Residents of Reston want more input on the future of the large planned community, local leaders said Tuesday, a movement sparked by fears that unchecked redevelopment will reshape the area.
As it now stands, the population of the unincorporated Fairfax County community has little say in what landowners can do with their property. Much of the area, developed as a “planned residential community” or PRC, could be built out to a substantially higher density under the current zoning. That has residents worrying that the ideal vision of Reston they have now could be spoiled — and there is not much they can do about it.
“When you’ve got something as precious as Reston, which is so well-designed and so beautiful, we don’t want that to disappear,” Marvion Stillson, vice president of the Reston Citizens Association, told The Examiner on Tuesday.
The potential redevelopment of the community has been the subject of three community meetings since August, local officials said. Some residents want to establish new oversight of changes to Reston outside of the regular zoning process.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Catherine Hudgins, whose district includes Reston, said it’s important to stabilize the area. A number of landowners have filed plans with the county to redevelop their properties, she said, but residents are “not ready to see neighborhoods wholesale redeveloped.”
“And if that’s going to happen, it’s going to need greater scrutiny,” Hudgins said.
