To protect Reston’s open space and environmental resources, Reston Association’s Environmental Advisory Committee has taken a stand against changes to the community’s allowable maximum density.
Last month at the association’s board of directors meeting, the committee asked the board to oppose the county’s effort to change the zoning ordinance to permit more residential density in Reston (See “Reston’s Density Cap”).
The committee drafted a letter that listed its objections to density above what’s currently permitted given Reston’s “severely degraded” watersheds. “There doesn’t seem to be anything out there about environmental concerns,” said the committee’s chair, Carolyn Badila.
They strongly recommended that the association oppose an ordinance change to eliminate the density cap, said the committee’s letter.
At the board’s June 22 meeting, the committee asked the association to endorse its letter and then send it to Supervisor Catherine Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill).
The board, surprised it hadn’t been more informed about the proposed zoning change, deferred its decision indefinitely, but agreed it would begin talks with the county to secure a greater role in the ordinance change process.
“What’s Reston Association’s role in all this?” asked Director Doug Bushée (Northpoint). “Whatever we need to do to get a seat at that table would benefit members.”
Director Mark Watts (At-Large) suggested sending the county a letter from the board to request “a seat at the table.”
Learning from experience during talks to bring Metrorail to Reston, where the association has only been briefed for updates, Director Rick Beyer (At-Large) said the letter should ask for a “formal” seat at the table. “Something more than what we’ve always got in the past,” he added.
If the density restriction is lifted in the next several months, the environmental advisory committee urges the association to “act to minimize the negative impacts of further development on the environmental quality of Reston.”
Realistic about the possibility that more density may be allowed, the committee’s letter outlines specific suggestions to maintain Reston’s environmental integrity, including the adoption of low-impact development techniques, like rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavers and infiltration trenches.