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Letter
from Jennifer L. Blackwell,
President - Board of Directors - Reston Association
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Frequently
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Comments
Jennifer L. Blackwell
President, Reston Association
Extending
the Referendum Deadline
was the Responsible Thing
to Do
As you may have read by now, on Thursday,
March 30, the Board voted to extend the deadline for
return of the ballots for the Governing Documents referendum
from March 31 to April 10, 2006 at 5 p.m.
It is important to understand that this decision was not taken lightly. During
and prior to this referendum campaign, the Board, staff, and volunteers have
made every effort to inform the members about the revisions to the Governing
Documents, request their input, and encourage them to vote. As many of
you are more than well-aware, we made phone calls, met with cluster associations,
handed out flyers at grocery stores, distributed literature door-to-door, sent
reminder postcards, took out advertisements, set out prominent road signs, and
more – all to make sure our members were informed about the Governing Documents
referendum, answer any questions they may have, and remind them to vote.
We always knew this would be a challenge. Obtaining a 40 percent homeowner quorum
in such a large community is difficult, at best. Yet despite our best efforts,
we were concerned that we would fall short on the March 31 deadline, nevertheless,
it would be a very close margin. Thus, because we were very close to reaching
the quorum required, this Board voted, as was within our legal authority, to
extend the deadline to receive ballots for this critical referendum until Monday,
April 10 at 5 p.m. Given the great effort over the past four and a half
years that this community has undertaken to bring this process to completion,
it was, quite simply, our fiduciary responsibility to take this one additional
action to obtain a valid referendum.
This extension was not for purposes of reaching “success” – we
do not know at this point how close we are to obtaining a vote of 2/3 in support
of the proposed revisions. Rather our purpose was to reach quorum. Whether
you are in favor of or against the revisions to the documents, it is only reasonable
to want to obtain at least a valid referendum in order that the Board will know
what the community thinks about the revisions to the documents. As we have said
throughout this campaign, not voting is not the answer. We need
to hear from you.
If you have voted, thank you for taking the time to do so. If you have
not yet done so, please take these additional few days and cast your ballot on
the referendum. Your pass code and user name information for voting online
will be provided to you again in the mail this week, but if you need a replacement
ballot, or have other questions about voting, please do not hesitate to contact
(703) 435-6512 or e-mail at cate@reston.org.
If you have any questions about the referendum or any issues in particular that
I can assist with, please do not hesitate to contact me at the information provided
below.
It has never been more apparent to me than it is now that every single vote counts.
Please make sure yours does.
Sincerely,
Jennifer L. Blackwell
President, Reston Association
(703) 435-3395 (home)
(703) 489-8283 (cell)
jennybw@comcast.net
Press
Release - 3/31/06
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Below are links
to the approved
document changes
-- Bylaws, Protective
Covenants, and Articles of Incorporation.
Why are the Governing Documents Important?
Reston Association's Governing Documents provide for the legal structure and
operation of the community. Specifically, the Documents:
1. Define
the rights and obligations of both the Association
and its Members.
2. Create a binding relationship
between each Member and the Association.
3. Establish the mechanisms for governing and funding
the Association's operations.
4. Set forth rules and standards for the:
- Protection of both
Members and the community
- Enhancement of property values
- Promotion of harmonious living
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What are RA's Current Governing Documents?
Reston Association is currently governed by three documents:
1. The
Deed identifies the
rights, responsibilities, and obligations of all RA
Members and Owners of Property in terms of how both
common and private land/property are used. It
is binding on all parties who own land located within
the boundaries of the Reston Master Plan.
2. The Articles of Incorporation establish the legal entity under which RA operates.
Key elements include: 1) the name of the corporation;
2) a statement that RA is not organized for profit; 3) a description of the
necessary qualifications for Directors; and 4) a provision for the indemnification
of Directors, Officers, and members of the DRB and Committees.
3. The Bylaws govern RA's day-to-day operations. They
include rules on: 1) Member meetings and referenda; 2) Board elections, meetings,
and manner of operating; 3) Officer elections, powers and duties; 4) fiscal
policies; 5) composition and powers of the Covenants Committee and DRB; and
6) conditions under which additional property can become a part of Reston.
