Redeveloping the Sheraton Reston

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Other articles of interest:

Sheraton Task Force Holds Off Conclusions | The Reston Perspective | Jack Harris' Column | Arltec Inc. Fact Sheet

As President of the Reston Citizens Association (RCA), I am writing Reston cluster presidents concerning a matter as important as any other in our history. Your serving as a cluster leader is clear evidence of your commitment to our community. A land-use issue now faces Reston which merits our concern - it could increase by nearly four times the building density on the land occupied by the Sheraton Hotel along Sunrise Valley Drive.

Many in the community feel that this is a bell-weather case which could literally determine the future direction of development in Reston. Indications from some proponents of this project seem to be that there is a connection between making this project dense in order to justify and sustain the two metro stations planned in Reston, less than a mile apart, at Reston Parkway and Wiehle Ave.

Specifically, this proposal before Fairfax County seeks to change the Reston Master Plan, change the Fairfax County Master Plan and change the County Zoning Ordinance all to accommodate this expansion.

Even more troubling is the practical impact of these changes. If approved they would make the entire area along Sunrise Valley Drive from Reston Parkway to Wiehle Ave eligible for the same type of density. There is reason to believe that such a decision would also lead to increased commercial density along Sunrise Valley Drive from Wiehle Ave. all the way to Hunter Mill Road. Unlike Sunset Hills Road with commercial land on both sides from Herndon to just past the Reston Post Office, Sunrise Valley is residential on one side and commercial on the other.

Some questions which merit our examination include:

Should a massive change to the Reston Master Plan, the Fairfax County Master Plan and the County Zoning Ordinance be allowed which targets this residential neighborhood as if it was a totally commercial area?
When there are other areas (Sunset Hills Road and Town Center) where high density is more appropirate should it be allowed in a residential neighborhood?
What is the density - development level - required to support three metro rail stations (Wiehle, Reston Parkway and Monroe Street) now envisioned in just 1.5 miles of the Dulles Corridor?
Should additional high density development in Reston/Herndon be allowed now when the most optimistic projections envision rail in the year 2020?
In your experience does our road network handle the traffic we have now?
Do Restonians have the right to a community hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission makes its recommendation?

RCA is not against redevelopment. We believe that the planning process should be worked so that both the project and the communitiy win. This deserves community wide discussion. Please let me know how you feel by calling me at 437-7020, and please call Supervisor Robert Dix at 478-0283.

Respectfully,

Marcia E. McDevitt, President
Reston Citizens Association

You may also leave comments here at outlook@townweb.com

The Hunters Green Board of Directors would like to invite residents and homeowners in the Reston area to attend a public meeting to be held at the Reston Community Center on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:30pm. This meeting will include a disclosure of the facts and information about the Reston Sheraton proposal and the related out-of-plan amendment and zoning amendment that have been withheld from the Reston citizens. Together these amendments, offered by County Supervisor Bob Dix and endorsed by the majority of his hand-picked task force over the objections of residents are flawed. The amendments as presented:

Violate the County's Master Plan and the Reston Master Plan in terms of density and use -- with the addition of multiple high-rise buildings, the density on this site will increase by nearly 300 percent!
Violate the official County policy guidelines for implementing the Master Plan.
Would increase traffic dramatically on an already overburdened road system.
Set a danger (sic) precedent for redevelopment throughout Reston, NO AREA IS SAFE!
Are being pushed through in a rush to judgment that makes no genuine effort to seek local citizen input. The Dix-appointed Task Force has REFUSED TO HOLD A PUBLIC SESSION TO HEAR FROM RESTON HOMEOWNERS!
Are being handled in a way that turns logic inside out: The Master Plan was intended as the standard for judging appropriateness of development proposals, but the proposed amendments seek to conform the Plan to the developer's demands.

