Reston Association’s Land Use Advisory Committee is no more.
After nearly two hours of sometimes heated discussion, the community association’s Board of Directors voted 5-3 with one abstention at its Dec. 11 meeting to remove the body from its list of committees tasked with studying various issues and making recommendations to the full board.
The committees are made up of volunteering community members with RA directors serving as liaisons. Groups focused on covenants, board elections, the environment, finances, information technology projects, legal matters, and parks and recreation were all renewed for 2026.
RA Board President Travis Johnson, who also serves as director for the Hunters Woods and Dogwood District, told FFXnow that the board decided it should be more directly involved in reviewing development projects and other major land use issues instead of delegating them to a subcommittee.
“Elevating these matters to the Board level places Reston’s most consequential development decisions directly before the full, elected Board of Directors, bringing broader perspective and clearer public accountability to those decisions. Reston Association has long played a role in land use matters, particularly those involving highly sought-after land and proposals with community-wide implications. The Board believes placing these decisions under full Board oversight offers the most effective way to ensure comprehensive and responsible review. With land use decisions elevated to the full Board, a standing advisory committee was no longer needed.”
According to Johnson, board members began to rethink their approach to land use after residents advocated for them to weigh in on a proposal to redevelop Reston National Golf Course by adding or replacing it with housing — a move that many community members have fervently opposed.
Deviating from past practices, the board chose not to refer the issue to the land use committee and instead adopted a resolution in May supporting the golf course’s preservation as a golf course.
Golf course owner War Horse Cities’ request for a comprehensive plan amendment to allow a full redevelopment was ultimately rejected by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, though a separate application that could permit up to 288 townhouses on the property, supposedly without needing elected officials’ approval, remains on the table.
“This experience underscored the need for broader, more direct Board engagement on high-stakes land use issues,” Johnson said in a statement.
The Dec. 11 resolution to eliminate the Land Use Advisory Committee (LUAC) was supported by Johnson; Board Vice President Izzy Santa, who is a liaison to the committee and proposed the change; Secretary and North Point District Director Michael Lanza; Apartment Owners’ Representative Margaret Perry; and At-Large Director Jalal Mapar.
The opponents were LUAC member Jennifer Jushchuk (South Lakes District), John Farrell (At-Large) and Irwin Flashman (Lake Anne and Tall Oaks District), who raised both hands at the vote to emphasize his objections. Board Treasurer Matthew Mullenix (At-Large) abstained.
During the board’s discussion before the vote, Jushchuk expressed frustration that other members of the land use committee weren’t given an opportunity to provide input on its potential dissolution.
Committee chair Michelle Kimmel was even scheduled to present a work plan for 2026 at the meeting, but that was deferred until after the vote not to renew LUAC.
“I would implore the rest of the board members to allow the opportunity for this to be worked out and talked about and understood outside of this board meeting when we had less than four days’ notice of the intent to eliminate the committee,” Jushchuk said. “There were conversations that happened to gain votes, and that is not what we are as a board, and the rest of us were shut out of having those conversations and are now faced with trying to understand what is RA land use going to look like in the future.”
Perry noted that all RA members are permitted to share their thoughts on any topic on the agenda during the “members comments” period near the beginning of each board meeting.
One community member who weighed in on LUAC during that period — Reston Citizens Association President Lynne Mulston — expressed support for eliminating RA’s “redundant” land use committee, suggesting that the association and its members might be more effectively served by assigning staff to monitor the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee.
That group is similarly made up of volunteering residents who advise the county Board of Supervisors and planning commission on all land use projects in Reston, not just those on or affecting RA’s territory.
Santa contended that, with the support of staff, getting RA’s full, nine-member board involved in land use issues from the start would result in a faster, more streamlined process that aligns more closely with its established governance policies.
“These matters are not operational details. They are strategic governance issues with long-term consequences,” she said when introducing her resolution. “Elevating them to the full board engagement signals to members, staff and external stakeholders that the association treats land use decisions with the seriousness and collective judgment they deserve from the start.”
In his statement to FFXnow, Johnson added that community members will still have opportunities to get involved on land use issues, including by participating in the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee and testifying at the county’s public hearings, which are open to anyone in the public.
RA will also continue to weigh in on development applications through its Design Review Board, which evaluates exterior alterations to properties on land governed by the association.
“The Board appreciates the volunteers who have given their time and expertise to land use issues, especially those who served on the Land Use Advisory Committee,” Johnson said. “Their commitment to Reston is deeply valued, and volunteer engagement remains central to how the Board approaches these decisions.”
With LUAC no longer in operation, the board voted to defer consideration of a letter that the committee had drafted with its feedback on the county’s and Inova Health System’s plan for the long-awaited Reston Town Center North development.
Among other critiques, LUAC called for interim uses on three blocks that are expected to remain vacant for the foreseeable future, the preservation of Inova’s Reston/Herndon Emergency Room, and the addition of a trail to connect the new development with RA’s existing network.
The letter will now be discussed by the board at its Jan. 22, 2026 meeting.
Correction: The vote to eliminate Reston Association’s Land Use Advisory Committee was 5-3 with one abstention, not 5-4 with an abstention as first stated.
