Residents of Reston and the Vienna area will soon have their interests represented by a new face on the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter announced Wednesday (July 22) that he is retiring, making that his last meeting after almost nine years on the body charged with making land use and development-related recommendations to the county’s Board of Supervisors.
His successor is expected to be appointed at the commission’s next meeting in September.
“I’ll be around through September to make hopefully a graceful transition between today and September coming up,” Carter said.
Carter didn’t elaborate on his decision to step down except to say that he would not be extending his term, though it wasn’t scheduled to expire until December 2029, according to his official bio.
A resident of Reston for more than 40 years, Carter had served on the county’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) and Hunter Mill District Land Use Committee (HMDLUC) before he was appointed to the planning commission by the Board of Supervisors in 2017.
He had also spent 10 years on the Washington Plaza Cluster Association’s board and was involved in a multi-year process to update the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance. He co-chaired a vision committee for a study to update the Reston Master Plan that spanned 2009 to 2015.
Carter’s professional experience in urban planning and architecture, including a 35-year career with the Montgomery County Planning Department in Maryland, has made him an especially valuable voice on the planning commission, at-large member and chair Phil Niedzielsk-Eichner said in response to Carter’s retirement announcement.
“We’re extraordinarily sad to hear this,” Niedzielski-Eichner said. “I was bragging on you the other day to a colleague who’s familiar with the planning commission’s work, and I called you my touchstone, and by touchstone, I had my definition: a standard or criterion used to determine the quality or genuineness of something. So, quality and genuine are two characteristics that are easy to use for you.”
As evidence of Carter’s willingness to listen to local residents and the trust he has gained, the commission chair noted that the most recent update of the county’s Reston Comprehensive Plan was generally supported by the community by the time it was adopted in 2023, despite anxiety around the area’s growing density and development when the process began in 2020.
Niedzielski-Eichner added that it’s “fitting” for Carter to end his tenure on the planning commission as chair of its urban development and placemaking committee, because he was “a leader helping Fairfax County plan for and address the increasing urbanization in all county activity centers, but most significantly along the Silver Line corridor, particularly in Tysons and Reston.”
“We’ll miss having you, John, with us at the dais,” he concluded. “I know you will be staying engaged with Reston’s future as well as pursuing other professional and personal interests that you will now be free to take on. We wish you well and, most importantly, we thank you for all your service.”
Other planning commissioners praised Carter not only for his knowledge in land use, but also his openness to passing that expertise along to newer members.
Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said she refers to brochures Carter made about placemaking so often that “they’re kind of getting ratty now, right along with Robert’s Rules and the Constitution,” while at-large member Candice Bennett lauded the “tremendous amount of work” that her retiring colleague has put into addressing pedestrian safety concerns.
“I know the county is better for it,” she said.
Commissioners Evelyn Spain (Sully District) and Walter Clarke (Mount Vernon) both identified Carter as a mentor who took the time to talk to them and offer feedback — both when there were areas they could improve and when they handled a challenging land use case well.
“He was very encouraging, so that type of person, that type of mentorship will be missed sorely from those of us who gained from your experience and knowledge,” Spain said, adding that her daughter lives in and “absolutely adores Reston.”
The praise from Carter’s colleagues on the planning commission was joined by words of support from Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who released a statement yesterday (Thursday) thanking Carter for “his many years of service.”
“His many contributions are visible to everyone who lives or works in Reston and the Hunter Mill District,” Alcorn said. “He has helped to ensure that development in the district fits within the fabric of our community, meets high standards for design and promotes public art that’s crucial to our quality of life.”
The Hunter Mill District Office will celebrate Carter’s contributions to the county, both on the planning commission and in his many roles before that, with a public reception on Tuesday, Sept. 8 from 3-5 p.m. at the North County Governmental Center (1801 Cameron Glen Drive) in Reston.
