Fairfax County staff have released their final word on a draft version of the Reston Comprehensive Plan, a guiding document for holistic community planning that was last updated in 2015.

Released yesterday (Wednesday), the staff report shortens and tweaks the first version of the plan, which was developed by a Reston Comprehensive Plan task force, a 31-member group convened by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn in 2020.

In response to concerns raised by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, staff’s recommendations for the plan tighten prescriptive policy language in the first proposal and condense several separate sections into one chapter on planning for the new town of Reston.

“This chapter of the proposed plan does not break new policy ground, nor is it prescriptive,” the report states.

In the report, staff noted that their version of the plan aims to maintain the existing residential densities in Reston’s village centers, removing the option of housing in non-residential portions. Any changes would require another amendment to the plan.

The proposal also aims to preserve existing market and affordable housing in Reston — although that language is an encouragement, rather than a mandate.

The idea of biophilia — a designation given to communities that protect and cultivate nature while creating deep connections with the natural world — is also emphasized in future planning and development in Reston.

As alluded to during previous discussions in April, the latest plan includes a chapter called “Planning a New Town” that combines the principles of equity, community health and economic development under an umbrella chapter instead of separate ones.

“I am looking forward to reviewing the staff report to ensure that it includes the essence of goals from that Board Matter three years ago. Last updated in 2015, the Reston Comprehensive Plan is the guiding document for land use and development decisions in Reston,” Alcorn wrote in his weekly newsletter to constituents.

The task force’s initial version drew consternation from the board, which saw it as overtly prescriptive and an overstep of what the county can require by law. The board also worried it would set a precedent of establishing separate principles of community health and equity for one community within the county.

The staff’s version of the report also departs from the task force’s version on several key points.

The task force sought to remove an exemption in the plan that removed ground-level retail located in office, hotel and residential buildings from calculations when determining how much a developer should pay into the county’s housing trust fund. Read More

Changes to Reston Station and Reston Row — mixed-use developments near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station — are barreling towards approval.

At a meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion to set a July 25 public hearing date for the joint proposals, which would shift approved but unbuilt residential density from one block of Reston Station to Reston Row.

Reston Row is an extension of Reston Station, a nearly 10-acre development at the Metro station. Reston Row includes two office buildings that will be anchored by Puttshack, an indoor mini-golf destination, and VIDA Fitness.

A third building includes 93 condos over a JW Marriott, while an apartment building labeled Building D will be anchored by the restaurant Ebbitt House.

Comstock wants to shift roughly 165 units or 264,000 square feet of space that was not used in Reston Station to the Ebbitt House apartment building. Nearly 10,000 square feet of space would be dedicated for a roof deck on top of another building for Founding Farmers and a future building in a different block on the property.

“Critically, the Applicant is not requesting one single square foot of additional density over and above what was approved and is entitled to be developed when Reston Station and Reston Row are aggregated,” the application said.

The developer argues that shifting the residential density would allow it to deliver workforce dwelling units sooner “than it otherwise would have” and in a better location for the county’s residents, according to the application.

The Puttshack building is set to delivered December of next year, while Building D is expected to deliver in November 2026, according to a board matter introduced yesterday by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

In the matter, Alcorn states that the changes shift density to a “more logical, Metro-proximate, and resident-friendly location at Reston Row.”

From a logistical standpoint, the two separate applications for the project can be voted on concurrently. The July hearing before the Board of Supervisors will be preceded by a June 28 public hearing by the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

The most recent update of Reston’s draft comprehensive plan got a kudos from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this week.

At a land use policy committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday), board members said the latest version of the plan — which has been under the pen for nearly two years — averts the prescriptive policy language put in place by a community task force that created the first draft of the new plan roughly two years ago.

An official staff report is expected next month, followed by a June 14 Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing and a board public hearing on July 11.

As discussed last month by the planning commission, the latest version by county staff focuses on supporting guidance in existing county policies, avoiding language that could be seen as establishing new policies.

New planning principles of equity, community health and economic development were consolidated into a chapter on the “new town” of Reston instead of getting separate chapters.

Franconia Supervisor Supervisor Rodney Lusk said he was particularly pleased with the guidance on economic development for Reston, which says support for housing, businesses, education and access to Metro’s Silver Line stations is key to maintaining the area’s “unique community and business climate.”

But Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said he was unsure if there was anything particularly unique about Reston that warranted guidance.

“I’m not sure why Reston feels like it has to take a position on that. It doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unique,” Foust said.

He added that economic development guidance for a particular area could open up other area plans to similar updates when the guidance should simply be applied countywide.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who initiated the review and held dozens of meetings with the community task force, said he wouldn’t support the new plan if he didn’t feel it was an improvement over Reston’s current plan.

Alcorn also asked staff to create a chart that depicts significant issues and concerns.

“Overall, I want to make sure we balance this in the right way, because I don’t want to dumb down Reston’s comprehensive plan,” Alcorn said.

County staff noted that they tightened up language in the task force’s version of the plan.

Providence District Supervisor Dahlia Palchik said she was pleased the new plan is now “going in the right direction.”

“This is in a much better place,” she said.

A survey that will guide an economic visioning study for Reston’s Lake Anne area reveals community support for active public spaces and arts and culture focuses.

Consulting firm Streetsense hosted a public workshop on Monday (April 10) at Reston Community Center where roughly 50 attendees gathered to dive deeper into their hopes for the future of the area.

A public survey conducted by the firm found that most respondents prefer cultural and arts facilities, activated public spaces and a grocery store as options to anchor the community. Medical or institutional and office and technology uses were not desired.

“Respondents tend to agree that responsibility for public areas of Lake Anne should be borne by a wider set of parties than current management,” meeting materials said.

The survey closed in mid-March, with most respondents hailing from outside the Lake Anne area.

Respondents also generally agreed or were neutral about the possibility of adding structured parking.

The survey revealed mixed views on an “educational anchor” or school in the area. A little over 40% of respondents agreed with the need for new residential development — roughly 5 percentage points more than those who disagreed with the prospect.

Residents were also divided on whether economic sustainability was a priority at the expense of the neighborhood’s historic aspects. The survey found that “seasonality” and infrastructure were the two biggest challenges facing the area.

The largest portion of respondents — nearly 45% — was age 65 or older. Most also lived outside of the immediate Lake Anne area. Roughly 56% of respondents also reported a household income of $160,000 or more.

The firm also held four virtual focus groups with area stakeholders earlier this year, as it creates an economic vision for the future of the Lake Anne Commercial Revitalization Area.

The study was initiated by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

After releasing the first draft of the vision on May 18, Streetsense hopes to firm up a formal vision by June 5.

Fairfax County staff have pared down the draft of Reston’s proposed comprehensive plan from 180 pages to 133.

At a Fairfax County Planning Commission workshop on March 30, staff walked through their amendments to the proposed plan, a process that kicked off more than two years ago with a community-driven task force initiated by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

The task force approved draft recommendations on Aug. 28 after 58 public meetings, significant public feedback and rigorous debate. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn convened the task force after he took office in 2020.

Overall, staff’s version of the plan avoids policy and prescriptive language in specific areas, particularly land use. It also combines chapters about equity and community health — previously created by the task force as separate chapters — under the umbrella of “new town elements.”

St. Clair Williams, senior planner with the county’s Department of Planning and Development, said the change was intended to avoid language that could clash with current county policies, particularly the county’s One Fairfax policy on equity.

“There were concerns raised regarding new chapters. Was it created new policy or was it something that was exceeding current county policy?” Williams said.

Revising the community health section was challenging due to the lack of a formalized, countywide health policy that the plan could use as a basis, he said.

Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter emphasized that staff’s edits are intended to “implement…instead of create new policy.”

“We’ve tried to emphasize the use of active verbs,” Carter said.

A road network near Association Drive was revised by staff in order to allow flexibility in the future. It now highlights that an east-west connection between Soapstone Drive and Association Drive should avoid tree areas.

The county is considering a major site-specific plan amendment (SSPA) that would redevelop the buildings on Association Drive into a mostly residential project.

Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said she hoped that nomination would preserve some of the historic aspects of the site.

Other major land use decisions in Reston’s transit-oriented areas were removed from the plan. Those proposals are currently being pushed through the SSPA process, which includes several redevelopment pitches for major projects in Reston.

The plan also adds additional water retention and quality targets for new development. Other general elements related to air, climate, resiliency and invasive plant species were removed, though the new draft has sections on vegetation and “green buildings.”

