| RCA
Touts Town Charter |
By Erick Soricelli
Observer Staff Writer |
| Reston Citizens Association board members say incorporating
Reston as a municipality would streamline government, give
Reston more control over transportation projects and create
a more effective voice in a mayor or town council. |
| The RCA board on Monday, March 28 presented updates in its
ongoing study to support incorporating Reston as a town. The
board began reviewing prospects of becoming a town late last
year, when it updated 1988 studies comparing governance options
between Reston’s status as an unincorporated area and as a
small tax district or as an incorporated municipality. |
| The board plans to ask the Virginia General Assembly as
early as next January to approve a referendum for a town charter.
It plans to bring a charter proposal to the community before
drafting a referendum. If a referendum is approved by state
lawmakers, it would be decided in an election by voters in
the area of the planned municipality. |
| At their meeting, several board members said establishing
a government with a mayor and town council would provide a
single voice for Reston issues and a single place for resolving
residential and business problems. |
| “It’s not another layer of government,” said at-large director
Debra Steppel. “It’s a replacement for the existing levels
of government.” |
| At-large director Mark Terry said the existing governance
and services system in Reston is “somewhere between confusing
and byzantine.” |
| Reston Association handles parks and recreation services
and residential covenant enforcement. But enforcing laws,
approving land-use requests and regulating development is
Fairfax County’s responsibility and maintaining roads in the
area is the Virginia Department of Transportation’s concern. |
| “It’s somewhat difficult to navigate without some serious
work to determine who does what, when, and why,” Terry said. |
| For renters, Terry said a town structure would put all apartment
complexes under one umbrella of regulation. In the Reston
area, not all apartment complexes are RA members, he added |
| South Lakes director Bob Haley said as a town, Reston would
be able to review transportation proposals and negotiate contracts,
authority held today only by the county. |
| A town would also have more control over revitalization
projects, such as proposals for revitalizing the Lake Anne
commercial area, Haley added. |
| A town could take charge of road maintenance, trash pick
up and snow removal, said Hunters Woods director Jan Bradshaw.
Reston’s home cluster associations hire contractors for trash
and recycling services. |
| Steppel said a town would put community programs such as
aquatics under one flag rather than having RA and the Reston
Community Center manage separate pools and aquatics programs. |
| As a town, Reston could have a sister city sponsorship,
such as Herndon’s linkage to Runnymede, England. RCA board
president Mike Corrigan said a sister city program could open
up an exchange program for Reston. |
| In other business, the board added Susan Merk as an at-large
director to fill a vacancy. Merk, who moved to Reston from
North Bethesda, Md. in 2003, works as a paralegal for MCI
and is also RCA’s Web site manager. |
