Summer 2026 Newsletter
IMPORTANT! Golf Course News: As you are all aware the developer owner of the golf course believes they have a loophole to be able to develop the 14 acres at this end of the Reston National Golf Course. We will be the most affected of any cluster in Reston. If you want to see how bad it will be, go to RescueReston.org. Look at the first illustration of the difference in the height of our homes and the new planned more than 300 double-stacked townhouses they plan to build right behind us which will dwarf us. For an even better idea, click on the box that says "Preview of the potential loss of Reston's open space." That is a view from one of our homes now on the left to what we will be seeing on the right. You can use the slider to widen the view. We all need to be either going through Rescue Reston's website under the "take action" box to compose our own emails to go to the County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission or doing our own emails and letters, etc. to the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission. Their individual addresses were on the flyers passed out in May. Our Supervisor and our Planning Commissioner do not support this. They are not the only ones to get a vote. Remember this developer owner (through a LLC ownership name) paid $23,375.00 for this property in May of 2019 which the county showed as only a valid price if developed. Assessments are generally lower, but the county only had it assessed at that time at 2,065,790. The prior owner had paid $5,009.819 in 2005 and had lost their court suit to be able to develop it. As we were told at our meeting with the Planning Commission Staff and the lawyer for the owner in April of 2025, the current developer owner, War Horse Cities has a different partner with Weller Development bowing out and now has NV Homes, a huge builder on board. The owner has spent tons of money trying to persuade everyone around the golf course we wanted it developed, on studies about the environment which they no longer seem to care about, and on their lawyers. Have all your relatives and friends that live in Fairfax County also send emails to their supervisors. If you can, support Rescue Reston with a financial donation. Imagine the noise, dirt, etc. as they construct this development on our border and the length of time this will take to build these units and roads. There are no covenants on that open space. Bob Simon intended it as open space. It is designated in the Comprehensive Plan as Open Space. They will not be a part of Reston Assn so will not have to abide by the RA covenants which we do. Imagine those residents deciding to use our playground or go through our cluster on the RA paths we pay to maintain through our RA dues. Imagine the extra traffic on Colts Neck Road, South Lakes Drive and Sunrise Valley Drive, and the additional overcrowding of the schools.
Connie Hartke of Rescue Reston has been leading this fight as the head of Rescue Reston for 14 years. Now assisting as the Chair of the South Course Committee (Reston National) is our own Jessie Williams of South Lakes Court, who was helping out when just renting here and now as an owner here with his wife. Jessie will be passing out more information to all of us. He is our best resource for everything happening as he attends meetings with various groups. See the history of this fight under their "About" tab if you have not been involved the past 14 years like many of us.
Dues: We are continuing to do great in everyone paying their dues on time. Although they are due to be on the 15th of the billing month (January, April, July and October), there is a grace period until the end of the month before late fees are assessed. We have not had to do that in a long time. You can drop off a check at the Treasurer's home, mail one or use your bank's billpayer service. When scheduling payments, please keep in mind payments need to be to the Treasurer by the end of the month to avoid late fees. Mail is taking longer and longer to arrive especially from some of the billpayer services which come from various states, including California. If you are paying in the grace period, please order your checks so that the Treasurer will receive them before the end of the billing month.
Expenses: Like all of us individually, expenses for the cluster continue to rise. You all should know our trash contract has the monthly gas surcharge fee. In 2025, our monthly surcharge amounts were 3.13% for 3 months, 3.75% for 8 months with December being 5%. This year the additions to the base amount were 5% for the first 3 months, 10% for April, and an extra 12.% for May, June and July. Our base amount increased an additional 3.009% beginning in July due to the county's landfill pass-thru increase. Our electricity bill for our 17 lights has increased too, none of these larger increases having been forecast in our budget. We can handle these increases, but higher amounts will need to be projected for 2027. We are now seeking contracts for our winter snow plowing with our contractor of the past 27 years having retired and expect we will be only seeing proposals with two-hour minimums. Our prior contractor had the unique billing: a flat amount for 3 to 5 inches, not coming until over 2" measured at Dulles and an additional per inch increase after that. It saved us money most years and cost us money a few years.
