- Local every day in
Reston Citizens Association Opposes Fairway Plan
Groups urges county planners to reject proposed new units.
Fairway Apartments currently offer one-, two-, and three-bedroom units that are still affordable in today's market.
Photos (1)
Photos
Pdfs (1)
Pdfs
The Reston Citizens Association Board of Directors has passed a resolution on Monday unanimously opposing developer JBG's current proposal for redeveloping Fairway Apartments.
"The JBG proposal violates a number of both new and long standing Fairfax County and Reston community standards," Terry Maynard, RCA board member, said in an email. "The proposed increase in density far exceeds that of the neighborhood and DPZ's own recommendations made last year and is not tied to any TOD area, village center, or other higher density area. "
Maynard also cited issues with the road infrastructure the reduction the redevelopment will bring in workforce and affordable housing.
"The proposal is broadly incompatible with Reston's goal of achieving architectural excellence, offering a 500' unbroken facade on one building, a 'Texas doughnut' for another, and three-story townhouses in a neighborhood of two-story homes, among other design flaws," said Maynard.
"In short, the JBG proposal endorsed by Reston's Planning and Zoning Committee on strictly legalistic grounds offers less that either the County or the community expects for re-development in this residential neighborhood and in Reston generally. We hope that you will find these arguments compelling and will reject JBG's current re-development proposal for Fairway Apartments."
To see the entire letter, click the PDF attached to this story.
JBG's latest presentation - its fifth in the last two years - to the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee was approved in April. The current proposal consists of two five-story mid-rise buildings, one multifamily four-story building and 59 townhouses for a total of 804 units.Fairway currently has 328 garden-apartment style units.
An original proposal for 951 units and a high-rise building was rejected last summer, and a county planning and zoning report around the same time pointed out many flaws in the plan.
JBG has said it will conduct a traffic impact study before the newest plan goes before the county planning commission in July.
Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story.
Diane Blust
7:16 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
We strongly support true transit-oriented development in appropriate areas of Reston. However, the JBG proposal for the Fairways Apartments cannot be considered transit-oriented development. The loss of affordable housing is exceedingly disappointing. We support RCA's strong position against the JBG proposal and urge the County to reject the proposal.
Diane Blust
President, Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth
Michael Lyons
8:29 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Good to reject the proposal. No apparent plan to contend with the increased traffic in the area,
Private Person
9:43 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
There is PLENTY of affordable housing in Reston and many other parts of Fairfax County. There is NO need to house anyone making six-figure incomes of $216,000.00 and more in any form of social housing. It's just nonsense and rape of the taxpayers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/29/AR2007092901614.html
Tammi Petrine
10:46 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Whoa, Private Person. Please call Reston Interfaith for a true assessment of the need for Affordable housing in Reston. And also for Workforce housing. Two different things; the later is for folks in the very lowest tier of income or trying to get out of homelessness; the latter, is for teachers, police, firefighters - you know, those highly over-paid civil servants that deserve salaries commenserate with their skill, dedication and desire to serve the appreciative public... Geez, you have obviously never been in either group. Neither have I but I could be and if I were, I would sure like my fellow citizens to give a damn! We need EVERY unit we have and more. The waiting list is long...
Private Person
10:57 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
I've done my research and so has the Washington Post---which, just this month, published yet another damning indictment of failed government housing programs in the region.
You have no idea what I do or don't do for a living now or in the past, and to assert that you do fully discredits your comments.
No one is forced into a civil SERVICE position and there are many other, intangible and untaxed, benefits that those who CHOOSE to work in such a field receive. Moreover, the very same servants you purport to speak for choose to live in places other than Reston. Ask them why, and not the biased taxpayer-funded "interfaith" organization, and you, too, will be enlightened to learn that it has little to do with income and much to do with quality of life. So much for separation or church and state in Fairfax County.
If you are so enamoured with social housing, take your excess income and donate it to whomever you wish, but please keep your taxing hands off my income.
Margaret Lung
3:29 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
That article in the Post was written Sept. 30, 2007. Many things have happened since then, among them - a recession!
Private Person
7:56 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Indeed the recession has come and gone (many, many months ago) and life goes on for the privileged six-income earners living in public housing while the same police who choose to live elsewhere, evict homeless people living in Reston's so-called "targetville."
The public housing tenant earning $216,000 likely did not get a raise and his rent likely was decreased to offset the hardship.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of our tax dollars were spent to renovate thousands of social housing units, but not one more unit was provided with our money---the privilege few now enjoy granite counter tops in their sparkling new kitchens.
Moreover, as the original posting indicated, a timely and far more damning investigation was published in the Post revealing that nothing has changed with yet many more tens of millions of our tax dollars wasted and squandered with, once again, not a single unit of housing being provided for anyone regardless of income levels.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/a-pattern-of-hud-projects-stalled-or-abandoned/2011/03/14/AFWelh3G_story.htm
PS -- the cited article was published, not written, on September 3o, 2007. The contemporary series was published on May 14, 2011.