Planning For Reston Far Into the Future

As the Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force looks to future population and development in Reston, it is, of course, looking ahead.

Way, way ahead. A report from Fairfax County urges the Task Force to think about Reston in 2050 rather than 2030.

At a Task Force meeting Tuesday, Heidi Merkel, of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning, presented projections on densities and development that developers should be reaching for as Reston prepares to become a transit-oriented area after Metro's Silver Line opens in 2013.

"It's a thorny issue," said Merkel. "There is a common understanding of what we would like to achieve, but we are having a hard time figuring out how to get there."

Merkel's recommendations come from George Mason University's forecast for how much development is likely to be absorbed by 2030, plus an additional 20 percent for residential development.

The forecast will enable the county to conduct a transportation study and also work on other infrastructure projections.

The latest scenario has projected FARs (floor:area ratios) inching up since the last projections were presented in July. Areas closest to the Reston Parkway Station near Reston Town Center were designated a 3.5, 3.5, 2.0 and 1.5 in July. Now they are all 3.0 an 4.0.

"This is where the whole concept of phasing comes in," said Merkel. "If we put in the plan the whole objective is to get to 5.0 FAR [highest density], but up to 2030 the infrastructure can only support 4.0, then property owners can plan their site in a way that would be able to ultimately achieve a 5.0."

The newest report envisions Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) of varying levels reaching from Sunrise Valley Drive to Baron Cameron Drive and from Reston Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway. The mix closest to the station would be  45 percent office/45 percent residential and the balance hotel, institutional and retail.

Wiehle's station area will likely see development grow fastest because it will be the first station to open - three years before Reston Parkway.

On the new map, the area closest to Wiehle station will be a 3.0 FAR, but surrounded by 2.0 and 2.5 in the quarter-mile radius around the station.

"This represents a 50-year vision for Wiehle," says Merkel. "It also allocates for Isaac Newton Square to change into a significant residential development."

Also in the ideal plan for Wiehle  -

Other points made at the meeting:

* Reston founder Robert E. Simon says the planning for the future of the village centers should be done concurrently with the TOD planning, and not as an afterthought.

Village Center planning is part of the Master Plan Specal Study Phase 2, which is now set to start in November.

"The fundamental plan for Reston in 1962 was community," Simon said. "We ended up with only one village center [Lake Anne] and the town center, which is the child of a village center and it unfortunately is cut in two. The village centers shouldn't be Phase 2. They should be 1AA.

"As you get playing around with FARS -which people tell us not to play around with at all - save enough density so we can have plazas that are viable and surrounding a plaza with high density."

Said Merkel: "We are certainly interested in what kind of incentives we can provide for village center owners for redevelopment. Hopefully the work at the station can help support village centers over time."

* Development plans depend on multiple crossings of the Dulles Toll Road, but plans are not yet in place to determine where exactly they should be. The picture will become clearer with development, said Merkel.

* DPZ is working on a second scenario to the GMU forecast. This one would have an increased residential component, said Merkel.

To see the July forecast map and compare it to the September map, click on the PDF files attached to this story.