The elephant in the room, as the Board of Supervisors approved a 40,000 square foot addition to South Lakes High School, was a failing stormwater management plan for the adjoining neighborhoods of Wakerobin Lane and Cedar Cove.
Two people spoke at the public hearing on Oct. 20 to ensure that it was addressed.
“There is absolutely no doubt that the classroom space that the School Board seeks is needed,” said Terry Maynard, of Reston 20/20. “What is not needed is the added destruction of neighboring private properties from the increased stormwater runoff that the project will create and, ultimately, the added pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.”
Reston 20/20 is a committee of community volunteers that says it strives to protect the vision and planning principles laid out for Reston by the late Bob Simon and encapsulated in the Comprehensive Plan.
The result, of the proposed expansion, said Maynard, “will be additional stormwater runoff into the swale on the east side of South Lakes High School that drains from FCPS property under South Lakes Drive and into a stream between the residential areas downstream, specifically Cedar Cove cluster and Wakerobin Lane.
“The experience of both downstream neighborhoods has been that each addition to the high school, including parking lots, has added to stormwater flows from the east side of the high school especially during storms,” he said.
Anne Drissel also testified at the public hearing regarding the proposed South Lakes Expansion which included 40,000 square feet and 128 parking spaces already recommended for approval by the Fairfax County Planning Commission earlier in October.
“It is not acceptable that county representatives stand up at meetings and act as if this is a new problem that they might consider in future storm management plans,” said Drissel.
MAYNARD ASKED the Board to defer decision until the stormwater management plan is addressed.
“We believe the Board of Supervisors should also press FCPS to be a responsible Reston community partner and environmental steward in addressing the problem it created,” said Maynard.
Maynard said Reston 20/20 consulted legal opinion.
“Reston 20/20 strongly recommends that the BOS defer decision on the South Lakes addition proposal until the county attorney has provided a legal opinion that the school’s proposal to implement a minimal stormwater management program does not create an unnecessary financial and legal risk to the county,” said Maynard.
HUNTER MILL SUPERVISOR Cathy Hudgins gave legitimacy to neighborhood description of the stormwater problem.
“The conditions described are very much real,” she said.
Everybody agreed that there are storm water issues that impact the Wakerobin and Cedar Cove cluster.
But the issue then turned to responsibility, whose it was, how it would be tackled, and when.
“We can’t restore this stream, I believe that is a project that should be done, but that’s a decision for another day,” said John McGranahan Jr., attorney for the school system.
“To say that the school is causing this or is the primarily responsible for causing this isn’t factually correct,” he said.
“Mr. Maynard has made the assertion that all of the drainage problems in this stream bed are coming from South Lakes High School,” he said, when stormwater runoff is being caused from multiple sources.
“The building addition that is being proposed does not lie in this stream bed,” he said. In fact, less stormwater will run off from the school after the addition is made, he said.
STORMWATER DIVISION OFFICIALS and Reston Association focused in on the problem back in 2004, said Hudgins.
“We thought it was a serious problem then,” she said.
But the county couldn’t obtain necessary easements from some of the neighbors, Hudgins said, to move forward on stormwater management plans.
“Some of the challenges are overwhelming and we need participation from the neighbors,” she said.
“I think we’re in a better position this time around,” she said.
She recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the expansion plan with the understanding that the stormwater management officials will work with Reston Association and neighbors on addressing the “long term problem that existed in this neighborhood for the benefit of the entire community.”