Standards Committee: Lakeport Cluster Standards and Revised Reston Association Design Guidelines

By Jerry Beiter, Chair

Lakeport Cluster Standards provide owners with guidelines for repairing the exterior of their homes using current materials that can reduce costs and also maintain the uniform cluster look required by the Reston Association (RA). Lakeport Cluster Standards are available on the Lakeport website at https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/cluster-standards.html, which can also be accessed via the Documents tab at the top of the Lakeport webpage.

If you are making a change that is not addressed in the Lakeport Cluster Standards, you must check the RA Cluster Property Guidelines. The RA Design Guidelines can be found in the Document Center on the Reston Association website at  https://www.reston.org/DocumentCenter/Index/105. Select “Cluster Guidelines” and then scroll to the guideline you want (note that you may need to go to another screen to find it). A number of changes require that you submit the RA Design Review Board (DRB) Application Form (also available on the RA website) for approval prior to starting the project.  

Recently, Reston Association has added a “General Overview” document to their website (https://www.reston.org/DocumentCenter/View/2610/General-Overview-PDF). This General Overview covers everything from the application process to the difference between Reston Design Guidelines and Cluster Standards. All of the information is pulled from Reston Association’s Governing Documents, which can be found separately on RA’s website at https://www.reston.org/218/Governing-Documents. 

Some of the RA Design Guidelines that have been updated for clusters include the following:

Mechanical Equipment – This guideline, previously titled Air Conditioners/Heat Pumps, has been revised to remove any ambiguity in the reference to “similar in size” by adding a measurable metric for replacement units that do not require an application, removing the guesswork for members. 

Gutters and Downspouts – There are three notable changes to this guideline:

• Previously, the guideline specified that redirected water flow should not “detrimentally impact” any adjacent property; that wording has been revised to “redirected water flow does not cross any adjacent property."
• No application is required for the installation of a dry well or rain garden.
• Downspout extensions no more than three feet in length are permitted so long as they are hidden with plant material or buried.

In addition, Water Management Regulations for the Commonwealth of Virginia and Fairfax County are now included for reference.

Landscaping (Tree Removal) – Several changes have been made to the removal guidelines for both dead and live trees. In particular, no application is required for removal of “any quantity of dead or dying trees (visible rot or fungus, signs of root or trunk damage, leaning or bare branches) that is not shown on a DRB approved landscaping plan. Documentation (photos, certified arborist statement, etc.) must be obtained, kept for your records, and presented to RA staff if requested.” 

Window Replacements/Additions – To help members expedite the replacement process, the guideline has been revised:

• Partial replacement of windows or patio doors that conform to the cluster standards no longer requires an application.
• Staff may review replacement windows and doors that match previously approved window/door replacements within the cluster.

Remember that before you do any work on the exterior of your home, you MUST consult the Lakeport Cluster Standards, and if relevant the RA Guidelines, and follow them. Links to Lakeport Standards, RA  Guidelines, the DRB application, a discussion of RA’s counterintuitive party-wall rules, and resources for landscaping and replacement trees (required by RA if you remove a tree) are all available in Section A at https://www.lakeportcluster.org/p/documents.html.