RESTON COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT CORPORATION

Board Meeting

December 14, 2006
Lake Anne Office Building
11484 Washington Plaza West
Reston, VA 20190

MINUTES

Board Members Present:
Kurt Pronske
Phil Tobey
Walt Peter
Anne Strange
Howard Green
Rick Thompson
Van Foster

Invited Guests:
Lee Rau  Fairfax County RHA
Fred Selden Fairfax County Planning Division

Observers:
Joe Stowers Lake Anne Revitalization TAP
Patrick Knight

President Pronske called the meeting to order at 7:35PM and invited public comments.  There were none.

Approval of the November 9th Minutes
The minutes were passed by acclimation.  President Pronske noted that the County staff, which is shorthanded now, has not yet posted the minutes of recent meetings on the Revitalization web site.

Report of TAP/Design Guidelines Activity
Mr. Tobey reported that the first two meetings of the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) included briefings by the consultants and discussions on design principles.  The consultants are now synthesizing the discussions and creating design principles.  The third meeting will be held in early January and will be an interactive session to focus on concepts. 

Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Mr. Selden, Director of the Planning Division in the Department of Planning and Zoning, discussed the status of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment.  On December 4th, Supervisor Hudgins proposed that the Board of Supervisors (BoS) authorize the staff to evaluate a Plan Amendment for the Lake Anne Village Center and adjacent areas as the next step in the revitalization process.  The area addressed by the amendment includes the Revitalization District as well as the Cameron Crescent and Good Shepard Lutheran Church properties. 

The staff normally develops three scenarios to evaluate the impacts on infrastructure, traffic and other factors.  The Lake Anne Charrette result showing 600 additional residential units will probably be the intermediate scenario. 

The process includes the following steps:

• Staff recommendations
• Staff report on selected recommendations
• Planning Commission review
• Planning Commission public hearing
• Planning Commission report to the Board of Supervisors
• Board of Supervisors public hearing

Supervisor Hudgins has not decided on the means of engaging the community in this process, but may propose a public workshop prior to the Planning Commission review.  The schedule is aggressive, projecting final action by the Board of Supervisors in the May/June time frame. 

The revitalization area is in the historic overlay, so the staff will be informing the Fairfax County Architectural Review Board. 

In response to questions, Mr. Selden said that the amendment was related but not linked to the Reston density issue currently being addressed by Planning and Zoning.  The ability to implement the plan amendment may be constrained by density; Mr. Selden noted that an approved plan amendment does not overturn existing PRC zoning.  Zoning is addressed as a later issue in response to a specific request from a developer. 

The schedule for the density issue and the plan amendment are compatible; Jim Zook, Director of Planning and Zoning, plans to submit the density issue recommendation in March to the BoS. 

In a discussion of density, Mr. Stowers commented that the density calculation does not include Affordable Dwelling Units (ADUs).  Mr. Selden said this was true, but was unlikely to have a significant impact.  Mr. Rau commented that the County had not yet formulated plans for Cameron Crescent. 

Mr. Green asked if the plan amendment should address broader areas in Reston.  Mr. Seldon responded that changing “use and intensity” was always complicated and expanding the scope would make a very inefficient process.  Also, the major current development plans in the Whiele Metro area are in the industrial corridor and outside the PRC. 

After further discussion of public engagement, Mr. Selden concluded that there needs to be something publishable describing the process; he intends to provide something for the January RCRC Board meeting. 

Charrette Payment
President Pronske reported that the County will provide a check to the RCRC, and the RCRC will, in turn, pay the NVRC.  To avoid requiring the RCRC to establish a bank account, Mr. Pronske suggested that the check be endorsed to the RVRC.  Mr. Green moved and the Board unanimously approved the following resolution:

Resolved:  That the County check be endorsed to the NVRC and signed by both the President and Treasurer.

Report on the Board of Supervisors Revitalization Retreat
The BOS held a retreat on December 8th for a discussion of the revitalization program.  Mr. Rau commented that the most significant result was a decision to create a “swat team” approach to the revitalization staff organization with a representative reporting directly to the county executive.  Also, the BOS committee on revitalization would become a committee of the whole so that all supervisors are included.  Finally, the program would de-emphasize the focus on the defined revitalization areas and allow any area of the county to be addressed under the program. 

Discussion and Action
President Pronske noted that a letter had been received from Mr. Patrick Knight, a lawyer with a practice in Lake Anne, who requested information from the Board.  The Board addressed the questions and provided answers.  The Board will also provide the documents requested.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on January 11, 2007.

Adjournment
President Pronske adjourned the meeting at 9PM.