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2013 SESSION
13103132DWHEREAS, Reston, founded as the Commonwealth’s first planned residential community and the first such modern, post war community in America, was listed as “7th Best Small Community in the United States” by CNN Money Magazine in 2012; and
WHEREAS, Reston was founded by visionary developer Robert E. Simon, Jr., on April 10, 1964, as a place where residents could live, work, and play within the same community, a concept in contrast to the suburban neighborhoods that required the use of automobiles to access shopping, schools, and entertainment; and
WHEREAS, Reston embodies Mr. Simon’s founding goals: that the fullest range of housing styles and prices be available; that beauty, both structural and natural, are necessities of the good life and should be fostered; and that it should be possible to remain in one’s neighborhood for a lifetime by selecting housing to meet one’s needs; and
WHEREAS, other goals include that people be able to live and work in the same community; that the importance and dignity of each individual be the focal point for planning and take place over large-scale concepts; and that commercial, cultural, and recreational facilities be made available to the residents from the outset of the development and not years later; and
WHEREAS, Reston was designed and planned by world-renowned architects and planners, William Conklin and James Rossant, who introduced the concepts of higher density housing and mixed use development to Virginia, which preserved open space and became models for developments across the globe; and
WHEREAS, the architectural designs and planning principles of Reston are recognized worldwide and taught at many universities in their schools of architecture and departments of planning; and
WHEREAS, Reston is now a walkable community of 134 neighborhoods and 33 condominium associations connected by 55 miles of paved pathways that allow residents to walk to shopping, schools, and nearby recreational facilities; and
WHEREAS, today, the concepts and goals upon which Reston was developed have become key components of more recent community development concepts, such as “smart growth,” “aging in place,” “green cities,” and “new urbanism”; and
WHEREAS, the quality of life amenities and urban planning principles that have made Reston a success attract many international visitors who desire to learn the successful concepts of Reston and replicate the success in their home countries; and
WHEREAS, Reston has received numerous national accolades, being the first community to be named an Urban Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and receiving the Tree City USA designation every year since 1997 by the National Arbor Day Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Reston was also named the International Cities in Bloom Winner in 2003 and listed as one of the “Best Places to Live” by CNN Money Magazine in 2007 and again in 2012; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the community of Reston on the occasion of its recognition by CNN Money Magazine as one of the “Best Places to Live”; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the president of the board of directors for the Reston Association and to founder, Robert E. Simon, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration and gratitude for the Reston Association’s outstanding community leadership and for Robert Simon’s visionary creation of one of the Commonwealth’s great communities.