Statement to Board of Supervisors on Reston Comp Plan by Connie Hartke

The following statement from RCA Board member Connie Hartke was submitted to the Board of Supervisors on January 27, 2014.

Madam Chairman and honorable members of the Board,

I am on the Boards of Rescue Reston and the Reston Citizens Association (RCA).   I regret that I cannot attend the January 28 meeting where the Draft Reston Master Plan will be submitted for approval. 

I recall going to my first Task force meeting in August 2013.  Terry Maynard, RCA’s representative on the Task Force, forcefully voiced the concerns of RCA regarding transportation, recreation & parks shortfalls and more around the TSAs.  I had fully expected his comments to be followed by some good discussion.  Instead it was answered with stony silence.  This was quite an eye opener to me on how this process was going.  The developers and land use attorneys were indeed running the show.  Normal citizens have been shut down and most believe it is no longer worth even trying to participate and affect change.

I will keep trying.

I have already expressed my concerns to you about recreation and parks in my presentation to the Fairfax County Planning Commission on November 13, 2013. 

Transportation bottlenecks are my focus of this correspondence.  Not for myself – I am very lucky to work from home and I have the flexibility to cross the toll road (I live on the south side) at non-peak times.  My concern is especially for families such as those parked along the sides of Soapstone Drive who will need to add tens of minutes to their commute times.   How will this affect their quality of life which for so many of these folks must be such a struggle as it is?  They will have to find child care for that extra time and more money for gasoline as they idle for tens of minutes at a time to get through the traffic to get to their jobs.

Mrs. Bulova, we first met when I met with you about the possible development of Reston National Golf Course.  Reston is a gem that is enjoyed by so many in this area.  This quote from Bill Scott of Falls Church on the Rescue Reston online petition summarizes it well:  “Reston is among my favorite places in Virgina [sic]. I live in an overcrowded region inside the beltway. I enjoy coming to Reston to dine and play golf. The current balance of open space to infrastructure in the community is primarily why I enjoy and admire Reston so much. Coming from someone who lives in an overdeveloped, overpopulated, and overcrowded community, please leave Reston National Golf Course the way it is.”  (emphasis added)

Please don’t approve this Comprehensive Plan as it stands currently.  It is not balanced and the RCA analysts and others have repeatedly offered language to the Plan to resolve this.  Send it back and demand better for Reston.