The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its support last week to an updated Reston Station sign plan — on the condition that developer Comstock Companies reduce the brightness of two digital installations.
Among the signs deemed problematic is a screen identifying the JW Marriott Hotel and Residences that wraps around the southeastern corner of the 26-story building’s roof at 11350 Reston Station Blvd.
A permit allowing the signs to be installed “was issued in error” on Nov. 26, 2024, Fairfax County staff admitted in a report. Featuring Marriott’s logo and the name “JW Marriott,” the panels have been operating since the hotel opened last September to the consternation of some area residents.
“Their concern is it being overly bright, upsetting sleep patterns at night,” Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter said at the group’s meeting last Wednesday (Feb. 25), recounting testimony from a Jan. 14 public hearing.
While noting that he “strongly agreed with the concerns expressed at the public hearing,” Carter acknowledged that the signage adheres to the county’s regulations, which were updated in 2023 to allow brighter electronic displays of up to 300 nits at night — an increase from the previous limit of 100 nits.
The JW Marriott signs were initially 256 nits, but based on feedback from residents and county staff, who requested that the illumination be reduced to 155 nits, Comstock decided to go further and bring them down to a maximum of 118 nits, with some variations between the south and east displays, Ballard Spahr land use attorney Jill Parks told the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee on Feb. 23.
“It’s been in that condition for the last several weeks,” Parks said, adding later that the sign’s bulbs were also changed from blue light to a softer amber light that’s easier on the eyes.
Representing Comstock, Parks was hoping to secure the committee’s endorsement of a digital conversion for a sign advertising tenants in the developer’s emerging Reston Row neighborhood, which encompasses two office towers and the BLVD Haley apartments in addition to the JW Marriott building.
Facing the Dulles Toll Road from between the two office buildings, the sign would total 1,000 square feet in size and feature five logos. The existing signage has logos for JW Marriott, Vida Fitness, Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Starbucks and Ebbitt House, a new restaurant expected to open sometime this year, but the shift to a digital sign would allow Comstock to change the logos based on tenant needs.
Some committee members called the changes to the digital Marriott sign “a big improvement,” but the brightness and size of the Dulles Toll Road sign were enough of a concern that the committee voted 8-4 with one abstention to not endorse it.
“I do notice the difference in the JW Marriott sign, but I still don’t like it. I think it’s too bright. I wouldn’t want to be living in those places across from it,” Mike Jennings said. “And I have a feeling that the other signs are going to be kind of bright.”
After Parks compared the digital signs at Reston Station to ones that can be seen at Tysons Corner Center or the Mosaic District, Tammi Petrine countered that Reston has different standards.
“We are not Tysons Corner, we don’t want to be Tysons Corner. We will never be Tysons Corner,” Petrine said. “…We’ve looked and we hate it.”
At the planning commission meeting, Carter said he expects the Dulles Toll Road sign will be less of an issue, given its location lower on the office buildings and the use of blinders around the sign, trees and the Wiehle Metro station to limit its visibility.
He recommended restricting the five logos to 200 square feet each, reducing the illumination to 93 nits, and prohibiting flashing or moving signs, among other conditions.
He proposed a similar 93-nit limit for the JW Marriott sign, comparing the existing sign to a streetlight based on the contrast between its brightness and the surrounding night sky.
“I think that’s definitely appropriate,” Carter said of the stricter lighting rule. “It’s still bright, bright enough for people to see it, but I think that’s a much better standard given the location of this project.”
The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve the revised sign plan with the conditions listed by Carter. The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the application at its meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).
