Zoning the Good Life: The Proposed Reston National Golf Course Redevelopment, PoshSeven,

Since the 1970s, the Reston National Golf Course has been a Mecca for locals who want to get a little closer to the natural world.

When the weather’s nice (and sometimes when it’s not), golf enthusiasts tee off on the well-manicured green or take practice swings on the driving range. Other visitors to the 166-acre course – the open grounds of which are a certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary – jog down winding walkways, hike through briar patches, or relax by a pond and look out for birds and other local wildlife. Now, the golf course’s fate may hinge on a zoning technicality. . .

RN Golf Management LLC (a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual)first proposed its plan to build residences on the site of the course in 2012. They met powerful opposition from residents and community groups, including the Reston Association. The grassroots activist group Rescue Reston was founded specifically to oppose the redevelopment. The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruled that any residential development would require changes to the Fairfax County Comprehensive plan. This ruling did not outright forbid the development, but it would make development a whole lot harder. RN Gold Management LLC appealed the ruling and asked for more time to prepare their appeal.

If the ruling is not overturned, RN Golf Management LLC would have to rezone the property in order to build. . . .

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