HCA BLOCK 1 WATER PIPE BREAK

An underground water pipe appears to be broken and bubbling up water tonight from beneath the pavement in front of 11520-26 Maple Ridge Road in Block 1.  Fairfax Water dispatched a repair crew after being notified by Block 1 Member Eric Lundberg.  UPDATE 1 ... Fairfax Water crews arrived, isolated the water leak, and started repairs to restore service to twelve Block 1 homes.  The rest of Block 1 and all of Block 2 were not affected.  UPDATE 2 ... Fairfax Water completed repairs at about 5:00 a.m.  Maple Ridge Road is open for business, but may need additional follow-up pavement work.

HCA ROAD STORM SERVICE UPDATE

From Blade Runners earlier today:  "Temperatures will be cold today and tomorrow.  We are scheduled for 1/2 to 1 inch of accumulation.  We plan to take a wait and see approach with this event.  As the morning progresses we will have an idea as to the need for ice control."  UPDATE 1 ... "Storm track has changed.  We plan to service properties for roads ... ."  HCA received at least 4 1/2 inches of snow, much more than originally predicted.

RA RELAC A/C COVENANT 15 REVOKE VOTE DATES

RA published its September 25, 2014, Board Meeting Agenda Packet late last week.  Items of note in that packet include the Regular Meeting Agenda, a Draft Referendum Schedule shown at right, and a copy of the signature petition seeking to revoke RA Amended Deed Section VI.2(b)(15) requiring use of community air-conditioning chilled water system service currently provided by Reston RELAC LLC.  According to the Draft Referendum Schedule expected to be approved at the 6:00 p.m., Thursday, September 25 RA meeting, and following several intermediate steps, RA will mail ballots January 5, 2015, end voting January 30, and provide results February 9. 

HCA FIRE LANE CURB CLEAN + PAINT @ SEP 26 + 29

In response to recent Member concerns, HCA plans to reduce visual clutter and replace many Fire Lane signs clusterwide with single signs at each main entrance on North Shore Drive, subject to a Fairfax County special application and waiver.  As part of that application, HCA must show that it has otherwise clearly marked all Fire Lane areas with approved yellow curb paint.  A contractor will start the painting process by cleaning all Fire Lane curbs on Friday, September 26, and then paint them on Monday, September 29.  Please make sure your vehicles and other personal property do not obstruct their work.  For more information, contact Block 2 Director Jeff Ashley.

HCA FALL CLUSTER CLEAN-UP @ NOV 15-16

The HCA Board agreed at its September meeting to hold the annual Fall Cluster Clean-Up on Saturday and Sunday, November 15-16, 2014, two weeks before the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Hopefully this will be a dry and cool weekend good for wearing protective clothing without overheating. 

As always, Members and other residents can pitch in throughout Hickory Cluster by removing and stacking tree debris near footpaths, and by removing tree trunk vines.  One or more HCA Directors may also cut larger pieces of tree debris with their personal chain saws.  Blade Runners will follow up with tree debris chipping and removal, to be coordinated with other planned landscape maintenance. 

UPDATE ... NOAA National Weather Service local forecast for this weekend should be good for active outdoor work:
- Saturday, November 15 ... mostly sunny, with a high near 44
- Sunday, November 16 ... mostly cloudy, with a high near 47

Typical annual tasks, and recent Member-suggested tasks, include:
- Remove clinging vines from tree trunks and branches
- Remove fallen trees and tree branches
- Trim or remove overgrown private property trees and plants
- Stack tree and other debris near footpaths for pickup
- Remove private property from and clean up nearby Common Areas ... including items stored on front plazas and outside rear patio block walls
- Clean up or remove carriage house carport private property items
- Get to know your neighbors !

For more information, contact your respective Block 1-3 HCA Directors.

RESTON HOME TOUR FEATURES GOODMAN HOUSE

The 13th Annual Reston Home Tour 2014 fundraising event will showcase the McClung Residence, a renovated 1248 s.f., two bedroom, 1965 Type C1 Goodman House on October 18, 2014 for hundreds of attendees.  Renowned Modern Architect Charles M. Goodman, FAIA (1906-92) built only three other Type C1 Hickory Cluster townhomes with the same special split level floorplan, upper floor clerestory windows, and elevated central Common Area views.

As architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson noted in The Making of Virginia Architecture:  " ... More than any other individual, Charles M. Goodman brought modern architecture to mid-twentieth-century Virginia.  A figure of international stature, Goodman's impact can scarcely be measured ... .  His designs formed the basis of the generic Modern American house and school, widely imitated in every part of the country. ... The result was a body of architecture of great distinction that captured Americans' imagination for many years. ... "

And as architectural historian Elizabeth Jo Lample noted in Housing Washington:  " ... The appeal of living in a Goodman house is enormous to those who share his avant-garde spirit, plus his ideals for openness, engagement with nature, and liberal social values.  There remains a solid housing market today for people who appreciate the simplicity amid nature and the progressivism that a Goodman house still offers.  ... To those who are fortunate enough to obtain them, his dwellings feel like highly livable works of art, glazed conduits to the natural world.  Perhaps far more than those who inhabited them early on, the houses offer a rarified experience that, contrary to their designer's intent, renders them well removed from any vernacular realm."

For more information on Reston's Goodman Houses, visit the Hickory Cluster official website at http://hickoryclusterassociation.blogspot.com.

RA SPECIAL MTG ON RELAC EXEMPTIONS @ JUN 12

The RA Board of Directors will hold a Special Meeting on Thursday, June 12 starting at 6:00 p.m. at RA Headquarters to determine the conditions under which the RA Covenants Committee may grant temporary RELAC service exception permits to Members bound by Section VI.2(b)(15) of the Reston Amended Deed as currently allowed by RA Property Use & Maintenance Standards Resolution 15.  The meeting agenda includes an Issue Overview, Member Comments, and discussion and action on possible changes to the resolution.  HCA Members may be impacted by discussion and actions at this meeting and may attend to provide related comments, subject to RA speaker pre-registration and time limitations. 

UPDATE ... On June 12, RA Directors unanimously passed a related motion, as follows:  "President Knueven, seconded by Director Thompson, moved to approve the proposed revisions to Use & Maintenance Standards Resolution 15; Air-Conditioning Service Covenant Reasonable Accommodations; thereby delineating the conditions under which the Covenants Committee may grant temporary exemption permits to Members bound by Section VI.2(b)(15) of the Reston Deed, as amended."

RELAC PUBLIC MEETING @ JUN 10

Reston RELAC LLC will host a public meeting from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 in the Rose Gallery of the Lake Anne Reston Community Center to review 2013 RELAC air-conditioning system operations and improvements, the company long-term vision, and plans for additional improvements.  Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) representatives will also discuss their partnership programs and plans.

RESTON MASTER PLAN PHASE II OPEN HSE @ JUN 7

Fairfax County will sponsor a public Open House to provide information on Phase II of the Reston Master Plan Special Study.  Phase I focused on commercial growth and redevelopment primarily surrounding the new Reston-Wiehle Ave. Metrorail Station.  Phase II will be focused on possible options for preserving, improving, or redeveloping existing Village Centers and mature neighborhoods like Hickory Cluster, and on development of the commercial area north of Baron Cameron Ave.  The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 7 at United Christian Parish, 11508 North Shore Drive.

LAVC LANDLORD CLOSES JASMINE CAFE

For 25 years, acclaimed restaurant and catering Chef Eduardo Faubert served imaginative, seasonal, New American cuisine, daily and during special fixed-price multi-course holiday dinner nights, both indoors and al fresco, in cozy and understated Lake Anne Village Center surroundings.  Christmas carolers and jazz guitarists performed there often, local artists displayed their work, and Founder Robert E. Simon Jr. and many HCA Members were regular customers.  But Jasmine Cafe at Lake Anne, and its delicious chocolate mousse dessert, are no more. 

Chef Faubert bought the property in 1988, expanded and then reduced space, sold it in 2012, and continued on as a tenant of current owner Jaleo Corporation.  Then extensive and lengthy Lake Anne plaza fountain repair work during the last prime outdoor dining season fatally cut into Jasmine revenues, as did long and cold winters.  The promise of higher rents from Lake Anne redevelopment, and other personal circumstances, all contributed to this sad loss of yet another popular Lake Anne small business.  Without warning, Jaleo posted "No Trespassing" and other signs on Jasmine's windows, and chained the front doors shut last month.   The former G Sushi take-out restaurant also closed in July 2011 due to a landlord dispute.  The Lake Anne Coffee Shop has been on the market since March, and investors recently purchased the nearby Lakeside Pharmacy where Cafe Lakeside closed in February.