Resident warns proposed quarry would cut into Hanover County conservation areas

Matthew Nuckols, a Beaver Dam District resident, told the Hanover County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 8 that the proposed Lux(e)stone rock quarry would violate multiple sections of the county comprehensive plan and irreversibly harm waterways and habitat. "The Lux(e)stone Quarry will destroy part of the natural conservation area," Nuckols said, showing maps from the county's 2023 general land-use map and the growth-management plan to support his claim.

Nuckols said the site is inside areas the comprehensive plan defines as natural conservation and rural conservation — places where development is generally discouraged because they include floodplains, wetlands, major streams, prime agricultural soils and critical wildlife habitat. "Development within these areas is generally discouraged," he said, noting the plan calls for preserving or restoring natural vegetation.

Nuckols told the board the quarry would demolish creeks and wetlands that flow into the Little River, would "destroy our natural resources and wildlife," and would generate nearly 500 added vehicle trips on county roads, almost 400 of them large trucks. He argued that the use conflicts with the plan's project framework for rural and agricultural land and urged supervisors to deny the quarry application.

The board received Nuckols' packet and maps during Citizens' Time; county staff and the planning commission will consider any formal application and its required studies. No formal land-use action or vote on the quarry took place during the Oct. 8 meeting. The record before the board at this session consisted of the public comment, not a staff recommendation or a planning commission decision.

What happens next: If an application is filed or scheduled for public hearing, planning staff would prepare a report and public hearings would be held before the planning commission and the board; any recommendation for denial or approval would be presented at those hearings.