| Reston
Prepares For Metro |
By Sabrina Enayatulla
Observer Staff Writer |
| Ongoing talks and debates about the metro rail coming to
Reston have now come to a lull as members of the community
are starting to recognize that rail to Dulles is in fact a
reality. But the issue of traffic congestion and an increase
in growth are still topics that spark some debate amongst
Reston residents who say that the density cap will soon be
exceeded. |
| Michael Eaton of Reston said he read the original deed of
Reston and never expected that the planned community's population
would exceed what it had initially been planned for. |
| "If I read it once, I read it a hundred
times," Eaton said at the redevelopment and density forum
held by the Reston Citizens Association and the Alliance of
Reston Clusters and Homeowners, Wednesday. "Reston was
going to be a place of 75,000 souls. Times change, but we
have the ability to tell the Board of Supervisors what we
want." |
| Eaton was only among a few at the forum who said they were
still uneasy about the sudden growth in Reston and increased
traffic that could come with metro rail. |
| But Greg Hamm with Reston Group said he didn't want to use
the cliché, "smart growth," but if planned properly,
that is exactly what the growth would be. |
| "We can chose where the growth goes," Hamm said.
|
| According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments,
Hamm said that smart growth could create a range of housing
opportunities and choices and "make development decisions
predictable." He gave the example of Reston Town Center
as an area with smart growth, calling it, "a place with
a sense of place." |
| He added that mixed land use, preserving open space and
providing a variety of transportation choices were all principles
of smart growth. "It's a compact existence," Hamm
said. "Banking and getting your dry cleaning." |
| Hamm gave a presentation outlining the fiscal benefits of
smart growth, which included a decrease in capital expenditure
and a decrease in service delivery. Hamm gave the example
of a police officer driving half a mile to get to where he
needed to go. |
| Economic development benefits were also outlined in his
presentation. |
| He said smart growth would increase property value while
offsetting affordability challenges. Hamm said there would
also be an increase in productivity, employment and personal
income. |
| Smart growth, according to Hamm, also would result in "knowledge
spillover," a sharing of information, ideas and technology.
|
| "Accenture leapfrogged Tysons and other places to come
to Reston," Hamm said. He said that was because Reston
had an "urban scene" almost 24 hours a day. |
| Hamm said if planned for growth, Reston could collaborate
well with all that is coming to the area in the future. |
| Hamm said he had not been presented with any numbers by
the county in regards to any cap but said even if there is
no change to the cap there will still be growth in Reston.
|
| RCA President Mike Corrigan also made a presentation showing
sections of the original plan for Reston. |
| Reston's master plan from 1962 showed that there would be
11.72 people per acre and the 10 square miles that encompassed
6,400 acres would house 75,000 people. |
| The planned residential community district said the maximum
density was to be 13 persons per acre and the density areas
were separated into three categories. |
| Low density would house 3.8 persons per acre; medium density,
14 persons per acre; and high density would include 60 persons
per acre. |
| Corrigan said Reston is approaching the density cap of 13
per acre, using the current factors, adding that actual population
may be significantly less than that calculated by the factors.
|
| He said individual low, medium, and high-zoned areas may
be subject to redevelopment at their full density, even if
they are currently at a lower actual density. |
| But Corrigan also said that he did not know where the 13
persons per acre cap came from in the first place. |
| He said traffic patterns should also be looked at and compared
to traffic impact problems and patterns from the 1960s. |
| Aside from the impact on traffic and growth in Reston, Ken
Andrews, a volunteer with Reston Association, gave a brief
presentation on the environmental costs and concerns with
further development and growth of Reston. |
| Andrews said when rainwater runs down hills into streams,
it builds an enormous amount of force picking up dirt and
other residue. |
| As the storm water eventually makes its way to Reston's
lakes, the sediment and dirt creates a bank in the lake. |
| Every so often the lakes then have to be "dredged"
which is a process in which all of the sediment is removed
from the lakes using heavy machinery such as cranes. Andrews
said this is a capital expenditure. |
| "Rain water won't evaporate into asphalt," he
said. Andrews said there are ways of welcoming change to Reston
in a way that is healthy for the environment. |
| "Parking garages pervious lots, rain water can filtrate
down into the soil," he said. Andrews said that when
the Nature House is completed, there would be "a really
high tech gravel parking lot" to ease impact on the environment. |
| Reston's next planning and zoning meeting is scheduled for
Monday, Sept. 11. The location and time of the meeting will
be announced. Visit www.reston.org. |