Trash: Please remember the trash rules and trash schedule. Trash cans can only be off your front porches no more than 3 feet and only in your front yards if screened by shrubbery so as not to be visible from the parking lots. Trash cans are not to be on the sides of homes. Trash should only be put out after dark the evening before pick up (this includes yard waste) and should be retrieved the afternoon or evening of pickup. If you will be out of town, ask a neighbor for help. Trash cans are to be closed at all times. We have way too many varmints — including raccoons roaming about. Because the raccoons are crafty and have opened a number of cans, one resident has had to add more than one brick to the top. Another has purchased from an online retailer a trash can strap to secure her trash can. Regular trash is picked up on Mondays and Thursdays; recyclables on Wednesdays and yard waste on Saturdays. Only certain things are to be in your recyclables. No glass. Newspapers, loose paper, plastic bottles and jugs only ones with necks. Metal, tin and aluminum cans. Recyclables should be empty and clean. Cardboard boxes should be broken down. Open recycling bins should be weighted down at the top to keep items from blowing about the cluster. Yard waste needs to be in brown paper bags or brush no longer than 4 feet can be tied. Loose brush or limbs will not be picked up.
Playground update: We are getting very close to the new playground. Board members have met with the installer and we will be given the date hopefully a week in advance. We will let you know via the email account and signs at the mailboxes. It is anticipated to take a week to demolish the old playground and install the new one. Edit: Construction started 7/16. Please pay attention to the posted signs and avoid the area for your safety.
Work on the exterior of your homes: Please keep in mind that many changes to your properties exterior need RA approval. Our cluster is designated as contemporary style (whatever 1970s contemporary is) with earth tone colors (easier to understand, but there are actual color approvals.) It is best to find out from RA if your project requires approval. There can be costly repercussions for doing things not approved such as having to remove something you spent a lot of money on and are required to replace. We do require a copy be provided to the Board when a Board officer has to sign your application. Erin Keele of RA is our advisor — erin@reston.org.
Cluster RA updated standards applications. We had hoped to have had our updated standards applications reviewed and approved by now, but that DRB hearing is not scheduled until July 14th. We will let you know when they are approved. We have 5 applications pending:
To make approvals easier, give us a window standard for what the DRB is now requiring without you having to actually go before the DRB panel.
Our outside porch lights approval says we must get approval to change to one of the other 3 approved styles. We need to get this in line with what Erin is currently doing and saying — that we can do it without the approval to switch from one type to the other. (Both back and front must match). We do not want down the road that owners get violations when our advisors change and have different opinions when there is no written record of a standard change. This is what happened to us a few years ago when after 25+ years of house numbers not being regulated sellers were receiving violations which required them to go back to the original tiny blue squares with the top two numbers (or 3 for South Lakes Court) being nearly unnoticeable. The majority of owners had already changed to bigger and more readable house numbers and we ended up getting a broad approval that covered all house numbers installed. Two owners had already changed back before we knew this was an issue. Emergency people and delivery people did not like the original ones as it was difficult to find addresses.
Update the gas meter screening which is only approved for lattice screening to match the HVAC screening of either lattice or solid board and to be consistent. (As a side note fences can also be all lattice or all solid board. Nothing changes here.)
Have our siding colors language state RA can approve a color match and not have to have an exact color. All other siding requirements remain the same.
Approve architectural roof shingles as the 3 tab ones are getting harder to find and in color matches with our currently approved colors. This will be in addition to the three tab, not in lieu of.
Hopefully these applications will go forward easily as our advisor, Erin Keele at RA suggested several of them and gave us some language.
Next Board meetings 7 p.m.:
August 19th - 11856 South Lakes Court
September 16th – 2129 Colts Neck Court
November 18th, 11850 South Lakes Court
December – no meeting unless necessary
There are times when meetings change due to the work schedules, etc. for board members. If you wish to attend a meeting, contact the board to be sure the date has not had to be moved.
Annual meeting – October 7th 7:30 p.m. – Hunters Woods Community Center
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