'Kill Casino Bill In Committee' Reston Activists Tell State Lawmakers

RESTON, VA — Opponents of Comstock Companies' efforts to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County called on state lawmakers to oppose any legislation that would facilitate the developer's plans.

"The Reston Comprehensive Plan does not provide for the development of a casino, and such development goes against Reston’s planning principles," said Lynne Mulston, president of the Reston Citizens Association. "Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn has stated that he does not support such development, and we stand with our Supervisor on this matter. Under Virginia law, no legislation currently allows such development in Reston."

Reston Association Board Member Jennifer Jushchuk, who was speaking on behalf of Save Our Sunrise, pointed out that unlike previous legislation in Virginia, no local officials requested the general assembly grant Fairfax County the authority to start the process of building a casino.

"Don’t let one corporation who has the means and access to work the political system in Richmond for its own benefit destroy the legacy or future potential of Reston," she said. "We ask, when the bill arrives, kill it in committee. Please don’t make the residents come to Richmond to defeat this unwanted and unneeded casino."

Mulston and Jushchuk delivered their remarks during Saturday morning's Public Hearing for Fairfax Delegation to the General Assembly at the Fairfax County Government Center. The annual event gives county residents an opportunity to share their concerns with their representatives in Richmond before the start of the upcoming legislative session.

Patch first broke the news in September that Comstock was seeking to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston Station East metro station, where the company has its headquarters. Since then, Patch reported that Comstock donated more than half a million dollars to candidates running in state and local races in 2023, started its own political action committee to facilitate that, and hired six lobbyists to advocate for them in Richmond.

Last September, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the final draft of an updated Reston Master Plan. That vote followed nearly four years of public input and debate about what future development in Reston should look like.

"The Reston Master Plan creation and adoption process was intended to leverage land use and economic development policy in the Reston area," RA CEO Mac Cummins told the lawmakers. "This process was intended to further growth in key market sectors, such as technology, higher education, and other land uses that Reston has spent years cultivating. Further, the approach was to leverage public investment in infrastructure and transportation systems along with land use and economic development for Fairfax County. Not only is a casino antithetical and inconsistent to the objectives contained in the recently adopted plan, it would be destructive to those objectives.”

Michelle Widmann Kimmel, who was speaking on behalf of Healthy Reston, told the legislators that initial exposure to casinos could be environmentally toxic and lead to greater socio-economic problems, according to recent research.

Related:

• Casino Opposition Plan Outlined By Reston Association CEO
• Opinion: Casino Will Bring More Crime And Taxes To Reston, Tysons
• Casino Developer Hires 6 Lobbyists; $529K Donated To VA Candidates

Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.

"While casino operators champion improvements to their host and local economies and communities with promises of employment, sponsorships, and educational funding, there is little empirical research to support these claims," Widmann Kimmel said. "Additionally, prostitution and casinos go hand-in-hand because casinos draw a large presence of men with money to spend on leisure and relaxation including paid sex, which then impacts the number of prostituted people required to be brought in to meet the demand."

During the 2023 session, state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) introduced nearly identical bills, which they quickly withdrew, that would have given the board of supervisors the authority to put a casino referendum on a future ballot.

Marsden, who was present at Saturday's public hearing, told Patch several times last fall that he planned to introduce an expanded referendum bill during the 2024 legislative. session, which starts on Jan. 10. The new bill would include a performance space and conference center anchored by a casino.

Also present at the public hearing was Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, whose campaign committee received contributions of $85,000 in 2023 from Comstock's political action committee, Building a Remarkable Virginia. The PAC also contributed $24,000 to Marsden's campaign committee last year. In addition, Comstock hosted a campaign fundraiser in Reston Station for both state senators prior to the 2023 election.

"The Comstock Companies are one of the largest developers in Northern Virginia with a major presence around Metro stations," Surovell told Patch in October, when asked for a comment about the contribution. "I have been advocating to extend and invest in the Metro system since I was first elected in 2009."

In 2016, Surovell wrote an column for the Richmond Times Dispatch saying that with casino gambling, Virginia could generate $300 million in revenue that could be used to pay for K-12 education and other state-funded programs. Revenue from a casino would help to diversify the tax base of Fairfax County, which relies heavily on the real estate tax, he added.

"The recent efforts of a major developer to gain favor with Virginia State Senators Surovell and Marsden and other elected representatives to sway legislative action indicate their lack of concern about the social, economic, infrastructure and other impacts on the Reston community," Mulston said. "This plan is reprehensible."

