Observer Online | Arguments Against Reston Town No Longer Apply

Edition of December 2, 2005

Arguments Against Reston Town No Longer Apply

To the editor:

I am not a resident of something Fairfax County calls "Hunter Mill." I am in fact a proud resident of Reston, America's premier planned community. And, I applaud the band of heroes of the Reston Citizens Association who continue their campaign to make Reston a self-governing town. But for skullduggery by county officials, Reston might have been incorporated at the very outset according to an about-to-be-released video history of Reston.

Fast forward to today. Reston's smaller immediate neighbors, Herndon and Vienna which combined have fewer people than Reston, are both towns. Both are self-governing, deciding not only their internal policies, but also directly influencing regional public policy such as commuter rail operations within their boundaries.

At a recent get-together sponsored by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins for the apparent purpose of shooting down the town proposal, one young man spoke eloquently about the differences between the Town of Herndon and unincorporated Reston. A few weeks earlier, he led a group organizing relief supplies from Reston and Herndon to Hurricane Katrina victims. Time was of the essence in putting together a truck convoy of supplies. Herndon's Mayor responded immediately, providing logistical support, storage, etc. The young man reported that his group was unable to identify a responsible entity with the authority to assist from the Reston side, among county staff or the local homeowners association. Sound familiar? Little Herndon responded with agility. Reston could not.

In the early days, county officials pointed to Reston's small population as a reason for the community to remain a subject of Fairfax. Now, with more than 60,000 people, that argument hardly stands up. Reston is a community with both size and an extraordinary sense of identity, a community with a unique set of governing principles laid out by founder Robert Simon. Mr. Simon still lives in Reston and would like to see his Reston be self-governing.

Vienna and Herndon have no such guiding vision, nor do they have the unique zoning status that Reston possesses—Planned Residential Community (PRC)—which incorporates seven founding principles. Besides encompassing beauty in design and diversity in housing, the principles call for Reston to be a business and financial success. Sorry, Herndon and Vienna, gotcha again—Reston is booming with business, is the home of the region's strongest chamber of commerce, and would be a thriving town. Somehow, Hudgins seems to take the call for home rule as a personal affront and a suggestion that the services the county provides are deficient in some way. Not even close. She misses the point altogether, it would seem. The town proposal in fact clearly indicates that most county services are well received and would continue as they are under the RCA initiative. Our schools and fire and police services are very high quality. No one proposes to change them. Road construction and maintenance, currently the purview of the Commonwealth of Virginia (as they are in Herndon and Vienna) would continue with the state, although the Town of Reston would likely pressure for better response time and service.

The Reston town as proposed would combine existing functions of the Reston Association (including our lakes, open spaces, recreational facilities) and the Reston Community Center under one town authority. The town would be the voice of Reston on matters like the rail line and stations to be built right in our midst, on new roads and regional transportation services, and likely would perform the critical function of making land-use and zoning decisions now left to a Board of Supervisors largely controlled by developer and builder interests, not the residents of our community.

And, while the details are not yet settled, it seems clear that there is no good reason why a small town government will cost residents anything more than we now pay. In sum, Reston the town should be a lean, responsive, and efficient operation run by a small group of people you and I actually know and can reach out and touch when we have a problem.

In fact, it is exactly this responsiveness to the community that worries some, especially developers, land-use lawyers and a few other corporate interests. They like the friendly regulation and comfortable relationship with the Board of Supervisors and state legislators whose election and re-election they consistently underwrite through generous campaign contributions, a serum which seems addictive even to good Democrats. (Go to the Virginia Public Access Project, VPAP, for details.) Most businesses, the majority small ones, would see no difference, except perhaps the marginally better cache of being a town.

At the moment, Supervisor Hudgins, like her Republican predecessor, opposes town status for Reston possibly for reasons relating to her current position. She has enlisted Del. Ken Plum and Sen. Janet Howell in her opposition. All three point out that before their many years in elective office each strongly supported Reston's being a town.

Why the change of heart for all three of these well-regarded, progressive elected officials? Their presentation to the community the other evening was disheartening. Their message was nearly patronizing: We are providing the services you need and you should just leave the driving to us. Why not trust the people? Put it to a vote!

John Lovaas

Reston