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Why Make Changes?
The Governing Documents were last updated in 1984 – 21 years ago. A lot
has changed since then. As a result, our Governing Documents need to be amended.
For example: - Changes are needed to give the Association the flexibility
1) to sustain the current level of operations, maintenance, repair, and replacement
of aging facilities and 2) to provide for the future needs of the community.
- Reston Association has transitioned from the developer to a Member-controlled
organization.
- Changes are needed to accommodate current and future issues associated
with residential and commercial growth, redevelopment, and revitalization.
- Changes are needed to bring the documents into line with county,
state, and federal laws that place new restrictions and requirements on the
operation of homeowners associations.
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What Has the Review Process Entailed?
RA
began its review of the Documents with an internal
analysis in January 2001, conducted by the Association's
executive staff in conjunction with RA's Board, committees,
general counsel, and Counsel for Assessment Collections. The purpose of the analysis was to identify potential technical and operational
policy changes that could then be studied further for a greater in-depth study
by a special committee.
The Board turned the findings from the Internal Analysis over to the newly
established Special Committee on Governing Documents Review in November 2002.
The Committee was given the responsibility of reviewing the Documents and providing
advice to the Board as to what amendments, if any, should be made to the Documents
and sent to the RA Members for vote by referendum. In its review, the Special
Committee identified and made recommendations on the following five policy
issues:
1. Membership,
Document Amendment and Referendum Requirements relating
to new and current membership categories and voting
and referendum requirements.
2. Board and Operational
Procedures relating to RA's internal organization and structure,
including meeting requirements, conflict of interest
standards and Officer titles.
3. Finances relating to the existing assessment base
and cap requirements.
4. Design Review & Use Covenants relating to design
review standards, use and maintenance of property, and luster operations.
5. Annexation & Redevelopment relating to the
process by which properties are to become a part of the Association, the
lease or conveyance of Association property to other entities, and the revitalization
of existing properties.
The Special Committee made its final report and recommendations to the Board
of Directors regarding changes to the Documents in March 2004,. The Board
accepted the report, directed staff to post the report on the Association’s
Web site for Member review, and established a series of Work Sessions in
April and May 2004 to discuss the five policy issues outlined by the Special
Committee and to receive Member comments on those issues.
After receiving everyone’s comments, the Board recognized the that
the Special Committee’s recommendations needed to be properly evaluated
and incorporated into the existing Documents. , As a result, the Board
voted in June 2004 to hire attorney Robert Diamond, of Reed Smith, LLP,
to conduct a thorough analysis of the Special Committee’s report
and to advise the Board on how to translate the recommendations into amendments
to the Association’s
Governing Documents.
Based on his analysis, Mr. Diamond recommended in September 2004 that the
Association’s
Documents be reorganized to reflect current operational practices and at the
same time to provide the Association with the flexibility to meet its future
needs over the next 20 to 30 years. He presented his first draft of the Restated
Declaration for Reston (formerly entitled the Reston Deed) in March 2005.
Between March and July 2005, the Board of Directors met in open work sessions
to provide direction to Mr. Diamond on various policy topics, including Membership
Categories & Voting Rights,Assessment Rates, Maximum Assessment
and Increases in the Maximum Assessment, Additions, Alterations, or Improvements
to the Common Area by the Board of Directors, Covenant Enforcement, and Director
Nominations & Elections. The Board presented the draft documents
to community groups in August 2005, and received extensive feedback on both
a number of policy issues and on the language and structure of the documents.
In response to the many comments
received from Members, the Board has revised its
policy decisions. Perhaps
most significantly, in response to the overwhelming
number of comments received from Members about the
language and structure of the proposed Governing Documents,
the Board reformatted and restructured the proposed
documents and included line-in, line-out revisions
for the proposed changes. The revised draft documents
also contain footnotes to identify each of the significant
revisions and the reasons for each proposed change.
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