Walls Down, But Defenses Up on Cutwater Court

Where Beau and Susanne Lendman's home used to stand, there is now the beginning of a new foundation and the outline of what Beau Lendman hopes will be a five-bedroom, 4,932-square-foot house by November.

But will it be a new beginning for the neighbors on Cutwater Court?

When bulldozers knocked down the Lendmans' home at 2004 Cutwater the first week of May, it marked a milestone in a saga that has taken nearly three years.

The Lendmans had to file and refile plans with Design Review Board. Several neighbors spoke at many DRB and RA Board of Directors' meetings, complaining about a number of things. Among them: that the house's footprint was too big, it disregarded the environment and that there was a conflict of interest in using a

Discussions were heated. Feelings were hurt. Sides were taken.

"They have the right to do this; we understand," says Carol Grant. She and her husband, Carl, have lived at on Cutwater—a wooded cul-de-sac of lakefront homes in South Reston—for more than 30 years.

"We just wanted everything done to the laws of Reston and Fairfax County," said Carol Grant. "It's absolutely disgusting that they hired Richard Newlon."

On February 21, 2012, the DRB approved the Lendmans' teardown/in-fill project. The final blueprint includes a 2,676-square-foot footprint, 4,932 overall square feet, 33.17-foot front elevation height and 34.69-foot rear elevation height.

Brevetta Jordan, Reston Association Director of Covenants, said the DRB approved the final design after working through and refining the details during several meetings and many plan revisions.   

Beau Lendman says the three revisions—and the battle with the neighbors—added years and thousands to the project. 

"It's a million-dollar project at this point," he said. "Fighting with the neighbors added $50,000 to the cost."

The Lendmans purchased the 3,075-square-foot home in 2003 for $779,000, Lendman says. They moved in with an eye on remodeling the whole house, but after initial architect's meetings, it became clear that tearing down the home (built in 1980) and starting from scratch might be a better plan, Lendman said.

"We certainly hope the house will be beautiful," said Lendman. "We expect it will make other homes on the street go up in value, and I hope the neighbors will admit they were wrong."

Carol Grant is not convinced. She says the house is still too big for the lot.

"It is an invasion of the neighbors' privacy," she said. "They are bringing it right up to the edge of whatever they can. We have had to police this through the DRB, the county—and we still cannot find the exact footprint of the house. They may be skirting some waiver issues. It is very questionable. The house appears much bigger" than they say.

Grant also says many trees were taken out and the demolition crew damaged the pavement in their shared pipestem. 

"It is the Lendmans' responsibility for all damages as he hired them independently, yet there has been no response from a certified letter written to them asking how and when they would take care of this damage," she said. "Also, the Verizon cable was cut by this same crew two times, inconveniencing others for days with no cable, computer and TV service."

Lendman says he will fix the pavement when the project is done.  Meanwhile, he says he would like to see a better conflict resolution system in place at RA.

"The DRB process stirs this all up," he said. "The process should be about preserving design and relationship integrity. We should have had someone working with us from the beginning. Reston did absolutely nothing."

(Note: Perhaps sparked in part by this case, RA voted in May to instill term limits for DRB members.

Another neighbor, who asked his name not be used, is equally irritated at the RA and the construction process. He called it "incomprehensible" that a member of the DRB could be hired by the Lendmans.

"There is great inconvenience with all the construction," he said.  "TWICE I have had my Verizon Fios line cut, so that I had no main telephone service, TV or internet.  There is already some damage to the common driveway, and of course there is the disruption of trucks (sometimes blocking us in the driveway) and noise.

"This new house is massive on the site and encroaches on the property lines of the adjacent properties," he added. "All the homes sit quietly in the natural surroundings.  There was little regard for neighbors or their concerns.  Our views from the cul-de-sac and the separation between homes will never be the same."

Nonetheless, Lendman hopes everyone can move on.

"I would like to bury the hatchet," he said. "We've invested a lot in this. If not for the neighbors fighting so hard, we might have given up. But I don't give up just because somethings is hard."

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