Alcorn Repeats Opposition At Meeting To Golf Course Redevelopment Without Community Buy-In

RESTON, VA — Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn sent out an email Tuesday to members of the community who have contacted him about the possibility of redevelopment at the Reston National Golf Course.

Alcorn reaffirmed his position in the email that he would oppose redevelopment of the golf course by its owners unless there was overwhelming community support for the project.

"My long-standing position is that I will oppose changing this Comprehensive Plan designation unless and until communities surrounding the golf course indicate their desire to initiate a change in the Comprehensive Plan," Alcorn said. "To date, the overwhelming response I have heard from surrounding residents is that the Reston National property should remain a golf course."

Reston National Neighborhood Study Group, which is financed by golf course owners Weller Development Co. and War Horse Cities, began meeting last May with adjacent property owners and homeowner associations to discuss the invasive species problem. The study group was established so Reston National had a forum to discuss issues about the future of the golf course with local officials and neighboring residents.

Patch published an opinion piece in February written by Greg Hamm, president of New City Enterprises, which represents the golf course owners; Dillon Connor of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., and Kevin Nunnery of Biohabitats laying out their concerns about invasive species in the area.

Related: Golf Course Redevelopment Seen As Goal Of Invasive Species Focus

The study group concluded its editorial by saying a multi-year mediation effort was needed to protect the shared tree canopy that would involve the participation of the Reston Association and neighboring property owners. The editorial ended with an offer from the study group to fund the pilot program, which it estimated would cost $6 million.

Since the study group began conducting its community outreach last year, Alcorn has met with the representatives of Rescue Reston and cluster association presidents that surround the golf course.

"In all these meetings I have noted that the current Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan clearly designates the Reston National property as a golf course," he said, in his email.

Connie Hartke, president of Rescue Reston, told Patch in February that the invasive species issue was really a pretext by the study group for advancing redevelopment of the golf course.

The issue of redevelopment at Reston National came up during Wednesday night's special meeting of the RA Board of Directors, focusing on the interim task force recommendations for the Reston Comprehensive Plan Study.

When Alcorn introduced the motion calling for the review of the Reston Comprehensive Plan at a January 2020 Board of Supervisors meeting, he deliberately excluded Reston's two golf courses from the review.

Despite this exclusion, task force member Tammi Petrine, who worked on the planning principals, environmental stewardship and public art portions of the interim recommendations, offered her take on the golf course question during Wednesday's meeting.

"What you must understand is that the residential density that could have gone to the golf course when Reston was planned was put elsewhere," she said. "The golf courses include pipelines, which can't be built on, and floodplains, which you can't build on. The density was put elsewhere."

Later in the meeting, Alcorn referenced the failed attempt in October 2020 by the owners of Reston's other golf course, Hidden Creek Country Club, to garner the community's support for their plan to install 1,000 housing units and a 100-acre park on their property.

Related: Opinion: Tree Canopy Restoration Needed Around Reston National

"The comprehensive plan currently says golf course for both Hidden Creek and Reston National," he said. "Reston National, frankly, the owners are starting a little bit later and they're kind of in the middle of the public outreach."

So far, the concerns expressed at this point by the community have been overwhelmingly opposed to redevelopment at Reston National, according to Alcorn.

"Basically, I want to give the opportunity for the Reston National owners to make their pitch and talk to the community," he said. "But I'm not going to let that go forever."

Reston National Neighborhood Study Group will be presenting the findings of its tree canopy health study during a livestream event that can be viewed on the Reston National Golf Course's Facebook page at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.