Letter to the Editor, Reston Connection - Oct. 5, 2007

 

Dear Editor:                                                                                                     Text of Letter sent directly to Ken Plum.

 

Ken Plum’s column on “Local Governance Sought” (Reston Connection, Oct. 3-9, 2007) raises a number of questions about the Reston Citizens Association proposal for a referendum to determine if Reston should become a town. These issues include:
1. the nature of the referendum; 
2. the hurdles to be overcome; 
3. guidance on what would justify a new town; 
4. concerns about growth control and cost savings as justifications for a town; 
5. the appropriateness of becoming a town rather than a city; 
6. and whether or not Fairfax county is providing all the services we want and, if not, why we don’t just ask for the additional services. 

RCA has reviewed most of these issues in depth (as have previous efforts to allow Reston to become a town) and we have provided this information in the Reston Governance section of our web site, . While there is a wealth of material there, we would like to respond briefly to each of Delegate Plum’s comments.

 

The petition currently underway to gather signatures is not to request “an advisory referendum.” It is to request a binding referendum on whether Reston should become a town. The proposed draft legislation to accomplish this is on our web site at Revised Town Charter. We recognize that there may be some changes to this legislation as a result of discussions with the county and our legislators, but we think the petition is clear in its intent: Let the people of Reston vote on whether or not to become a town.

 

Current Virginia law requires actual legislation for Reston to become a town, as Del. Plum states. Our draft legislation is consistent with that passed by the legislature in 1979, which allowed a town vote in 1980. There are no new hurdles that RCA is aware of or that Del. Plum has mentioned. It is not clear if the legislation would pass, but it is clear that submitting the legislation to the legislature is a necessary first step.

 

We have spent several years discussing the services and type of government we would like to have in Reston . There are some in favor of the status quo. We believe there are more in favor of greater local control of planning and zoning, a rationalized approach to our currently fragmented recreational, cultural, and infrastructure services, an official voice for our community (like those of Herndon and Vienna), and local coordination of such issues as the impact of Metro, accessibility, affordable housing and grants for community projects. RCA is supporting a vote in our community to decide between these two alternatives. This is the usual way in a democracy to decide such things, and we are petitioning our legislative officials to allow it. Each of them may have their own views on whether or not Reston should become a town, but it seems like a fundamental question we should decide for ourselves.

 

Whether and how we decide to deal with growth and how much we want to spend on services are questions that we would decide (within the legal guidelines of the state) once we are a town. The charter puts some important boundaries on these issues, and RCA has proposed an approach to financing the town that we believe is consistent with the town costing about the same as our current approach, with improved services. Many details will be worked out over time as they are in any democratic process. But we would work out those details locally, with accountable local officials that we can replace if we are unhappy with the results. Our influence on county decisions is far less.

 

Why a town and not a city? Because Reston residents are for the most part happy with the basic Fairfax County services of fire and rescue, police, schools and libraries. Towns are part of counties and have access to these basic services. A city in Virginia , on the other hand, is not part of the county and has no access to these county services except by contract. But we also want, and have, additional recreational and cultural services. We want greater control of land use. We want to have a real voice in how we deal with Metro and the other issues in our future, including the environment and our aging population. A town lets us do all this, because a town is a very flexible form of local government in Virginia and can be shaped by its charter.

 

As for the final point in Delegate Plum’s article, that we would better spend our time making up a list of services that we could petition Fairfax County to bring to our community, we think he may be missing our point. It appears that the service that Reston citizens want most is to have an effective voice in county affairs: a voice with the same effectiveness as our neighboring towns of Vienna and Herndon. Our recent experience with the County-proposed changes to the Planned Residential Community ordinance confirmed in us our belief of the futility of trying to influence the county through home owners and citizens associations. RA, RCA and ARCH testified that changing the density permitted under the ordinance should follow a serious review of all the factors in the over 40-year-old Reston master plan. The county ignored us.

 

It is time that the citizens of Reston get the opportunity to do what thousands of them are petitioning for: voting on town status for Reston .  Get more info on RCA's proposal at: http://go-resTOWN.org/governance/default.htm 

 

Mike Corrigan

President

Reston Citizens Association

(703) 786-3672 (Cell)
mike.corrigan@comcast.net