Planning commission recommends conditional‑use permit for Gray brothers’ sand borrow pit with buffers, hours and tree‑planting conditions

The Southampton County Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a conditional‑use permit allowing a sand borrow pit on a roughly 65‑acre reserve mining area fronting U.S. Route 258 (Smiths Ferry Road). Applicants Mitchell B. Gray and Alex J. Gray said the pit would supply local construction and public‑works projects and that they intend staged mining with reclamation to a recreational pond at the end of operations.

Planning staff identified the application as conditional use permit 2025‑02 for tax parcel 118‑31 and noted the site’s location about 450 feet north of Forks of the River Road. The applicants told the commission the initial mining footprint would be approximately 15–20 acres in the center of the parcel, with a reserve area of about 65 acres available for later phases. They proposed a new entrance on Smiths Ferry Road with at least 500 feet of sight line in each direction and said they have discussed access with VDOT.

The appli…