Sierra Club Has Concerns About Golf Course Redevelopment

The Sierra Club has written to Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova and other board members in support of keeping Reston National Golf Course zoned as a a golf course.

The saga of the 166-acre public course's future has been going on for nearly a year. Last April, RN Golf Management, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, asked Fairfax County Zoning if the course can be considered residential rather than open space.

Zoning said no, and that is when the golf course owners filed an appeal, sparking speculation of plans for residential development. The golf course is located in walking distance of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro stop, which is set to open in December.

The Board of Zoning Appeals is set to hear the golf course owner's appeal on Sept. 25.

No plans for potential residential development at the course have been made public yet.

In its letter, the Sierra Club says there are three main environmental concerns:

* Health issues caused by the deterioration of air quality due to increased traffic congestion and the loss of grassland. 

• Water runoff from the area due to the loss of grasslands which currently absorb the normal runoff. The existing Snakeden-Glade stream bed has had to be restored because of years of damage caused by water runoff from shopping centers and commercial/industrial development. 

• The loss of carbon absorption and other pollutants by trees that surround and divide sections of the golf course. 

"Although our primary concern is the environmental impact resulting from the proposed changes, we also do not accept the partitioning party's contention that no changes to the existing zones are necessary to convert the golf course into a series of high density dwellings," states the letter, written by Linda Burchfiel, Chair of the Great Falls Group of the VA Sierra Club.