RESTON COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT CORPORATION

Board Meeting

Oct. 12, 2006
Lake Anne Office Building
11484 Washington Plaza West
Reston, VA 20190

MINUTES

Board Members Present:
Kurt Pronske
Howard Green
Robin Smyers
Phil Tobey
Rick Thompson
Bob Simon
Van Foster
Anne Strange

Invited Guests:
Cathy Hudgins Fairfax County Hunter Mill District Supervisor
Bob Fields Fairfax County HCD
Goldie Harrison Supervisor Hudgins Office
Lee Rau RHA

Observers:
Jason Hartke Reston Connection
John Marcario Reston Times
John Lovaas
Wayne Schiffelbein
Hedy Glenn

President Pronske called the meeting to order at 7:35PM and invited public comments.  John Lovaas commented that the Board has the opportunity to deliver a project with excellence and quality.  The Board should take the design standards and open a nation-wide competition; this would be a service to the community.

Approval of the September 14 Minutes
Mr. Thompson moved and Mr. Tobey seconded a motion that the minutes of the September 14th meeting be approved. The motion passed unanimously.

Discussion with Supervisor Hudgins
Guidelines Contract
Supervisor Hudgins said that the appointment of the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) and the award of the design guidelines contract start the timeline for the next phase of the revitalization effort, and RCRC would continue to play the role of liaison with the Board of Supervisors on revitalization contracts. She asked that Mr. Fields explain the details of the contract.

Mr. Fields said that the contract for the design guidelines has been awarded to Basile Baumann Prost & Associates (BBPA). There will be several other members of the BBPA team, including Bill Conklin, an architectural firm and a graphic arts firm. The contract will be kicked off with a meeting between the contractor, the County and Supervisor Hudgins. The effort will include five additional meetings with the TAP and others. The County would like to complete the contract in 90 days; however, this is dependent on the aggressiveness of the TAP in providing guidance to BBPA.

The Board discussed how the community involvement would be incorporated in the process. The response by the Supervisor and HCD was that TAP represents the community, would gather input from the groups it represents as well as the RCRC. The community was previously involved in the focus groups and charrette, and would have further opportunity for input in consideration of the Comprehensive Plan change.

The deliverables for the contract include the series of meetings, text for land use and transportation improvements, and text and graphics for design guidelines. The text is expected to become a part of the Comprehensive Plan change. Mr. Simon commented that the concept of graphics or renderings was frightening because it would tend to lock in architectural concepts, limit future flexibility and lower the ultimate quality of the project.

Reston Density Issue
The resolution of the location of density in the Lake Anne design will be a key part of the design. Mr. Simon commented that the economic study and Charrette concentrated density in the Crescent area but the County purchase had rightfully preserved the existing work force community, reducing the implied density potential for that parcel. Supervisor Hudgins said there was no solid answer yet on where density goes. Under the current administrative procedures, a developer only needs approval from County staff to redevelop an area. Supervisor Hudgins favors requiring a legislative process to control such actions in order to add density where it is most appropriate. She also commented that it would be logical that the actual density of a development (as opposed to the “blob” density) could not be changed “by right”; the actual density would set a limit on any redevelopment and legislative action would be necessary to increase up to the “blob” density.

Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Supervisor Hudgins stated that the bottom line is how to keep the community stable and vibrant. The Comprehensive Plan will need to be changed for revitalization of Lake Anne and this process could start coincident with the development of guidelines.

President Pronske noted that the County Board has approved three special studies, including one for Lake Anne, for $500K. The study would support the Comprehensive Plan change.

Mr. Green and Mr. Foster commented on the need for identifying the specific steps in the process from developing guidelines to the ultimate revitalization contract and for developing a PERT chart. Supervisor Hudgins agreed and asked Mr. Fields if he could develop such a timeline by October 17th.

President Pronske asked how the Supervisor viewed the RCRC’s role. Supervisor Hudgins responded that the RCRC is the liaison with the County Board for the Lake Anne area and that RCRC should take a larger role in getting the views of the community and property owners. This role could include holding public meetings. She said the group collectively should think about a process to keep the community and owner involvement going.

Adjournment
President Pronske adjourned the meeting at 9PM.