Final
Density Meeting Canceled
Committee rules third public meeting on
adding density to Reston is unnecessary.
By Jason Hartke - November 9, 2006
The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee
decided Monday night that the public has heard enough on density — for
now.
At its regular monthly meeting, the committee voted unanimously to
cancel the third and final public meeting that would have been another
opportunity for the community to sound off on county recommendations
that propose an increase in density by more than 3,800 high-rise units.
Instead, the committee said another meeting, which was scheduled for
Nov. 15, would have been redundant.
“It seemed to me staff had addressed all the issues,” said Bruce
Wright, P&Z member, a comment echoed by several other committee
members.
ABOUT TWO months ago, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) asked the
committee to hold the meetings. The first two meetings, held Oct. 4 and
Oct. 24, had large turnouts, each attracting more than 80 people.
But the committee decided that another meeting wasn’t necessary.
“I’m particularly happy to have another meeting on [Nov. 15] if
that’s what the supervisor wants,” said David Vanell, chair of the
Reston Planning and Zoning Committee.
The county’s chief planner, Jim Zook, whose staff was facilitating the
meetings, told the committee that the supervisor intended to leave it up
to them. He also wondered if another one was necessary, suggesting that
the community had reached the level of consensus that it was going to
reach.
So, after a brief discussion, the committee voted to cancel the meeting
scheduled for Nov. 15.
Moving
Forward for More Density
The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee
and the county’s chief planner outlined the tentative schedule that
will decide the future of Reston’s zoning, including recommendations
for additional density.
At a meeting Monday, the committee canceled the final public meeting
scheduled on Nov. 15.
At its next meeting on Dec. 4, the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee
will likely vote on the county recommendations, which include changing
the density factors to allow the addition of 3,800 additional high-rise
units.
For now, all but three members of the committee support changing the
factors. “I think the positive thing about changing the factors is it
gives us time,” said Gwen Minton, P&Z member.
In addition, members in support of changing the factors realize that the
county could be sued if Reston hits the density cap and developers are
turned away. “If we don’t change the factors then we’ll only be
developing what’s already in the plans,” said Karen See, a member of
P&Z.
David Vanell, chair of the Reston P&Z, said that Reston is going to
hit the cap “sooner or later.” He suggested that the county include
a waiver or exemption process for developers to move forward with their
projects once the cap is hit.
All the members support the county’s recommendation to mandate that
re-zoning requests seek the review and approval of the Planning
Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
In fact, some members of the committee would like to ensure greater
input by the public. Arthur Hill suggested that the P&Z, or some
other community body, receive some guarantee that it would have a say on
all future development projects.
“We institutionally can not provide a guarantee that [developers] come
to this group,” said Jim Zook, the county’s chief planner.
Zook reported that he would like to seek the Board of Supervisors
permission to advertise the changes to the zoning ordinance on Jan. 8,
which will initiate the public hearing process.
Then, the Planning Commission would hold a public hearing on Jan. 31 or
Feb. 7, and the Board of Supervisors would have its public hearing in
March. RETURN
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