Dinner Board Meeting – President Mulston called to order the meeting of the Board of Directors (Board) of the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) on June 30, 2022 at 6:57 pm. This was a dinner meeting held at Hidden Creek Country Club (HCGC).
In-Person Attendees were: Lynne Mulston, President; Gary Maupin, Vice-President; Joe Leighton, Treasurer; Shawn Endsley, Secretary; Scott Arwood; Vincent Dory; Connie Hartke; and Dennis Hays. Director Yavuz Inanli attended via Zoom Call. Director Jan DeLucian and Director Brian Steiner were absent. Michele Silver attended in-person as a guest of President Mulston. President Mulston determined that a quorum of 9 of 11 members was present at 6:57 pm and the meeting could proceed.
Adoption of Agenda – President Mulston asked for adoption of the agenda. Upon motion made by Treasurer Leighton, and seconded by Director Hays, the Board unanimously approved the proposed agenda.
Approval of Minutes – President Mulston asked for approval of the minutes of the May 31, 2022 Board meeting. Upon motion made by Director Hays, and seconded by Director Dory, the Board approved the May 31, 2022 minutes with 8 Ayes and 1 Abstention by Treasurer Leighton.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report – President Mulston then asked for approval of the Treasurer’s Report. Upon motion made by Director Hartke, and seconded by Vice-President Maupin, the Board unanimously approved the Treasurer’s Report.
Introduction of Michele Silver – Prospective Board Member – President Mulston introduced Ms. Silver as a prospective Board member. Ms. Silver is a member of the North Shore Cluster and has lived in the Reston community for 20 years. She indicated that she became interested in preventing development of HCGC and in reviewing the development plans for the Fannie Mae property. President Mulston noted that Ms. Silver had professionally represented the North Shore Cluster in her testimony before the Planning Commission. Ms. Silver then provided the Board with her personal background and interest in serving on the Board.
President Mulston noted that Ms. Silver may be selected as either the Lake Anne/Tall Oaks/Town Center representative or as an at-large director depending on Director DeLucian’s status. President Mulston agreed to inform the Board and Ms. Silver once she had an opportunity to speak with Director DeLucian. At that point action would be taken on Ms. Silver’s interest in the Board.
Recess – President Mulston then recessed the Board meeting at 7:15 pm for dinner. The Board meeting resumed at 7:49 pm.
Reston Comprehensive Plan (RCP) Task Force Updates – President Mulston, Vice-President Maupin and Director Hays are members of the RCP Task Force. President Mulston indicated the RCP is undergoing review by the Fairfax County (County) staff and community groups. President Mulston noted that a reconciliation dashboard had been prepared to encompass the comments from County Staff and others on the Land Use chapter of the RCP. The reconciliation dashboard is expected to be completed on July 11, 2022 and will assist in identifying those areas requiring further discussion and resolution.
Vice-President Maupin indicated that the only issue in the Transportation chapter is the proposed road connecting American Dream Way to North Shore Drive. County Staff wants to have this connection while Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn (Supervisor Alcorn) opposes this connector road. This will need to be resolved in the RCP.
Director Hays noted that he had no additional comments.
President Mulston indicated that she would be aggregating the Board’s comments on the RCP for inclusion in a paper on RCA’s positions for review by the Board and ultimate dissemination to the RCP Task Force. Supervisor Alcorn remains the final decision maker on the content of the RCP.
Reston Civic Center (aka Reston Town Center North) Unsolicited Proposal – President Mulston asked Director Hays to update the Board on the recent unsolicited proposal for the Reston Civic Center area formerly known as Reston Town Center North (RTCN). Director Hays noted that a key issue associated with the unsolicited proposal from Foulger-Pratt is the treatment of the affordable housing located in the area. Director Hays noted that no information has been provided by County Staff in apparent violation of the Virginia Code. Director Hays and Vice-President Maupin met with Supervisor Alcorn and Thomas Fleetwood who is the Director of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development and the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director of the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. That meeting did not produce any satisfactory results and Director Hays sent a letter addressing his concerns regarding information associated with the proposal and compliance with the Virginia Code. Director Hays did note that apparently an additional proposal for development of Reston Civic Center had been received, but no information has been forthcoming from County Staff
President Mulston suggested that discussions with an attorney might be appropriate given Director Hays concerns. No specific actions were further discussed.
Recess – President Mulston then recessed the Board meeting at 8:08 pm for dessert. The Board meeting resumed at 8:15 pm.
Fannie Mae Rezoning – President Mulston reported that the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted 10 -1 to approve the revised Fannie Mae rezoning proposal from Wheelock Capital. This approval was despite County Staff’s recommendation to deny the revised proposal. The revised proposal includes 82 townhouses of which eight are two-by-two units. The current property has three gates (one-pedestrian and two vehicular gates). The revised proposal includes more green space, preservation of the ponds, wetlands and environmental quality areas, setbacks from the environmentally sensitive areas in excess of the minimums required, lawn panels with closely spaced trees, sidewalks and a small building zone for the front of each building, a new public trail system, public access to the nine-acre open space and pond area, and shared maintenance by the home owners and office building owners. The revised development proposal has two vehicular gates. The revised proposal does not have a connector road from American Dream Way to North Shore Drive. Director Inanli felt that there should be two access points for public safety. Approval by the County Board of Supervisors needs to be scheduled.
Golf Courses Update – Reston National Golf Course (RNGC) – President Mulston asked Director Hartke to provide an update on RNGC. Director Hartke noted that the developers had asked Supervisor Alcorn for additional time to meet with the community but Supervisor Alcorn declined and said that the developers had to stay with the original timeframe that they gave of September. The developers have been sponsoring open houses and working with the Reston Chamber of Commerce to drum up support for their development efforts. These efforts are being followed by Rescue Reston. Neighbors who have attended report the presentations are not factually accurate. The developers’ presentations do not seem to be bearing much fruit in addressing Supervisor Alcorn’s insistence that the community be supportive of any redevelopment.
Hidden Creek Golf Course (HCGC) – President Mulston reported no new developments with respect to HCGC.
Treasurer Leighton left the meeting at 8:35 pm.
Other Business – Directors Dory and Hays again brought to the Board’s attention that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is planning to request an increase in the rates on the Dulles Toll Road. Both Directors Dory and Hays would like the Board to consider opposing this increase for a variety of reasons of which a significant factor is the mismanagement of the Silver Line Rail project by MWAA. Directors Dory and Hays offered to draft a letter in opposition to this increase for Board review and action.
Director Inanli noted his concerns that opposition by the Board would be inconsistent with prior positions taken by the Board. Director Hartke asked Director Inanli to provide those prior positions to the Board to assist in the deliberations over what actions should be taken by the Board.
Closing – President Mulston indicated the next meeting of the Board would be both an in-person and Zoom meeting on July 26, 2022 from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. The in-person meeting would be at the National Realty offices. President Mulston then asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 pm. Upon motion made by Director Dory and seconded by Vice-President Maupin, the Board unanimously agreed to adjourn.