The Montgomery County Planning Commission on Oct. 8 voted unanimously to recommend approval of two special-use permits for Black Diamond Resources LLC: a rubble landfill permitting disposal of inert debris and a contractor storage yard. The commission’s approvals were conditioned on the applicant following the submitted concept plan and meeting county and state permit requirements; both items will be considered by the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 27 at 7:15 p.m.

The rubble landfill request covers a 65.727-acre parcel north of Roanoke Street and adjacent to the Norfolk Southern Railroad. The applicant seeks authorization to accept approximately 2,000,000 cubic yards of inert debris (defined in county code as materials such as brick, concrete and uncontaminated soils) and to stage fill operations in two phases: a 6.88-acre Phase 1 and a 34.65-acre Phase 2. Staff noted the applicant proposes to leave 19.63 acres as conserved open space and described routine environmental safeguards including on-site detention for stormwater, capping and revegetation of closed fill areas and review of a stormwater plan at site plan review.

Justin Sanders, a county planning staff member, summarized the application and recommended approval with conditions, saying staff "does recommend approval of the requested special use permit for a rubble landfill with the following conditions," then listing requirements such as marked fill boundaries, buffers, a dust-management plan, and agency permits (DEQ, Army Corps) prior to site-plan approval. Sanders also told commissioners that Virginia Department of Transportation reviewed the access and "took no exception" to the request.

Applicant Rick Neal, representing Black Diamond Resources LLC, told the commission Black Diamond purchased the property in April 2023 and said there have been "no complaints" to the town since the company took ownership; he described the proposed operation as primarily a dump site but acknowledged some material recycling and resale of topsoil occurs as part of current operations.

Staff and the applicant estimated truck traffic at between 0 and 30 loaded dump-truck trips per day, depending on regional construction activity, and said the primary access route would be Village Lane with the contractor storage yard accessed from Rainbow Street; staff noted commercial truck traffic would not be permitted to use the Rainbow Street exit. Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff about whether a numerical truck-limit condition should be added, citing difficulty of monitoring and long anticipated duration (staff estimated the site could operate for approximately 40 years). Staff said an absolute cap would be challenging to enforce and that some monitoring and enforcement approach would need to be determined if the commission or supervisors sought limits.

The contractor storage yard application proposes up to three future buildings (square footage to be determined at site plan) and storage of contractor equipment and vehicles that would primarily depart to active job sites and return for service and storage. Conditions recommended by staff include limits on hours of operation (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Saturday, closed Sundays), screening of outdoor storage with opaque fencing or evergreen trees, lighting designed to prevent glare, and that the yard not be open to the public.

Commissioners asked technical questions about buffer placement, pavement analysis performed for Village Lane (core sampling and a pavement design review submitted to the Town of Christiansburg), potential for building on engineered fill (allowed with compaction testing under the building code), and how future changes—such as adding recycling facilities or buildings—would be addressed; staff said amendments to the concept plan and site-plan review would be required for additional facilities. VDOT and the Town of Christiansburg raised no objections in their reviews, staff said.

The commission voted to recommend approval of both special-use permits with the conditions presented by staff. The recorded roll-call vote on each motion was unanimous in favor. The commission chair said both recommendations will move to the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 27 at 7:15 p.m. in the same chamber.

The meeting record includes staff and applicant commitments that the final site plan and required permits (state and federal where applicable) must be submitted and approved before the county issues construction or operational permits for either use. Annual special-use-permit compliance inspections by county code enforcement were included as a condition in staff’s recommendation.