RA Board of Directors Election Voting Opens Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 5:00pm

Thanks for reaching out. As a proud member of Rescue Reston, I am unalterably opposed to redevelopment of either golf course.  They are the breathing heart of Reston’s open space system. I’ve voted for each Reston Association resolution that supports preservation of the golf courses whenever they have come up during my time on the Board. Resolution #6 may have been adopted before I joined the Board. I would vote for it today if it comes up again.

As a Reston Resident for the last 12+ years and mother of 3, I have had the pleasure of spending time on and around both golf courses. From something as simple as heading to the 15^th hole to watch for meteors in the night sky, to watching my eldest play golf at Reston National with the SLHS golf team. I have attended more than one event at the Hidden Creek Clubhouse. My eldest child started playing golf when he was 5 or 6 and I have friends in their 70s that still play golf. Business meetings are often held on the green and friends get together for fun & laughs (and maybe a bit of frustration). Reston National regularly holds camps for kids to learn the game and I hope that everyone might give the game a chance. Personally, I am a better caddy than a golfer. 

Whether you play golf or not, our community is blessed to have the open space that provides us and our animal neighbors with so much green area. The best way to ensure that this green space remains is to stand with RA Resolution 6. If the formal golf course designation is removed, it is a slippery slope to pure development with a sliver of common space.

 I will continue to ask Fairfax County to maintain the land use designation as 2 golf courses, so we do not lose this priceless open space. The developers bought golf courses. If they don’t want golf courses, they should sell to an individual or group that does want them!

As a current RA Board member, I recently voted to reaffirm Reston Association’s Golf Course Resolution
first adopted in 2016. I wholeheartedly support keeping Reston’s two golf courses as they are.
Reston is one of the first 14 cities globally to be designated a biophilic community. We as a
community need to ensure that Reston is at the forefront of planning for and adapting to climate
change. The latest draft update to the Reston Comprehensive Plan retains the character of both
courses.

The open space afforded by the golf courses is necessary for multiple reasons:

• Reston is a planned community with hidden density which must be counterbalanced by
  zero density spaces like our two golf courses. The huge densities recently approved in the
  Transit Station Areas (TSA’s) make this zero-density open space critical.
• Reston’s golf courses add significantly to efforts to mitigate environmental destruction
  evident at most development sites in our region.
• Fairfax County’s own requirements for recreational facilities is predicated on golf courses.
  Golf continues to thrive on our two courses despite efforts by owners of both to pursue
  significant residential infill.
• Homes in adjacent neighborhoods were planned and are occupied by persons who paid
  premium prices for peaceful, natural golf course views.
• All Reston residents have use and enjoyment of RA’s walking paths that traverse both
  courses.
  • Serving thousands of people, Reston’s golf course walking paths are highly valued
    amenities.
  • These paths are permanent easements that must never be abandoned.
  • The positive ecological functions of golf courses are well documented.
  • The wildlife observed by walkers on these paths is often highlighted as part of the
    “Reston experience”.
  • Access to nature soothes the soul… a much more important health factor in each
    passing day.
• Most important, we are RESTON. We are not nor do we choose to be UNPLANNED. Reston
  is a successful suburban community BECAUSE of pre-planning what goes where and how
  much. The debate rages around the more URBAN TSA areas and the desire of some to
  urbanize all of Reston – calling it inevitable. I do NOT agree with urbanizing Reston. We
  must cope with the complexities of the highly dense TSA corridor dividing Reston, but how
  is making us more dysfunctional in anyone’s long-term interest?
• I fully support Rescue Reston’s mission of protecting our two golf courses.

This statement was written and approved by Robert Petrine

As a 30 year Reston resident, I support Rescue Reston’s mission of preserving and protecting the green, open space of Reston’s two golf courses and oppose any efforts and campaigns that aim to turn the properties into anything other than what they are now.  I believe the RA Board must work in unity with other like-minded organizations through a well-publicized and sustained campaign at all levels to encourage Fairfax County and all members to oppose any proposals that undermine Reston’s green and open spaces for short term gains.