The following is the full testimony of RCA President Lynne Mulston and RA Member Jennifer Jushchuk.

Testimony of Reston Citizens Association - Saturday, Jan.6, 2024

Good morning. My name is Lynne Mulston and I serve as President of Reston Citizens Association. Reston Citizens Association is opposed to any efforts to develop a casino in Reston.

This plan first surfaced last winter during the Virginia General Assembly session and has resurfaced much to the chagrin of local Reston residents.

The Reston Comprehensive Plan does not provide for the development of a casino, and such development goes against Reston’s planning principles. Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn has stated that he does not support such development, and we stand with our Supervisor on this matter.

Under Virginia law, no legislation currently allows such development in Reston.
The recent efforts of a major developer to gain favor with Virginia State Senators Surovell and Marsden and other elected representatives to sway legislative action indicate their lack of concern about the social, economic, infrastructure and other impacts on the Reston community.

This plan is reprehensible;

RCA will join forces (and HAS) with concerned elected officials, community groups and individuals to push back against local and state actions that allow the development of a casino in Reston.

No developer nor politician has done ANY outreach to citizens.

If Comstock needs to find something to put on one of their Reston properties, why not consider a Performing Arts Center, which is in the Comprehensive Plan for Reston? The space currently identified for this is a bit small for the need, and a corporate sponsor is very much needed.

As the Friends of the Reston Regional Library recently said, "It shouldn't be easier to build a casino than it is to build a library." Reston has been waiting a long time for an adequate regional library, and we are still waiting. These are the amenities our community deserves. We are not a rural, depressed community, and Reston has NO need for a casino.

With all due respect, please carry this message from Reston Citizens Association forward to the Virginia General Assembly.

Thank you.

Testimony of Reston Association Board Member Jennifer Jushchuk

My name is Jennifer Jushchuk and I am representing Save
Our Sunrise, acommunity group of neighbors who live
off Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, VA.

I am here to strongly oppose legislation that would
create a path to establish a casino in Reston.

First a little bit about the Sunrise Valley Neighborhood in
Reston, our neighborhood is immediately south of the
Wiehle Reston-East Metro Station. This is a family
neighborhood. We walk the paths with each other, our
kids ride their bikes on the streets, are picked up my
school buses near this location and many of our
family members walk through Comstock's property to
take the Metro to and from work.

The property Comstock is considering for the casino is
incredibly close to our homes of at least 654 residential
units starting just 210 feet across Sunrise Valley Drive
from the edge of Comstock's property. And let’s be clear,
we have one developer, Comstock, looking to establish a
casino and they are highly invested in the properties
around the Whiele Reston-East metro station, not in
Tysons Corner.

As a representative for SOS, I recently served on the
Reston Comprehensive Plan Task Force and the Wiehle
Avenue Study Group. In both, the community and
developers came together to analyze and discuss the
future of Reston broadly, and specifically at the Wiehle
Reston-East Metro Station.

We have a strong legacy in Reston of community
planning, known and studied by upcoming urban
planners across the nation. A casino was not in the
original plan for Reston written sixty years ago, and a
casino is not in the plan for the Reston approved and
adopted plan by the Fairfax Board of Supervisors less
than six months ago. The planning we do is thorough
and intentional in Reston. It’s why we are often referred
to as a “bread basket” for Fairfax county. A casino would
erode Reston’s potential to remain a strong economic
center - not bring more revenue to the county as Senator
Marsden seems to believe.

The Reston Comprehensive Plan calls for the Wiehle
Metro Station neighborhood to be an urban
neighborhood with encouragement for higher education,
research & development, and tech uses. This vision is key
to achieving the goals for Reston and has already been
proven successful. The Wiehle Reston-East Station serves
as national or regional headquarters for Google, ICF
International, Spotify, Qualtrics International,
TransUnion, and Rolls-Royce of America. To put a casino
here would cheapen the Fairfax County brand and
economic attractiveness for companies considering
coming to Fairfax. In fact, it screams we are desperate!

Every local elected official and candidate in Reston has
come out in opposition to a casino in Reston. The Reston
Association, which represents over 63,000 people in
Reston, has also opposed a casino.

And unlike other casino bills that have moved forward
in Richmond, this legislation was not requested by our
local government or elected officials. Don’t let one
corporation who has the means and access to work
the political system in Richmond for its own benefit
destroy the legacy or future potential of Reston. We ask,
when the bill arrives, kill it committee! Please don’t
make the residents come to Richmond to defeat this
unwanted and unneeded casino!