community workshops will focus on specific sites, such as the future Herndon-Monroe, Wiehle and Reston Town Center metro stops, and the Reston Parkway area. The special study will first focus on the areas Metro is coming to, before focusing on the village centers and Reston's outlying areas, Merkel said.

The task force is comprised of members of community organizations such as Reston Association, Reston Citizens Association, Reston Community Center, Reston Community Reinvestment Corporation, Reston Town Center, Western Alliance for Rail to Dulles and a number of area residents. Also on the task force are representatives from landowners and developers, such as JBG Companies and Boston Properties.

In 2008 many developers proposed rezoning land parcels or amendments to the county's comprehensive plan in the Hunter Mill and Dranesville districts, Merkel said. The county has set aside about 21 proposals so they can be looked at and considered as a whole to determine how they will fit together and affect other areas of Reston once the special study is finished, she said.

Sounds pretty cut and dry, right? Fortunately, our regular commenters were there to provide... the rest of the story. Here's one account from a regular commenter who asked to remain anonymous:

I think it is imperative that we be allowed to have citizen representation with advisory groups. RCA, ARCH and RA are ready to set up such groups. There are over one hundred Reston residents who finished the Land Use College who are able and willing to lend their talent and expertise to this endeavor. I am concerned that a task force that will meet once a month will not have an adequate amount of time to develop planning guidelines for the Dulles Corridor worthy of our community by next June. The redevelopment of the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor took years. Local residents actively participated in the decisions regarding the changes to Arlington.

Heidi Merkel said the task force will develop a criteria that will be used to determine which neighborhoods are redeveloped. I don't feel that having Patti Nicoson, who is president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, and who represents the interests of the property owners in the Dulles corridor is an appropriate choice to chair the task force. I would much rather see someone else chair the task force. Having a preponderance of developers, their attorneys, and pro-growth individuals on the task force is not likely to produce a planning document most Restonians will be willing to live with.

I think it is very important for Restonians to pay attention to this process and speak out at the community meetings. Speaking at the community meetings may be the only venue we have to voice our opinions about the changes Cathy Hudgins wants to bring to Reston.

Another commenter had an extra bit of excitement -- Bob Simon helped him take his jacket off!

Can we get DOUBLE bonus points if we both attended AND met Mr. Bob Simon? This gentleman sat behind me and helped me to take off my leather coat when it got stuck on me as I flailed my arms around like a chicken with its head cut off. :-)

The meeting was VERY well-attended; nearly every seat was occupied. I found the PowerPoint presentation to have been a bit on the boring side, especially since we were mostly being read things we either already knew or could easily glean from the materials we were given. I was saddened to see I was probably the only one there under 25---apparently Reston either has no youth or is home to youth that don't care about the community's future.

Ms. Marion Stillson's husband [Dick] aired some excellent points:

1.) Why are the Dulles Corridor & Reston Town Center being reviewed separately from the rest of Reston when projects considered for one will directly impact the other?

2.) How can civic-minded citizens get involved?

There was one man a few rows ahead of me who I think runs a public access television show. He looked to be upset that he was skipped over when he had wanted to ask a question, but then again, as Heidi Merkel pointed out, he has asked numerous questions in the past and should let someone "new" get a chance.

A well-spoken gentleman who emigrated to Reston from the U.K. 8 years ago asked if the non-PRC areas would be absorbed into the PRC. Heidi said no.

Overall while the event was a bit of a bore everyone behaved themselves. There were no hysterical comments about the ills of rail, the bogeyman coming to bulldoze their clusters, etc. Very well done!

Another commenter had this to say:

The mental image that comes to mind of 95-year old Dear Leader helping 23-year old BiCO escape from his entangled leather coat (with BiCO by his own admission flailing around like a decapitated chicken)is priceless.

The next meeting is at 7pm Tuesday at RCC's Lake Anne center. Be sure to bring your coat.