For over 30 years my family, our community, and many area neighborhoods have benefited from the trails, paths, and other amenities of the open and green spaces in Reston.  I believe these open and green spaces are an essential part of Reston’s DNA as a renowned planned community for all to live, work, and play.  Reston is recognized as one of the 26 biophilic cities in the world and our golf courses are critical in maintaining that designation as well as efforts to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

This statement was written and approved by Jalal Mapar, Candidate for At-Large 2-Year Position.

As a member of the RA Board of Directors, I believe it will be my responsibility to work with other members of the Board of Directors, RA leadership, and Reston residents to evaluate all available information on critical decisions before the board. I will always make my voice heard for what I consider to be in the best interest of all Reston residents. The golf courses have always been an integral part of life here in Reston and I think they should stay that way.

My family chose to live in Reston in 2006. I, however, chose to live here years before when, as a teenager, I vacationed here with my parents. I was instantly enamored with the beauty of this place, amazed at how this modern community was integrated with so much green, open space. I’d grown up in a post-industrial, Rust Belt town and didn’t have daily access to green spaces so common in Reston. Now, as a longtime member of this community, I recognize how central our green, open spaces are to our lives and how integral they are to our way of life. As a member of the Reston Association Board of Directors, I will do everything in my power to preserve and protect our green and open spaces for future generations.

I unequivocally support the preservation and strengthening of Land Resolution 6. As a child who grew up in and around the Reston area and as a resident who thoroughly enjoys Reston’s open spaces with my growing family, I know the value of green space in the eyes of a child and an adult.  Two of Reston’s founding principles are the fostering of nature and the establishment of specific community-provided amenities including golf courses.  While these principles have been challenged in recent years, I firmly believe they are at the heart of what continues to make Reston exceptional, and what drew me and my wife back to the area to raise our family.  For over 60 and 50 years respectively Reston has been home to Hidden Creek and Reston National golf courses – two cherished areas of green space that define north and south Reston.  The current land use designations for both courses are truly the only barriers between the continued enjoyment of the green space and their conversion to mixed use or commercial properties. As a result, I firmly believe that it is the responsibility of the RA Board to maintain a public and ever-present position in support of the preservation of these courses and the green/open space they provide.

This statement was written and approved by Trevor Grywatch, Candidate for the At-Large, 2-Year Director position.

As a resident of Golf Course Island in Reston I can see the Hidden Creek Golf Course from my home. This makes this issue personal besides being good common sense.

The Fairfax Country Comprehensive Plan and the Reston Master Plan are clear that Reston should have two 18 hole golf courses and all the open space land that comes with such properties.

Reston National and Hidden Creek Country Club, as currently designed, meet that requirement.

Any alteration would be in direct opposition to the plans set forth by Fairfax County as well as Resolution 6 by the RA Board which was adopted in 2016.

I am vehemently opposed to any alteration to these two properties. A work around where these properties become an executive 18 hole course allowing a portion of the open space to be developed is also not acceptable. As the signs in our neighborhood say: “Open Space once lost is gone forever”.

I support the efforts of Rescue Reston to preserve these two open space golf courses.

It is now more important than ever with the urbanization of Reston spaces adjacent to our two metro stations that our open spaces be preserved and maintained for our planet’s health, our local wildlife community and the enjoyment that these two locations provide to golfers, walkers and lovers of nature.

If elected to the RA Board I will support all efforts to maintain the preservation of these two golf courses and surrounding open space areas. Reston is a planned community and this must always be an integral part of the plan.

This message was written and approved by Michael Brandland.

To publicly give its support for protecting the green, open space of Reston’s two golf courses, the RA Board of Directors in December 2016 adopted Land Use Resolution 6 on Golf Course policy that still stands and states:

WHEREAS, since its inception in 1961, Reston has been a golf course community; and,

WHEREAS, the Hidden Creek and Reston National golf courses are an essential element of Reston because of their integration into Reston’s natural open space areas and because of the active recreational opportunities they provide.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Reston Association desires to continue to be a golf course community; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Reston Association does not support any future “grid of streets” road connection between American Dream Way and Isaac Newton Square because it will adversely affect the Hidden Creek golf course.

ATTEST:  This Resolution was adopted at a Regular Meeting of the Reston Association’s Board of Directors held on December 15, 2016.