Staff also revised language guiding the number of full-size athletic fields in Reston’s TSA, saying that the “equivalent of 12 fields” should be provided.

“Staff had identified some of the challenges with finding sufficient space for full-size fields,” Williams said.

No land use changes for Reston’s golf courses are recommended — a major point of contention in the community.

For affordable housing, the plan ups the bar on requirements for developers on Reston projects.

In Reston’s transit station areas, affordable housing requirements for rental workforce dwelling units (WDU) are higher than surrounding areas. In the TSAs, 12% of units should be set aside as rental WDUs — half of which should target households making between 71 and 80% of the area’s median income.

The countywide policy requires that 8% of rental units in residential developments be set aside as WDUs.

Staff will release their final version of the plan on May 11. Public hearings are slated before the planning commission on June 14 and June 28, with potential action on the latter date. Meetings are tentatively scheduled with the Board of Supervisors this month, though the schedule is subject to change.

The third annual Tour de Hunter Mill will return to Reston in May.

Participants take part in three routes that begin and end at Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road).

The routes take riders through scenic areas of the Hunter Mill District, including a pitstop at Frying Pan Farm Park.

Three rides are available: a family ride of 5.9 miles, a short ride of 15.5 miles, and a long ride of 29 miles.

Registration is $30 — a portion of which will be donated to the Fairfax Alliance for Better Cycling and to purchase Tour de Hunter Mill socks.

Helmets are required, and the event will be held rain or shine. Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult and are free. Volunteers can register to help via email.

Launched in 2021, the event is hosted by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

Pitches from developers for land use changes in Reston’s transit areas are on a different track as the county considers dozens of similar nominations throughout Fairfax County as part of its Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process.

Unlike other areas of the county, Reston Transit Station area applications have been set aside for special study and deferred until a years-long process to update Reston’s Comprehensive Plan is completed, according to the county.

Other applications throughout the county are being placed in a draft work program that will determine how their study is prioritized. In the Dranesville District, for example, applications for the Innovation Center area were placed in the first tier — the highest priority — of the program.

In a statement, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the draft work program identifies Reston site nominations for future study after the overall plan amendment is completed.

“This process will ensure that the latest Comprehensive Plan for Reston is used in the review of proposed site-specific changes in the area,” Alcorn said.

Most nominations in Reston’s transit area pushed for more residential uses in lieu of or in addition to office uses.

The county plans to publish a staff report on its recommendations this spring, followed by a series of public hearings before the planning commission and Board of Supervisors in the summer. Adoption of the proposed changes is also expected this summer.

The effort first kicked off in January 2020.

The next planning commission workshop on the proposed Reston comprehensive plan is set for March 30 at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed on Channel 16.

The Hunter Mill District received the highest number of SSPA nominations. Overall, the county received 75 nominations.

The Board of Supervisors selected the nominations currently under review by staff and the planning commission on Dec. 6. This review is evaluating if the proposals are consistent with county policies and priorities relative to other planning considerations.

The planning commission has been holding public workshops on the various nominations throughout March, concluding on March 23 with one focused on proposals in the Hunter Mill and Providence districts.

“We anticipate the final vote will be at the March 29 Planning Commission meeting,” said Leanna Hush O’Donnell, planning division director for the county’s Department of Planning and Development. “The final screening decision point will be the Board’s action on the work program, scheduled as an action item on April 11.”

Reston native Nate Mook was honored by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday (Feb. 7) for his humanitarian work around the globe.

A Restonian who attended South Lakes High School, Mook served as the former CEO for the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization founded by chef and philanthropist Jose Andres that serves chef-prepared meals to communities hit by natural disasters and other crises.

He is also a filmmaker behind movies like “Baltimore Rising,” which followed the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore police custody in 2015. He has made documentaries around the world, including in Somalia, Panama and Iraq, according to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

At the meeting, Mook said his roots in Reston helped define his work.

“It truly is an honor to be here today, not only because I grew up in Reston and Fairfax County, but because as Supervisor Alcorn mentioned, it really shaped who I am today. This is a community where service to others, I think, is a central, core value,” Mook said.

