Reston Town Center North: Nothing To See Here! Keep Moving

The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Dennis Hays.

RESTON, VA — The County's Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) has withheld information from the public on a proposed [Reston Town Center North] project that will have a massive impact on Reston. Despite repeated attempts by community organizations and the general public to work with the County and the presumed developer, the FCRHA has chosen to keep secret basic details about the project and to steamroll the authorization process. FCHRA has now scheduled a "public hearing" on September 15th with scant advance notice, less publicity and in apparent violation of the Virginia Code. What may be the only opportunity for people to ask questions and express concerns will be held in the absence of the information needed to form an opinion, either positive or negative.

Last October 29th, the County received an "unsolicited proposal" to replace the 30 affordable three bedroom townhomes currently at the intersection of Town Center Parkway and Bowman Towne Drive in Reston with 350 affordable apartment units. Further, in order to obtain significant tax advantages, the developer proposes to locate a new Reston Regional Library on the ground floor of a two building five story complex. The legislation that permits this project, Virginia's Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA), requires such proposals be made public ten working days after acceptance. That should have been November 12, 2021, not March 25th, 2022 which is when the County finally acknowledged the proposal.

And while the Virginia Code allows for the redaction of "trade secrets and financial information," other information, such as schematics and explanations as to how the project will meet rigid requirements have been completely redacted without explanation. FCRHA has also failed to report a second bidder and moved forward with the proposal in apparent violation of plainly stated requirements, which read, "The responsible public entity (FCRHA) shall hold a public hearing on the proposals during the proposal review process, but not later than 30 days prior to entering into an interim or comprehensive agreement." (Section 56-575.17 B of the PPEA) So the public hearing will not be held "during the proposal review process" as that ended on July 26th and it will not be held at least "30 days prior to entering into an interim agreement" as that document is already posted on the County's website.

Reston has long been and will continue to be the leader in Fairfax and the entire state of Virginia in offering affordable housing as part of our community's long standing commitment to being an open and welcoming community for all peoples of all income levels. Community groups work productively with the County on other projects to increase the number of affordable housing units and to ensure people are treated with dignity and respect.

This proposal, however, appears to be driven by a desire for a massive tax write-off rather than concern for our fellow citizens. Final judgement must be withheld until the missing information is provided, but from what we know the project requires a much greater population density than anywhere in the region, provides no public open or green space, jams the library into a tight box that meets none of the guidelines for an attractive, welcoming space, gives the library no room for expansion, encroaches on the North County Police Station and does not provide for secure entrance and exit for police vehicles. Then there are the other unanswered questions about traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, Accessibility issues, water and sewage concerns, the overall density of the area or what happens to the 30 families that would be displaced, FCRHA and the developer would have been much better served by being open about this project. Their failure to provide even basic information leaves an impression they have something to hide. From what little is currently known, it appears they do. If they are serious about becoming part of the Reston community, they need to postpone the meeting on the 15th, release all of the redacted material (except trade secrets and financial information) and start over. The community has always been prepared to listen.

Dennis Hays is a 40-year resident of Reston and is the former president and current board member of the Reston Citizens Association.