Fairfax Supervisors Act On Controversial Reston National Redevelopment Proposal

RESTON, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to remove a planning commission recommendation that would have helped pave the way for the redevelopment of Reston National Golf Course with hundreds of townhouses.

Earlier this year, the golf course owners proposed an amendment to the Reston Planned Residential Community District as part of Fairfax County’s Site Specific Plan Amendment process.

The owners sought to build 288 townhouse units on 14 acres of the 166-acre golf course property. They contend that a zoning decision from 1966 approved those 14 acres for medium density residential development, which is about 20 dwelling units per acre.

If the development were approved, the property owners could update the facilities at the 60-year-old golf course in order to make it economically viable.

Supervisor Kathy Smith (D-Sully), who chairs the board’s land-use committee, introduced requests from several of her colleagues, including Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill), to remove items from the 2025 Comprehensive Amendment Work Program, which serves as a guide for future development in the county.

“Reston National Golf Course has generated significant discussion in the community,” she said. “However, it is not ready to move forward at this time and should not be added to the work program.”

Once Smith finished incorporating all the requests, the board voted 10-0 to accept the updated work program.

“I want to reiterate that we are not approving or denying any plan amendments at this stage,” Smith said. “Rather, we are advancing these plan amendments to the work program for further study by staff, the community and the planning commission. I would also note that community engagement would continue in the next stage.”

Alcorn’s request came after the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted 8-4 during its June 4 meeting to recommend adding the Reston National Golf Course nomination to the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program as a Tier 3 item.

Tier 3 items are deferred studies, which begin after other studies, planning efforts, or other actions that would influence the policy context are completed, according to the county. There may be significant changes to the nominated proposal before the board of supervisors votes to re-tier a Tier 3 item.

Also See …

• $8.5M Offered To Allow Home Construction On Reston Golf Course
• Reston Has Housing Coming — Say No to Paving The Golf Course
• Reston Board Takes Strong Position On Golf Course Redevelopment Proposal

"The Board of Supervisors showed today a respect for Reston’s long history of careful planning," said Connie Hartke, president of Rescue Reston. "We are pleased that the SSPA on the Reston National Golf Course Property was completely removed from the 2025 SSPA Work Program."

The owners of Reston National had also presented a “Plan B” to its nomination, seeking to amend the comprehensive plan to change the zoning of the entire 166-acre property from golf course to mixed-use, dedicating 80 acres to open space that could be used by the Reston community as parkland. The remaining 86 acres would be redeveloped into residential neighborhoods.

"The Board of Supervisors showed today a respect for Reston’s long history of careful planning. We are pleased that the SSPA on the Reston National Golf Course Property was completely removed from the 2025 SSPA Work Program.

On June 5, the Cooley law firm, representing NVR, Inc. and War Horse Cities, filed a by-right development claim with the county, which was attached to the SSPA package Cooley submitted earlier this year.

"It is a rehash of what was attempted in 2012, led then by Cooley’s attorney Mark Looney," Hartke said. "We will wait to see what the zoning administrator and county attorneys have to say about the validity of this DPA."

The proposals differ in the number of residential units and Reston Association membership, with Plan B including new members and Virginia Investment Partners agreeing to pay an annexation fee to the association, according to the letter. They also offered to pay RA the monthly HOA fees to offset the capital expenditures the association might accrue in order to serve hundreds of new homeowners.

Following the vote, Alcorn released the following statement:

“Thank you to Chairman McKay and to my colleagues for reaffirming good planning practices in our vote today to update the Site-Specific Plan Amendment Work Program. As calculated by the county’s Department of Planning and Development staff, today’s action adds consideration for about 1,700 additional residential units across nine nominations in the Hunter Mill District on top of the additional 3,000 units that continue to be under consideration from those separate nine nominations that were incorporated into the Work Program in 2023. The motion did not include consideration of the proposed redevelopment of Reston National Golf Course, which will remain in the Comprehensive Plan as a golf course. I ran for office in 2019 and for re-election in 2023 with the plank that I would not support consideration of a change to golf course designations in the Comp Plan for either of the Reston golf courses unless and until surrounding communities let me know they would like a change to be considered. Finally, I want to thank the hundreds of Hunter Mill residents that attending one or more of the SSPA meetings, sent in emails, called my office, or otherwise engaged in this process — you have been heard.”

The planning commission included the following details in its recommendations for the golf course nomination. With Tuesday’s vote, they are no longer included in the plan.

“The analysis of a potential comprehensive plan change include, but not be limited to, the following specific considerations:

1. How potential development could connect with existing and planned public transit options, particularly nearby Metro stations;
2. The number and types of housing that would best serve the community’s evolving housing needs, including how redevelopment could provide affordable and workforce housing;
3. Consideration of potential impacts to the PRC zoning district density provisions, including the maximum persons per acre and strategies to address such impacts;
4. Impact to transportation networks and multimodal access;
5. Strategies for the preservation or enhancement of tree canopy and vegetation, including visual and screening impacts on adjacent residential areas, and consideration of how the redevelopment would impact existing trails, parks, and natural areas; and
6. Strategies for permanent, publicly accessible areas, such as linear parks, sports fields, playgrounds, or passive open space accessible to all Reston residents, and the self-reoccurring funding mechanisms needed for their maintenance.”

Hunter Mill Commissioner John Carter represents the area where the golf course is located and was one of the four commissioners who voted in opposition to the recommendation. Commissioners Mary Cortina (Braddock) Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner (At-Large) and James Thomas (Springfield) also voted against including it in the final recommendations.

Get The Latest Local News (For Free!) With One Quick Tap