Caddyshackpocalypse 'In Perpetuity': War Horse's Peaceful-Sounding Work Group Suggests We're Back At It Again

In Reston, it always seems to start with invasive plants.

A cluster meeting in South Reston with representatives of Reston National Golf Course's new owners about "vegetated buffers" was the first most of us who don't live in neighborhoods adjacent to RNGC has heard of the Reston National Neighborhood Study Group, a friendly-sounding group focused on friendly-sounding topics like these:

Strangely, "paving over fairways for an endless array of four-over-one condos whose names lack strategic vowels" didn't make this initial cut of discussion topics. 

The new owners of the golf course, War Horse Cities and Weller Development, hired New City Enterprises to coordinate these closed, cluster-only meetings and come up with some friendly-sounding verbiage for the website. If this all seems a little bit like the friendly conversations north of the Toll Road about replacing Reston's other golf course with a "Grand Park," you're probably not mistaken.

The website's FAQ says this about the golf course:

Clearly, some changes for the land need to be considered. But whether it’s golf, simple open space, parks or some new combination of uses, Reston National will continue to be a place that the entire neighborhood can enjoy.

CLEARLY. That was repeated during the meeting with the Hunters Green cluster this week. Give us some good blockquote, cluster president Reed Skaggs:

"The Reston National Neighborhood study group appears to have broader agenda for future golf course use as it was stated that 'The property won't be a golf course in perpetuity' however no additional information was provided."

Have no fear, though. The Reston Association is on it, if by "on it," you mean "made a YouTube video:"

We've said many times it would be hard for any property owner -- even one with a name like, oh, let's just say for the sake of argument "Peace Pony" -- to avoid looking at options that would give them nearly a tenfold return on their investment. And they're at least saying and doing the right things in the short-term, including this pledge on their website:

Any options for the future must be guided by 3 principles. They must: 

1. Follow the seven principles that have defined Reston for half a century; 

2. Be created through an inclusive process with neighbors, government and other stakeholders; 

3. Be embraced by the Reston National Neighborhood and have support in the community.

We can do our best to hold them to that -- and hold our elected officials to their promises to protect the Reston Comprehensive Plan. Hunter Mill Supervisor Robert Alcorn has said many times -- including when the rubber hit the road -- that the golf courses will remain in the plan unless the surrounding property owners approve of a change, but as we've seen, politics have their own price developers are willing to pay round these here parts, and it's considerably higher than paying a guy with a weed whacker to trim back some ivy, the end.