Evington quarry plan pulled for code review

By Sarah Watson
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: May 21, 2008

Citing a need for Campbell County code clarification, Boxley Materials Co. has withdrawn its rezoning and special-use permit request for a proposed 900-acre Evington quarry.

The withdrawal is temporary while the county explains nuances of zoning code sections that could affect the legality of such an operation on land zoned agricultural, said Jack McCarthy, superintendent of Boxley’s Lawyers Road quarry.

In late April, Boxley filed to rezone about 100 acres from residential single-family to agricultural and sought a special-use permit to operate a proposed quarry off Virginia 24 near Leesville Road, Campbell County community development director Paul Harvey said.

After concerns arose that specific sections of the zoning code might mean that Boxley could operate a crushed stone operation but could not mine it, the company withdrew the request May 7 to wait for clarification, Harvey said.

“Some people were raising the question of whether the quarry use is the same as what we call in the zoning ‘sand, gravel and crushed stone operation,’” Harvey said. “We don’t use the word quarry in the zoning code and we don’t define those terms, either.”

McCarthy said if the code is interpreted as disallowing mining on agricultural land, the company may have rezone all 914 acres to industrial with a special-use permit for mining rock.

McCarthy has said the Lawyers Road plant has about 15 years of rock left in the ground and the proposed Evington quarry will replace that plant. While the property comprises of 914 acres on two parcels, Boxley would only mine a portion of one 480-acre parcel, McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he hopes to have a clarification and a new request filed within a month or two.