RELAC A/C 2021 SEASON EXTENDED PAST SAT OCT 9

From RELAC President Mark Waddell today:  " ... Reston RELAC is a regulated utility and the Virginia State Corporation Commission (tariff) states that our cooling season is from May 22 thru Oct 9, which is today. But looking at the weather forecast for the next week we are seeing highs between 75F and 83F. Therefore we have decided that we will stay operating for at least another week. We will be operating one chiller to control the extra costs. There will be enough cooling to control the humidity and cool your homes."

TEMPORARY GOOGLE DRIVE DOC LINK ISSUES

It appears that Google has made underlying code changes impacting public access to hyperlinked documents within this website's large Google Drive database that were always freely available without an account password.  The webmaster will be checking and repairing the affected hyperlinks as soon as possible to resume full public access.  Thanks for your patience.

RESTON HISTORIC BLDG SURVEY MTG @ TUE JAN 5

The Fairfax County Dept. of Planning and Development and Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources survey consultant Hanbury Preservation Consulting has completed their draft report and published it for community review on a Fairfax County webpage.  According to the official meeting agenda, Fairfax County Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn will welcome attendees, and the project team leaders will then brief the Reston community on the project and initial survey findings during a virtual meeting from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.  HCA Members and others can attend using a WebEx link, or via telephone at (844) 621-3956 with access code 179 469 1739.  The meeting will also stream live on Alcorn's YouTube webpage.  The 2019 kick-off meeting was reported in an earlier post on this website. 

The survey is a key element of Fairfax County's belated response to their tragic and avoidable 2016 approval of demolition of Bauhaus Architect and Professor Marcel Brauer's striking 1964 Reston American Press Institute Building that made way for yet more generic cookie-cutter townhomes.  The API building and many others were not on the County Inventory of Historic Sites because that deficient list then covered buildings only through about 1920.  Architect Charles M. Goodman's 1965 Hickory Cluster was an important focus of the current survey that will be used to inform government agencies and hopefully prevent future losses of early Reston significant Mid-Century Modern Architecture.

HCA BOD VACANCY NOMINATIONS DUE @ WED JAN 6

At their August 2020 Regular Meeting, HCA Directors appointed two Members as their preferred candidates to fill long-standing vacancies for full unexpired terms after resignations of two former Directors.  Such full-term appointments, however, were contrary to (1) accepted Amendments to the HCA 1964 Articles of Incorporation, proposed and ostensibly approved in late 1993, that allowed unexpired-term appointments to run only until the next scheduled election, and contrary to (2) recent previous Boards' decisions and practices based on acceptance of the amendments.

HCA then announced the election of only two Directors, rather than four (two for expired terms and two for unexpired terms) as required by the 1993 Amendments.  When a long-time Member identified this issue during the pandemic-delayed September 2020 Annual Meeting candidate nomination process, the Board further delayed the meeting to October 2020 while it sought formal legal advice.

 

That legal guidance, in addition to a shocking lack of official meeting minutes or other written documents and personal recollections from TWC or former 1993 Directors still residing in Hickory Cluster or nearby, led to the discovery that HCA could not confirm formal HCA Member approval of the 1993 Amendments or their registration as required with the State Corporation Commission.  In other words, without documented approval and registration, there were no legally-binding 1993 Amendments to the 1964 Articles of Incorporation.

But wait, there's more:  one unelected Director, appointed in August 2020 just before the September/October 2020 election, resigned recently and effectively created a third Director appointment circumventing an election.  This time, however, the Board did the right thing.  Through a mass mailing to all HCA Members ... still not posted on the new HCA website ... they offered everyone the opportunity for Board appointment.  The official self-nomination Statement of Interest form is due to TWC no later than 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.  Currently, Block 1 is represented by two Directors, Block 2 by no Director, and Block 3 by a voting majority of four Directors, out of seven Directors total.  

HCA COMMON AREA ... DOGGIE DUTY

ISSUE:  Dog pee, poop, and odors on trafficked HCA Common Areas and near other neighbors' homes, no matter how hard you try to pick it all up.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many if not most Members and their families are now at home working or in class full-time every day of the week.  Children now have more opportunities to play outdoors on HCA Common Areas, and our four-legged friends now have more opportunities for more outdoor walks.  

SOLUTION:  To keep HCA Common Area play areas healthy for children, to avoid killing Common Area grass and plantings, to avoid rotting-out light pole bases, and to keep Common Areas immediately surrounding your neighbors' Goodman Houses and parked cars free from unhealthy pee, poop, and related odors, please follow related HCA Governing Documents 1993 General Resolution 2, Code of Conduct Rules and Regulations, including paragraph 10: " ... walk dogs in the wooded areas, not in planters or on common grassy areas, not on traffic islands or where children play. ... "  Yes, it's a politely-stated enforceable rule.  Related HCA and Fairfax County rules are provided in the May 1, 2017 HCA Common Area Pet Walking community notice.

HCA REGULAR MEETING ONLINE @ WED AUG 19

As previously announced, the HCA Board of Directors will hold a virtual monthly Regular Meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  Virginia law requires homeowners' associations to hold physical public meetings and Director votes, but April 22, 2020 emergency legislation temporarily allows association meetings via electronic means without the requirement of at least two directors meeting in person.  HCA Members can attend the meeting online at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join using the GoToMeeting webpage or app.  Or attendees can dial into the meeting via telephone at (312) 757-3119.  Participation requires a 9-digit Access Code available to HCA Members via email request from HCA Secretary Tom Drake at thomasdrake@hickorycluster.org.  Regular Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m.  For more information contact HCA Secretary Drake.

