The Board of Directors (Board) meeting of the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) was a Zoom meeting held on October 27, 2021. President Mulston called the meeting to order at 7:34 pm.
Attendees were: Lynne Mulston, President; Gary Maupin, Vice-President; Shawn Endsley, Secretary; Joe Leighton, Treasurer; Vincent Dory; Connie Hartke (joined at 7:50 pm); Dennis Hays (joined at 7:40 pm); and Yavuz Inanli (joined at 7:50 pm). Brian Steiner was absent. There were no guests. President Mulston determined that a quorum of 5 of 9 members was present and the meeting could proceed at 7:34 pm.
Adoption of Agenda – President Mulston asked for adoption of the agenda. Upon motion made by Secretary Endsley with a second by Vice-President Maupin, the Board unanimously approved the proposed agenda.
Approval of Minutes – President Mulston then asked for approval of the minutes of the September 22, 2021 meeting, as amended. Upon motion made by Vice-President Maupin and seconded by Treasurer Leighton, the Board unanimously approved the September 22, 2021 minutes as amended.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report – President Mulston asked for approval of the Treasurer’s Report. Upon motion made by Secretary Endsley and seconded by Vice-President Maupin, the Board unanimously approved the Treasurer’s Report.
Comprehensive Plan Task Force Updates – President Mulston, Vice-President Maupin and Director Hays are members of the task force working on the Comprehensive Plan. President Mulston noted the Task Force resumed its efforts in September after vacation in July/August.
President Mulston noted that the initial draft of the 13 chapters of the Comprehensive Plan is being completed for review by the Task Force. Once this review is completed the draft of the Comprehensive Plan will be provided to the Fairfax County Staff for their review and comments. Once the Fairfax County Staff has provided their comments and edits the revised Comprehensive Plan will be returned to the Task Force for its review of the Fairfax County Staff edits.
Vice-President Maupin noted that there are a number of chapters that need to be completed. It is expected that the entire document will be ready for Fairfax County Staff review and edits in Spring 2022 with Fairfax County Staff edits and comments available in the March/April 2022 time frame. It is expected that Developer Land Use Attorneys will provide their input to the Fairfax County Staff as part of this initial review. As noted above, the Fairfax County Staff comments and edits will be subject to the Task Force review. After this review by the Task Force the Comprehensive Plan will be submitted to the community for its comments and review. The community’s comments and edits will also then be subject to Task Force review. Based on this expected timeline and review process the Task Force will be provided 2 chances to review any edits to the Comprehensive Plan.
President Mulston noted that Planning Commissioner John Carter’s participation on the Task Force has been extremely valuable as the draft Comprehensive Plan will be submitted to the Planning Commission for their review. President Mulston noted that INOVA appears to be happy with the results of the Comprehensive Plan elements to date.
President Mulston and Vice-President Maupin indicated that a new chapter on earned density is expected to be developed and included in the draft of the Comprehensive Plan. Director Inanli indicated that he agreed with the concept of earned density; however, the details of the concept will be important.
Director Hays noted that it will be very important for the Task Force to review any comments and edits by Fairfax County Staff as developers will most likely be including their input at this point in the process.
President Mulston noted that the Task Force is meeting weekly and members of the community can attend.
Golf Courses Update –
Reston National Golf Course (RNGC) – Director Hartke gave presentations to two of the ten clusters that border RNGC. Developers have presented to all ten of the clusters with apparently limited success. It is expected that the developers will be requesting a Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) for RNGC.
The SSPA process for the northern part of Fairfax County is expected in 2022. Details on the SSPA can be found at: https:/www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/plan-amendments/sspa . The Fairfax County website details the process for the review and acceptance of an SSPA. Ultimately an SSPA needs to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval. (While any SSPA needs the approval of the entire Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Alcorn’s opinion would carry considerable weight.)
Hidden Creek Golf Course (HCCC) – President Mulston reported that one of the members of HCCC is conducting fundraising for Supervisor Alcorn’s re-election. Supervisor Alcorn has indicated that he would not accept contributions from developers with land use applications. Supervisor Alcorn has not indicated whether he would stand for re-election with his current term of office expiring on December 31, 2023. There were no further updates on HCCC.
Reston Association (RA) Updates – President Mulston indicated that there had been no response from RA on our letter regarding the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) search criterion. It was noted that Larry Butler has been named acting CEO as the search for CEO commences. RA created a committee of its Board to supervise the search. It has been reported in the media that RA has engaged a third-party search firm. The last CEO search took nine months to complete.
Old Business –
Reston Accessibility Committee (RAC) Nomination – Secretary Endsley reported that Reston Accessibility Committee’s nomination for the 2021 Martha Glenna Disability Inclusion and Equality Award from the Fairfax Area – Disability Services Board had been submitted on October 11, 2021. Nominations for this award were due by October 15, 2021.
President Mulston did attend a meeting where Kaiser Permante was given a Reston Accessibility Award for their parking renovations.
Candidate Forum – District 36 – The proposed candidate’s forum was cancelled as the Cornerstones forum was determined to meet the needs of the community. The public link was: https://www.cornerstonesva.org/advocate/ . Director Dory was thanked for his efforts in contacting the candidates and work to establish the forum despite its subsequent cancellation.
New Business –
Lighting Request – George Kain asked RCA to contact Fairfax County to request increased lighting on Glade Drive, Glade Bank Way, South Lakes Drive and Soapstone Drive in south Reston. The Board agreed that the email would be forwarded (without comment or endorsement) to appropriate Fairfax County Staff for their determination.
Reston Planning and Zoning Committee – There are openings on this committee and any recommendations for volunteers would be appreciated.
Recertification for Aging Buildings – Director Inanli noted that a recertification program for aging buildings was being considered. No further information was provided.
Closing – President Mulston indicated the next meeting of the Board would be on November 30, 2021 at 7:30 pm. President Mulston then asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 pm. Upon motion made by Director Hays and seconded by Director Dory, the Board unanimously agreed to adjourn.