Following two advertised public hearings on February 5th and February 12th, the Reston Association will be presenting a voting referendum to its members that would allow residents of certain areas in and around Lake Anne to legally install personal and/or private HVAC systems. The Reston Association is mailing ballots to members voting in the referendum on February 13. March 8 is the deadline for ballot returns. On March 13, the Board of Directors will hold a special meeting to announce the referendum results.
This referendum comes at a crucial time, when the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning System (RELAC), which has served the community since 1965, is closing. In December 2023, RELAC notified units it had been providing with cooling services it would discontinue those services as of 2024.
Announced as “the world’s first ‘community air-conditioning system” by The Evening Star Washington D.C. on Friday, June 18, 1965, the system provides chilled water for air conditioning services to clusters and condominiums near Lake Anne. The article states, “In each home, a coil atop the gas furnace uses the chilled water to cool and dehumidify air in the house under control of the thermostat… Heat picked up by the water in cooling household air is removed by the water pumped from nearby Lake Anne. The heated water is pumped back into the 30 acre man-made lake.”
Fortunately, the Reston Association has staged a set of meetings to alter Section VI.2(b)(15) of the Reston Deed. Currently the section reads that a lot within a residential cluster that RELAC can service cannot install its own HVAC system, unless Section VI.2(b)(15) of the Reston Deed is amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the Category A members of all residential clusters on the service. Members in good standing with the Reston Association and who live in the lots specified in Deed Section VI.2(b)(15) are eligible to vote in the upcoming referendum.