HCA REGULAR MEETING ONLINE @ WED JUL 15

The HCA Board of Directors advised that they will hold a monthly Regular Meeting on July 15, 2020 as a public GoToMeeting event due to continuing coronavirus pandemic emergency concerns.  Virginia law requires homeowners' associations to hold physical public meetings and Director votes, but April 22, 2020 emergency legislation temporarily allows association meetings via electronic means without the requirement of at least two directors meeting in person.  HCA Members can attend the meeting online at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join using the GoToMeeting webpage or app.  Or attendees can dial into the meeting via telephone at (312) 757-3119.  Participation requires a 9-digit Access Code available to HCA Members via email request from HCA Secretary Tom Drake at thomasdrake@hickorycluster.org.  Regular Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m.  For more information contact HCA Secretary Drake.

VANTAGE HILL INFILL PROJECT DRB MTG @ TUE JUN 23

Reston developed Vantage Hill Cluster condominiums in 1967 to provide non-subsidized affordable workforce housing options.  About eight years ago, the Vantage Hill Condominium Unit Owners Association abandoned its dedicated swimming pool common area due to extensive overall deferred maintenance, insufficient reserves funding, high operating costs, and a gradual transition from owner-occupied to rental units.  Vantage Hill currently contains about 35% rental units within 152 units total, while HCA currently has about 12% rentals within 90 total.  VHCUOA 2019 fees ranged from $35-57 monthly, or $420-680 annually, based on shared condo buildings, infrastructure, and common area.  HCA 2019 fees ranged from about $160-240 monthly, or $1920-2880 annually, based on individual townhome units and 2000-24 Block 3 garage project loan $0-80 monthly payments.  VH 2019 condo sales prices ranged from $140,000-250,000 while HC 2019 townhome sales prices ranged from $399,900-$510,000.  An April 2019 Reston Now article provided an early project report.

To build reserves and fund overdue deferred maintenance and improvement projects, a majority of Vantage Hill homeowners recently agreed to sell their unused 2.12 acre swimming pool common area to a local residential developer Craftmark Homes, who proposes to build up to 31 townhomes, and shift 50 parking spaces to other parts of the property, for which the condo association is projected to receive net proceeds of almost $3,500,000.  Vantage Hill and Craftmark will provide an informational presentation to the Full DRB at its 7:00 p.m. monthly virtual meeting tomorrow, and affected parties may voice their concerns, for which RA made the meeting packet publicly available this morning.   Craftmark mailed required meeting notification letters dated June 2 to 21 HCA and other affected parties directly adjoining Vantage Hill.  In response, neighbors submitted to RA at least 17 individual affected party statements of concerns about building-out dedicated cluster common area to generate revenue, increased building density, reduced open space, street setbacks, traffic, noise, safety, tree removal, storm drainage, animal impacts, and more.

For more June 23 Vantage Hill project application package information, see the following links:
  Developer DRB Application, Attachments
  Vantage Hill Condo Assn. Letter to Owners
  Developer Letter to Affected Parties, Map, List
  Affected Parties Statements of Concern
  Developer Site Plans Proposed
  Developer + Vantage Hill Slide Presentation

To attend the June 23 FDRB virtual Zoom meeting, see the Affected Parties Letter link above and/or the following online access summary:
  Meeting Agenda
  Website:  https://www.zoom.com
  Meeting ID:  956 8866 0759
  Password:  934817

HCA NEW DOOR, WINDOW, OR WALL PROJECT?

To help preserve remaining Hickory Cluster architectural integrity, and to help maintain and increase popular Mid-Century Modern resale property values, HCA requires RA DRB applications and approvals for replacing solid entry doors, solid balcony doors, sliding glass doors, fixed or operable glass windows, concrete block or wood rear patio fences and gates, and other original Goodman House as-built design elements and colors as documented in respective HCA governing documents and RA DRB Design Guidelines, even for some compliant proposed replacements.  The application preparation and submission process also follows a number of important steps.  To help HCA Members understand and successfully complete those steps during and after the 2018 RA Cluster Inspections, HCA developed the application process guide posted above.  Note that the guide describes a best case scenario for a complete application, fully compliant project, and normal RA process times.  In addition, RA recently updated their corresponding application form required for all DRB submissions by all RA homeowners.  For more information, see the HCA website Governing Documents webpage for cluster-specific HCA General Resolution architectural standards that take precedence over RA guidelines, the more general RA DRB Cluster Housing Design Guidelines webpage, and the RA DRB application webpage.

HCA REGULAR MEETING ONLINE @ WED JUN 17

The HCA Board of Directors advised that they will hold a monthly Regular Meeting on June 17, 2020 as a public GoToMeeting due to continuing coronavirus pandemic emergency concerns.  Virginia law requires homeowners' associations to hold physical public meetings and Director votes, but April 22, 2020 emergency legislation temporarily allows association meetings via electronic means without the requirement of at least two directors meeting in person.  HCA Members can attend the meeting online at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join using the GoToMeeting webpage or app.  Or attendees can dial into the meeting via telephone at (312) 757-3119 or toll free at (866) 899-4679.  Participation requires a 9-digit security Access Code available to HCA Members via email request prior to the meeting from HCA Secretary Tom Drake at thomasdrake@hickorycluster.org.  HCA Regular Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m.  For more information contact HCA Secretary Drake.