News and notes from Reston (tm).

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The RA: More Epistolary Smackdowns Than Oscar Wilde and the WWE Put Together

letter.jpgIn response to a low-key neighborhood dispute involving the DRB, the Reston Association Board of Directors has sent its chair a fancy letter, written on official stationary and everything, outlining new guidelines for DRB members advising applicants or "any affected party."

* DRB members should disclose professional and business relationships with applicants or affected parties –which has been a long standing practice – the involved DRB member must also remove himself from discussions.

* During DRB discussions on the application, remove himself and only speak from the audience if directly asked a question by the DRB.

* Minutes of DRB meetings where members have a relationship with an applicant or affected party will now include the disclosure, recusal by the DRB member and record the vote of the presiding DRB members on the application.

The procedures will be in place until the RA Board adopts a formal resolution to replace them.
Here's a more recent article about the Cutwater Court dispute, in case you're keeping score at home.

But the letter-writing smackdowns don't end there! Citing unresolved issues with the most recent Fairway Apartments proposal, the RA Board will also write another letter to Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, asking that the county defer a July planning commission meeting on the proposal until the DRB can get their hands on the plans. That's slightly less stringent than the Reston Citizens Association's flat-out opposition to the proposal, but in both cases, it's good to see the RA Board being proactive and -- dare we say it? -- responsive to legitimate concerns.

5 comments:

  1. Your last phrase "but in both cases, it's good to see the RA Board being proactive and -- dare we say it? -- responsive to legitimate concerns" captures my feelings exactly. THIS is why we have an RA board -- to advocate for the HOMEOWNERS ... all of us so that property values for all of us will be maintained.

    RA is so often seen as the enemy. But to quote Pogo, "we have met the enemy, and he is us."

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  2. "Epistolary!"

    You keep usin' words like that and I'm going to have to report you to the DRB, or Covenants, or the web log gods, or someone....

    Such profanity!

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  3. Dear Restonian:

    How about sending the RA Board and DRB to the meeting with Ray LaHood, MWAA, Sean Connaughton and County leaders on Wednesday to obtain $3.5 billion in federal funding needed for Dulles Rail Phase 2?

    No doubt RA can find a way to spend $3.5 billion in Reston easily. How about a 30 story swimming pool and amusement park with built in putt putt golf course on top of the Wiehle Avenue garage?

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  4. Just for the record, there is an existing Resolution written and passed by the RA Board in February, 1996 that says exactly what their recent letter states about DRB review process and Conflicts of Interest. The ONLY difference is they request that the "conflicted" DRB member be noted by name in the minutes.

    The 1996 Resolution has been the operating format the DRB has followed for many years.

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  5. RA is a bunch of hypocrites. To begin with, we're talking about the same clowns who cheated the electoral process by using a company for "Impartial ballot handling", when they were in fact a paying customer of the aforementioned entity for other services rendered. Second, RCA originally raised the DRB conflicting-interest issue, not RA.

    ReplyDelete

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