| ‘Reston
Heights' Draws Criticism |
By Jackie Allder
Observer Staff Writer |
| A proposal to build more than 1 million square feet of retail,
residential and office space near the intersection of Sunrise
Valley Road and Reston Parkway drew criticism from residents
who said the plan called for too much density and would increase
traffic problems in the area. The JBG Companies owns the 10
acres of land where Reston Heights would be developed. |
| JBG representatives met with about 40 residents of the Hunters
Green cluster Monday night at the Sheraton to discuss the
rough details of the project. John Schlichting, managing director
of The JBG Companies, said the company is meeting with the
Fairfax County Planning Commission for approval of its Planned
Residential Community conceptual plan. |
| Until March of this year, PRC plans did not go before the
planners or the Board of Supervisors; however, the board altered
PRC district provisions moving the approval of the PRC plan
from an administrative to legislative process. |
| The proposed site runs along Sunrise Valley from 7-Eleven
to the Reston International Center and abuts the Sheraton,
which JBG owns. The company is also developing Reston Square,
which includes The Mercer, The Westin Reston and an office
building. |
| In 1969, the Board of Supervisors approved a development
plan for the Reston Heights site that called for an area that
would include an "office service center, minor commercial
and high density residential," according to a county
staff report. Jeff Kelley, representative with JBG, said they
worked with zoning officials to clarify what that meant as
they developed their proposal. |
| Kelley said Reston Heights would feature about 428,000 square
feet of office space, 145,000 square feet of retail and 498
residential units. Parking would be in an underground facility.
The retail space, he said, would have no single location larger
than 60,000 square feet, about the size of a small grocer. |
| "To comment on specifics is impossible in a lot of
different ways," Kelley said, explaining that approval
of the PRC plan is a very preliminary step in the process.
|
| Overall, Schlichting said their goal is to create a development
that provides connections for pedestrians and bicyclists and
is transit-oriented. The plan, he said, "really only
makes sense if it's linked to rail and linked to rail in a
meaningful way." |
| They would like to build an elevated walkway from the development
to the planned Metro stop at Reston Parkway, but Schlichting
said that project would need to be a community effort with
the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority and Fairfax County, among others. |
| Resident Jim Allred said he did not buy JBG's statement
that they could not commit to creating that walkway. "Unless
it's connected pedestrian-wise to the Metro, this project
fails in my mind," he said. Allred said without that
connection to the Metro stop, people would drive to the nearby
stations and further increase traffic. |
| JBG said it hired a firm to complete a traffic study, which
determined Sunrise Valley could handle the additional traffic
from its development. But residents at the meeting were skeptical
about that study. They recommended that JBG complete a "serious
traffic study" or hire a person who actually lives in
the area to examine the congestion. |
| "We are not going to be able to get out of our neighborhoods,"
said Marie Huhtala, a Reston resident who is currently running
for the Hunter Mill district seat on the Fairfax County Board
of Supervisors. Huhtala said the nearby roads have already
receiving failing grades, and she does not know how that could
be improved with this development. |
| One resident even doubted whether JBG could fix or improve
the traffic problem in general. "It all seems to be backwards
to me," said resident Fred Rothwarf. "You know,
some problems don't have solutions." |
| Schlichting said they would not progress with the development
"unless we have truly mitigated the traffic." |
| The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee is scheduled to
discuss the plan and issue an advisory opinion at its meeting
Monday. The planning committee meets at Reston Association,
1930 Isaac Newton Square, at 7:30 p.m. The Fairfax County
Planning Commission also will hold a public hearing on the
plan Wednesday. |
