Hearing Called for Redevlopment of Reston National Golf Course

A three-year battle to redevelop Reston National Golf Course into a new housing development will come to a head on Oct. 23 when Fairfax County, Reston Association and other petitioning groups appear in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County.

The petitioning groups have all filed appeals asking for a review of the Board of Zoning Appeals’ April decision regarding the golf course’s potential redevelopment, and more importantly the abbreviated process the course’s owners are wishing to take to change its land-use designation into medium-density residential housing.

The public course was purchased by Northwestern Mutual in 2005 for $5 million, and at that time the golf course’s land-use grant was that of a recreational open space. However, not long after purchasing the course, Metro broke ground on its new Silver line, which has a stop in Reston less than two miles from the course.

The Metro’s adjacency is one of the larger inspirations to place a housing development on the site of the golf course.

However, the course plays a larger role in the community than you’d think.

As it stands now, the 166-acre golf course is also a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Golf Course, meaning course management is committed to protecting the local environment, conserving natural resources, and providing wildlife habitats.

The Reston National Golf Course contains “edge habitat” and “old field habitat with hardwood cover,” which provides tremendous wildlife diversity. The latter habitat is among the most endangered in Fairfax County.