Planning commission to advertise public hearing for proposed 2-million-cubic-yard clean‑fill site near Christiansburg

Black Diamond Resources LLC has asked Montgomery County for special‑use permits to operate a clean earth fill area exceeding 15,000 cubic yards and a contractor storage yard on a 65.727‑acre parcel that borders the town of Christiansburg, county planning staff told the Montgomery County Planning Commission on May 14.

The request, presented by county planner Miss Wright, would allow inert fill from project sites (and, by appointment only, select fill from others) and includes a phased site plan with a contractor storage yard, stormwater management areas and a pond. "For our work session item tonight, we have a request by Black Diamond Resources LLC. The agent is Foresight Design Services, and John Veil is here to answer any questions that you might for special use permit to allow a clean earth fill area exceeding 15,000 cubic yards and a request for a contractor storage yard," Miss Wright said.

The applicant’s estimated total fill volume is approximately 2,000,000 cubic yards, according to staff materials shown at the meeting. The site is adjacent to U.S. 460, near Hubbell Lighting, and is bounded on one side by the Norfolk Southern railroad; the access drive for the proposal is at Village Lane and runs past existing residences.

Why it matters: A fill operation of this scale and duration could change traffic, noise and site conditions for nearby residential properties and will be regulated through land‑use conditions, stormwater and erosion‑and‑sediment (E&S) permits, and ongoing inspections if the special‑use permit is approved.

What commissioners heard and asked

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on the current approvals and limits of prior activity at the property. Wright said the parcel had previously been worked under an agricultural plan that carried approved E&S and stormwater permits; that prior plan had allowed moving material on site, but the new owner must seek a special‑use permit now that the intended agricultural use has ended. Wright told the commission she would clarify wording in the staff report and attempt to obtain copies of the prior approvals for commissioners to review before the public hearing.

An applicant representative described corrective work done to a pond after purchase and said filling has proceeded under what the applicant considered the existing plan. Commissioners asked whether the earlier work was counted toward the 15,000‑cubic‑yard by‑right threshold; the applicant representative said the original plan had at times encompassed more than 15,000 cubic yards, and staff and the applicant will clarify historical quantities for the record.

The commission also discussed buffers and other on‑site controls. Staff described proposed Type 4 buffers against residentially designated parcels and the bypass: 20 feet in width in the front (3 canopy trees, 4 understory trees and 10 shrubs per 100 feet), 20 feet on the sides (2 canopy trees, 3 understory trees, 25 shrubs and 4 evergreen trees per 100 feet) and 25 feet at the rear (2 canopy trees, 7 understory trees, 25 shrubs and 8 evergreen trees per 100 feet), noting those standards come from the county’s buffer requirements.

Operational controls and oversight

Wright and other county staff described the permitting chain: a special‑use permit would establish conditions for the affected land uses; after that approval the operator must obtain detailed stormwater and E&S permits and submit plans for review. Montgomery County Department of Environmental Services will perform routine inspections; staff said inspections occur on a regular schedule (staff characterized the inspections as every two weeks) and that work outside the approved limits would prompt a stop‑work requirement and require a field revision and staff review before resuming.

Timeline and next steps

The commission voted by consensus to advertise the application for a public hearing at its June meeting and asked staff to clarify existing approvals in the staff report and to provide copies of prior E&S/stormwater permits where available. Chair Rice told the commission the applicant said the project could be a multi‑decade operation; "the applicant was telling us that this this may be a 40 year project," Chair Rice said, and staff noted that any future deviations from approved plans would trigger enforcement or additional review.

Community and site details

The contractor storage yard is shown as a hatched area on the plan; the submission divides the site into a Phase 1 area (left/blue on the plan) and a Phase 2 area (right). Staff said the inert fill would generally come from owners’ project sites and would not be open to the general public. The primary entrance is off Village Lane, adjacent to residential driveways and a private street that serves nearby apartments.

What the commission did

The planning commission agreed to advertise the application for a June public hearing; no permit has been granted. Staff will incorporate the commission’s questions and the clarifications about prior approvals into the full public‑hearing packet.

What remains unresolved

Staff and the applicant need to clarify how prior work on the parcel is counted relative to the 15,000‑cubic‑yard by‑right threshold, and the commission asked staff to include copies of prior stormwater and erosion‑and‑sediment‑control approvals in the public‑hearing materials. Additional technical reviews of traffic, noise, stormwater and site limits will be part of the written record before any final decision.

Proper names and local context

The application is by Black Diamond Resources LLC, represented by agent Foresight Design Services and John Veil. The site abuts the town of Christiansburg, is near U.S. 460 and Hubbell Lighting, and borders a Norfolk Southern railroad corridor. The county’s Department of Environmental Services enforces stormwater and erosion‑and‑sediment control permits.