Reston Association (RA) announced that its RELAC [Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation] referendum will occur on Feb. 16, with ballots sent to eligible members that day. March 8 is the deadline for the RA referendum ballot return.

RELAC is a private utility that has supplied chilled water for air conditioning to approximately 300 cluster and condominium units surrounding Lake Anne since the mid-60s. The system runs on recirculated lake water from Lake Anne. On opening day in 1965, RELAC was hailed as cutting-edge technology; however, some people criticized it for inefficiency, 

On Feb. 5, RA posted online its updated RELAC Referendum FAQs, the same day RA was to host its first two advertised virtual Board of Directors' public hearings on RELAC. The RA Calendar contains the link to join the Feb. 5 meeting and the link to the meeting details. On Feb. 12, there will be a second public hearing. Similarly, the RA Calendar provides a link to join the meeting.

RA organized the referendum because RELAC informed the units it serves in December 2023 that it would no longer supply cooling services in 2024.

On Dec. 11, 2023, the current owners of RELAC announced that the 2023 cooling season would be the final year that RELAC would supply chilled water to its consumers. On Dec. 28, 2023, the Homeowner Association Boards of all RELAC Clusters and Associations received notice via email, with a copy sent to Reston Association representative, that a memorandum of understanding which establishes the foundation for a carefully structured community-owned entity would assume responsibility for the management and operation of the RELAC service. 

Section VI.2(b)(15) of the Amended Reston Deed states that "in any residential cluster in which central air-conditioning service is available to the lot line, no individual air-conditioning units of any type shall be permitted." 

RA declares that it will enforce the covenant: (1) “unless and until” the covenant is repealed; (2) there is definitive proof that such services [central air conditioning] are unavailable; and (3) through a member health exception. 

Anticipating that the RELAC referendum will pass, RA's Covenants Department is now processing Design Review Board (DRB) applications for HVAC systems and is discussing how to expedite health exemptions, according to the Feb. 5 amended RELAC Referendum FAQs.

Andrew Fregly, an RA member who lives lakeside, states in his Feb. 5 email sent shortly before noon to the RA Board Liaison, Leslie Meeds, and copying RA Brittney Copeland, that "RA has no authority to enforce the [air conditioning covenant (CAC)] since "the residential clusters previously served by RELAC do not currently have a central air-conditioning service available, [as the amended Reston Deed requires]. 

Fregly suggests that “RA immediately amend the FAQ to note that the covenant is not currently in force relative to the residential clusters formerly served by RELAC so as to avoid potential future legal action against Reston Association based on their statement in the FAQ that they ‘will enforce the covenant.’”

Cara O’Donnell, director of Communications and Community Engagement of Reston Association said “The RA Board of Directors takes this situation very seriously and understands the importance of cooling this summer.”