Governance

 

Governance Overview

Vision Statement

Leading the model community where all can Live, Work, Play and Get Involved.™

Mission Statement

To preserve and enhance the Reston community through outstanding leadership, service and stewardship of our resources.

Core Values: Actions & Behaviors

Service

  • Treat each person as an individual with dignity and respect

  • Be more responsive than a member would expect

  • Be an attentive listener

  • Handle issues with courtesy and a genuine desire to help

  • Provide programs that are valued by our members

  • Provide an environment that fosters volunteering

Collaboration

  • Engage diverse groups in the community

  • Create and facilitate excellent communications

  • Invite and enable interaction among community groups

  • Empower with mutual respect and cooperation

Stewardship

  • Maintain the quality of our natural resources and preserve the character of our built environment

  • Encourage others to become stewards

  • Maintain member information and physical facilities with care

  • Work to avoid material and financial waste

  • Mentor employees and volunteers

  • Work with a sense of fairness and equity

Innovation

  • Encourage creativity and celebrate its outcomes

  • Consider risks carefully, and be willing to fail and learn from every experience

  • Show respect for the ideas of others

  • Challenge the status quo in order to better accomplish the association’s goals

Leadership

  • Keep the community involved and informed

  • Meet challenges to advance the community

  • Make community focused decisions

  • Accept responsibility and acknowledge errors

  • Act with both conviction and humility

  • Provide a clear sense of direction

Who We Are

Reston Association (RA) is a not-for-profit corporation that serves a community of about 60,000 people and is one of the largest community associations in the United States. Reston Association sustains and protects the community’s quality of life by caring for Reston’s natural environment and recreational facilities, and administering its architectural and maintenance covenants. As prescribed by law and set forth in the Reston Documents, the purpose of the association is to:

  1. interpret, administer, and enforce the protective covenants and restrictions of this Deed in such a manner as to conserve, protect, and enhance the value of all real property subject to the Deed;

  2. for the benefit of the Members, to acquire, own, sell, mortgage, convey, encumber, and lease property, real or personal, and to improve, administer, and maintain such property in neat and good order; provided, however, that the recreational facilities of the Association and other Common Area shall be intended for the use and benefit, primarily, of the Members, provided further, however, that the Board and the Association may allow the use of the recreational facilities by non-Members;

  3. assess, collect, and disburse the Assessments and charges authorized by this Deed;

  4. promote the peace, health, comfort, safety, and general welfare of the Members;

  5. do any and all lawful things and acts that it, in its discretion, may deem to be for the benefit of the Property and the Owners and inhabitants thereof; and

  6. exercise the powers now or hereafter conferred by law on Virginia nonstock corporations as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes set forth above.

Reston’s membership is comprised of 21,346 residential units. All residential property owners and renters subject to the Reston Deed are automatically members of the Reston Association. With membership come certain rights and obligations, including the right to elect the Association’s directors, the right to serve as a director and/or officer, and the right to use association property. Property owners also have the right to vote on certain matters that might potentially affect the value of their property. As well, members are required to uphold protective covenants and regulations, comply with association rules, and pay an annual assessment that funds most of the association’s operations.

Reston Association’s bylaws provide for a nine-member Board of Directors that is responsible to the membership for determining and implementing broad organizational goals. The board sets RA policy in all matters - finance and budget, personnel and compensation policies, and planning and program strategies. In carrying out its duties, the board looks to its committees to advise on important aspects of community life and the management of association recreational facilities, open space and other assets.

The RA Board of Directors relies on the Covenants Committee and the Design Review Board for design, use and maintenance issues. Only the Design Review Board has the power to interpret, administer and render decisions involving design covenants and guidelines as provided in the Reston Deed and Association Bylaws.

Unlike other sizable community-interest associations across the country, RA does not include local businesses in its membership, and thus does not collect assessment income from that source. Nonetheless, the association’s policies and practices have considerable impact on the business community. Reston's attractiveness and the amenities provided by the association play an important role in attracting and retaining environmentally friendly commercial enterprises.

As the community’s steward, RA is responsible for maintaining the quality of life in Reston, chiefly by caring for and administering the community's most precious asset - its real property. As a steward, RA has three major roles:

  1. RA provides parks and recreation facilities and amenities like those of a city or town. The association maintains and operates a vast array of recreational facilities, including 15 pools, 48 tennis courts, 55 miles of paved pathways, ballfields, playgrounds, multipurpose courts, picnic areas, garden plots and a variety of rental facilities for public meetings and gatherings. In addition, it provides the membership with a wide variety of opportunities to participate in many educational and recreational leisure programs.

  2. RA seeks to preserve property values in Reston through a system of covenants and restrictions that govern the design, maintenance, and use of property, as broadly spelled out in the Deed; and

  3. RA seeks to protect Reston’s natural beauty and environment. The association maintains and nurtures over 1,300 acres of open space, including four lakes, three ponds, streams, wetlands, forests, and meadows, as well as a 72-acre nature education center.

On a day-to-day basis, RA is managed by a Chief Executive Officer supported by a staff of about 96 full-time employees who bring a wide variety of knowledge and skills to jobs as varied as environmental biology, auto mechanics, and public administration. In the summer months, the full-time staff is augmented by nearly 350 seasonal employees who maintain outdoor facilities, provide services and conduct programs.

To access applications, agendas, meeting videos, and more click here.