Virginia Supreme Court to Consider Unprecedented Challenge of Reston’s Master Plan

Jan 10, 2016 | Events, Updates

Attorneys for the owners of Reston National Golf Course have filed a notice that they plan to appeal our Circuit Court victory to the Virginia Supreme Court.

  • This notice gives RN Golf the right to file a petition for appeal by the 90th day after the December 4th final court order. Our count shows this deadline as March 3, 2016.
  • Our team then has 30 days to file a brief in opposition. “Our team” is Fairfax County, Reston Association and the petitioners whom Rescue Reston is helping with their legal funding. This triumvirate has proven itself through winning at every level to this point.

Next at the Supreme Court level: A three-judge panel will consider whether the Supreme Court should hear this case.

  • Most likely this will happen in May.
  • The Court does not take most cases.
  • We expect the crux of this case will be whether the Vulcan Materials case, which said that a BZA decision rendered in the absence of a development plan filed with the county is merely advisory, should apply. It’s not clear whether the Court would think there is any benefit in taking the RN Golf appeal; they might if they wanted to clarify or otherwise modify Vulcan. If you are interested, read about the Vulcan case at http://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/1994/930764-1.html.

Current action for our team’s legal: File briefs in opposition.

  • The petitioners’ attorney will argue that Vulcan applies. The County and presumably RA will file similar briefs.
  • If the Court decides not to hear the case, this action could be over in May or early June.
  • If they do take the case, the next step will be setting a date for oral arguments.

Now is the time to support us more than ever – we need to keep the pressure on! There are multiple ways you can contribute listed on the right column of this email. Your support – even just sending us a restaurant receipt from Glory Days Grill, will ensure that we can maintain legal strength and backing to defend the designated open space at Reston National Golf Course, a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Golf Course. Click here for Reston Association’s news release about RN Golf’s notice to appeal.