What is not well-known within Reston is that the proposed amendments do not affect just the Sheraton site. They would apply to the entire strip along Sunrise Valley Drive from Reston Parkway to Whiele Avenue. Once this section has been rezoned for high-rise, high density development, just how long will it be before other commercial property owners seek to extend similar zoning to the entire Reston-Herndon Suburban Center which the County defines generally as those parcels bordering the Toll Road from Monroe Avenue to Hunter Mill Road? Just how long will it be before Reston becomes another Rosslyn or Tysons Corner?

This is not just a limited neighborhood issue. The future character of Reston is at stake.

If you are concerned -- and you should be -- then come to the meeting at the RCC on May 21 and voice your opinion.

wholmes@ids2.idsonline.com

The proposed redevelopment of the Sheraton Conference Center has the potential to bring out the best and worst in Reston. Good design and quality planning could create a faclity that would offer great benefits to he community and the region. On the other hand, an inharmonious assemblage of ugly buildings could become an eyesore and a traffic nightmare.

The Sheraton redevelopment issues should not be resolved in a "fast track" process, nor should that process exclude full citizen participation and review. Any change to the Reston Master Plan should be a measured and deliberate process that affords all concerned parties an opportunity for reflection, thoughtful comment and meaningful participation.

Clearly, redevelopment of the site will have far reaching consequences. The intensity of the proposed project will have an immense impact on vehicular traffic and the Reston skyline. Conceivably, the density and the success or failure of the project will influence planning decisions for rail transit in the region. Furthermore, the manner and style in which County government approaches this redevelopment project will be a precursor for other PRC District redevelopment proposals.

Therefore, RCA urges Supervisor Dix to influence County government to tread slowly through the process of amending the Development Plan, and also to strive for that process to be as inclusive as possible. The contentious history of Sheraton redevelopment and the magnitude of impact on the community has convinced RCA that the process should be unhurried, measured and closely scrutinized.

The process should commence with a public dialog between the County and the Community. County staff should meet with concerned citizens to address the following questions:

What form and intensity of development is permitted and contemplated under the current development plan?
What is the nature of the proposed change to the plan?
What is the process by which the devlopment plan may be amended?
How can individual citizens or associations influence the amendment process?
Regarding the law suit affecting this parcel, what is fact, fantasy and forecast?
What is the traffic management plan?
Would a task force help forge community/developer concensus?

A public dialog on these and related related questions would help allay community fears of a predetermined outcome.

Respectfully,

Marcia E. McDevitt
President on behalf of the RCA Executive Board

Jack is right. It is good to know there are some in our community who have a level head and an open mind. Any other community in America, indeed the world, would welcome a $100 milloin redevelopment plan, but not Reston.

One of Bob Simon's founding principles for Reston is that it be financially viable. Many in Reston either don't know that or they chose to ignore it.

Some in Reston also won't recognize that Reston is a PLANNED community. Look at the Reston Master Plan. The area around Reston Parkway and the Toll Road is to be the downtown of Reston -- always planned that way. If this is not "the Reston we bought into" as some have said in recent letters to the Times and Connection, then they failed to find out about the Reston they bought into when they bought into it.

For example, there are complaints about Spectrum. The entire Town Center District (an area larger than the Disney site debated three years ago.) was zoned in 1987. It people did not want a Town Center with mixed use and more than 4 million square feet of development, they should have spoken up then. That is the Reston everyone bought into.

From:Jsnmpal@aol.com

I would like to see the strip between the Tollway and Sunrise Valley Drive redeveloped as a park. We could have a beautiful long park that would run from Reston Parkway all the way to Hunter Mill Road. It could be a theme park, and the theme would be RESTON. People of all races and economic circumstances could share the benches. There could be volkswalking paths, wide ones with center lines. There would be no smoking permitted in the park, and no parking (no pun intended!).

I know it couldn't be done all at once, because some of the office buildings in the park zone are relatively new. As each section of property becomes overdue for redevelopment, we could convert it to park. Until it was all unified, each parcel could have a different, but carefully coordinated and controlled theme. We could have HARMONY Park, JUSTICE Park, PEACE Park, COMMON GOOD Park -- you get the idea -- until they were ultimately integrated into RESTON Park.

BestReston@aol.com

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