It was an absolute honor to recognize ⁦Reston native and ⁦@southlakeshs⁩ grad ⁦@natemook⁩ at ⁦today’s ⁩ Board meeting. His humanitarian efforts as CEO for ⁦@WCKitchen⁩, work in Ukraine & globally are inspiring! #HunterMill pic.twitter.com/cuxxU93A2a

— Supervisor Walter Alcorn (@WalterAlcornFFX) February 7, 2023

Chairman Jeff McKay lauded Mook for his work.

“We’re so proud of you and inspired by you, and certainly wish you continued success. The need is out there, but knowing there are people like you in this world, I think we can all rest a little bit easier,” McKay said.

Mook joined World Central Kitchen in 2017 to lead food relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He became CEO the next year and has since traveled worldwide, including several months in Ukraine. Under his leadership, the nonprofit organization has served more than 60 million meals.

He is the son of historian Sarah Larson, who founded Reston Museum.

The clock is ticking for Fairfax County and the D.C. region to adopt a new transportation plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This past June, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) approved Visualize 2045 — a regional transportation plan that runs through 2045 and must be updated every four years, as mandated by the federal government.

At the same meeting, it voted to include greenhouse gas emission goals in the next plan, targeting cuts of 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

Now, six months later, Fairfax County is already preparing to submit its segment of that plan with those emission goals in mind, but the process will be slightly different from previous years.

Presented at the Board of Supervisors transportation committee meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 31), Visualize 2050 will include “zero-based budgeting,” meaning all localities have to resubmit their transportation projects for consideration to ensure they adhere to the new emission reduction goals.

Before, most projects automatically carried over from one plan to the next, though projects could be added or taken out if needed, Fairfax County Department of Transportation planner Malcolm Watson explained to the supervisors.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who’s on the TPB with Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, noted that the board has had a “lively discussion” over the last few years regarding the emission goals.

“There’s been…quite a difference of opinion on the climate change stuff, particularly between the inner jurisdictions and the outer jurisdictions,” Alcorn said. “We are kind of right in between.”

County staff have identified 33 projects they expect to be part of the transportation plan and will need to be resubmitted under the new standards. Projects currently “in development” include Reston Parkway improvements, a new Dulles Airport Access road from Chain Bridge Road, and a widening of Frying Pan Road from Sully to Centreville roads.

Most of those projects are expected to be completed between 2025 and 2040.

There are 25 projects that could be exempted from the emission standards because they are already funded or under construction. Those include the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit system, an I-495 overpass at Tysons Corner Center, and the $237 million Soapstone Connector.

Watson cautioned that the lists may change as projects get taken off and added, depending on priorities, the new emission goals, and other factors.

Next month, the TPB will issue a “call for projects,” and the lists will be officially published for public review.

“This will officially kick off Visualize 2050,” Watson said.

The county board ultimately will have to vote to approve the project lists over the summer before they get submitted to the TPB.

The hope is that by December 2024, the TPB will approve Visualize 2050, and the new emission goals will become the norm, making Visualize 2055 perhaps a bit less labor-intensive.

Photo via Fairfax County

A task force will discuss the redevelopment of Reston Town Center North (RTC North) beginning today (Monday).

The meeting will set into motion a master plan focused on community facilities in the area, which is roughly bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue, Town Center Parkway, Bowman Towne Drive and Fountain Drive.

Led by former Fairfax County Board Chair Kate Hanley, the task force was created by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn in April.

The work will help guide several key development forces taking shape in the area.

Most notably, Foulger-Pratt is working with the county on plans for a new regional library in the Bowman Towne Court area. The project could include a 350-unit multifamily community and will be on a nearly 4.5-acre piece of land partly owned by the county and the Fairfax County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

An approved conceptual plan between Inova Health Care Services and the county contemplates a mix of uses for RTC North, including office space, residential units, and public uses like the Embry Rucker Shelter, supportive housing and the North County Human Service Building.

So far, a 3-acre area — formerly the home of the Inova Cameron Glen Nursing Home — is set to remain as an open green area.

“Actual development within the resulting blocks will be subject to future community input in addition to the DRB and Fairfax County zoning review processes,” the county said.

A revised joint application is expected after the Reston Comprehensive Plan is amended — a process that is currently underway.

The county hopes to redevelop the area into a vibrant, urban, mixed-use environment that provides a transition from the denser Reston Town Center to the surrounding environment.

The task force includes representation from surrounding neighborhoods. The first meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the North County Governmental Center (1801 Cameron Glen Drive).