The owners of Reston National Golf Course, War Horse Cities and Weller Development, are starting a new disinformation campaign in their attempt to push our County District Supervisor to allow housing on that Open Space. They communicate with the public sometimes under the guise of the Reston National Neighborhood Study Group.
War Horse and Weller have hired two companies to lead a new campaign:
- DataStory – “We do whatever it takes to solve problems for our clients.”
- Tracy Cross & Associates – “… provide insight into consumer psyches …”
Do not be misled – their mission is to find a way to open up development on Reston National Golf Course, and their clients’ problem is all of us who tell Supervisor Alcorn “no development” on these open spaces.
You may soon see surveys asking your opinion about Reston’s amenities. Before answering, be sure you know WHO is behind the survey. Read other Restonians’ stories of these developers’ skewed 2020 surveys here and here to learn what to watch out for!
Some key points the developers’ consultants will be pushing and FACTS that you need to know:
- Walk Score – they are using data from this group to push that south Reston is “less than” north Reston
- This ranking metric uses data from the 50 largest population cities in the U.S. including NY, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Apparently, they do not count walkability to the local Middle School and High School in their list of important items.
- They base “Transit Score” and “Bike Score” rankings on cities with populations over 300,000.
- Reston’s current population is approximately 65,000.
- The Comprehensive Plan for Reston, which plans out the future growth of Reston, is capped in the low 100,000s. Why should Reston’s metrics be compared with cities more than three times our size?
What should you do?
- Listen to Rescue Reston President Connie Hartke’s interview with the Patch reporter. It will help clarify some of the above points.
- Let us know if you receive a suspicious survey or hear anything we should check on.
- Follow us on social media to stay educated. You can view our Facebook posts on our website. Just scroll down a bit on the home page.
- Share this email with a neighbor who is not on our email list.
- Keep your SaveOpenSpace signs visible – a runner on the RA paths at Hidden Creek noted the signs over there. Need one? Make a small donation and we’ll be in touch.
- Donations to support our ongoing educational messaging are very much appreciated.
Help us with educating newcomers about where the RA pathways are and that the golf course properties are private property. The views are to be enjoyed while always yielding to the golfers.