Rescue Reston team members have been working for several weeks to thoroughly understand the latest attack on Reston National Golf Course and to develop a defense strategy. The recently filed applications follow what was tried in 2012. At that time, no one at the County level or in our community had expected that anyone would try to override the “Reston Master Plan” as it was then called, and put housing on this open space.
We have all learned so much over the last 14 years and are much better prepared to defend.
For simplicity, we’ll refer to the golf course owners — Virginia Investment Partners 2019 LLC and its partner, NVR, Inc. — collectively as “the plaintiffs.”
Their claim: The plaintiffs assert the right to build 288 housing units on the southwest corner of Reston National Golf Course (RNGC), based on an approved plan and traffic study from 1966. Additional numbers come from bonus units granted for Workforce Development Units (WDU) housing (not to be confused with truly affordable low-income ADU housing).
Why this matters: The 1966 application described the site as “vacant and wooded… adjoined by vacant and wooded land to the west, north, and east, except a research and development plant across Reston Avenue.” Reston Avenue is now Reston Parkway. Take a drive from Sunrise Valley Drive south on Colts Neck Road, then east on South Lakes Drive to see today’s many developed residential neighborhoods.
Our position: Based on Rescue Reston’s research, this area under the B-555 case was meant to be included in the golf course property and thus any previous approvals voided.
Where Things Stand
Fairfax County’s Zoning Evaluation Division has assigned staff to review these zoning applications. A staff report is expected by mid-October, ahead of the November 4 Planning Commission public hearing. We will notify you in advance if you’d like to speak during the public comment period.
If the applications pass the Planning Commission, the case moves to the Board of Supervisors (BoS). Our goal is to stop it at one of these two stages.
What the plaintiffs are seeking:
They are trying to force Fairfax County to accept an obsolete development plan from 60 years ago. We believe our Planning Commissioners and Board of Supervisors will reject this — and if the plaintiffs then sue the County, we expect the County to defend itself.
Our ask: Stay united with the County.
We are fortunate to have strong allies in Planning Commissioner John Carter, who knows Reston well, and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who recently helped defeat the casino proposal and has previously supported this community against the development of the golf courses.
Rescue Reston will follow up soon with a simple action step for contacting the Planning Commission and BoS. We are taking the time to get the message exactly right — there is no immediate deadline despite what you may read elsewhere.