RESTON COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT CORPORATION

Board Meeting

May 4, 2006
Lake Anne Office Building
11484 Washington Plaza West
Reston, VA 20190

MINUTES

Present:
Kurt Pronske
Van Foster
Walt Peter
Anne Strange
Howard Green
Rick Thompson

Invited Guests
Ayanna Brown HCD

Observers
John Marcario The Reston Times
Joe Stowers
Nabil Faltas
Jason Hartke Reston Connection

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

Approval of the April 13th Minutes:
The minutes were reviewed and approved unanimously as amended by President Pronske.

Funding for Design Guidelines:
A Request for Proposal (RFP) has been developed by the County staff and is now being reviewed by County attorneys. Upon approval, the RFP will be issued for bids to approximately 125 consulting firms with a 15 day response time. Assuming normal processing time, a contract could be awarded in August. The funding for the first phase of this effort is $30K. The first phase will produce guidelines covering all aspects of design; the second phase will support the comprehensive plan amendment process. A “technical advisory panel” will be created to advise the consultants; the panel will comprise technical experts grounded in the community.

Charrette Report:
The Board reviewed the Lake Anne Charrette Report prepared by the NVRC. The President invited the members to comment on any areas that they felt were inaccurate or incorrect. The members generally felt that the report presented the results of the charrette meetings fairly but did not provide definitive guidance for the next phase of the process. President Pronske described the report as a good beginning that provides a direction for the next phase of the project. Mr. Foster noted that section 5 on goals did not mention a goal of adding more retail space, which seemed inconsistent with the later architectural concepts that added space in all but one of the alternative designs.

Mr. Peter commented that the most significant issue in the revitalization process was the revision of the comprehensive plan. This would provide developers with firm guidelines and eliminate uncertainty on what would be acceptable to the community and the County. He noted that KSI pulled out of their Good Shepard Lutheran Church property contract because of the uncertainty over what density would be acceptable. He suggested that it would be more productive for the Board to focus on the comprehensive plan amendment process than to conduct a lengthy discussion of the charrette report. Mr. Peter also noted that ultimately a developer will have to put together a deal with the property owners in the context of the comprehensive plan.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50.