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Planning commission recommends approval of Gray family sand pit after heated public comment and proffers
Summary
After hours of testimony from residents and applicants, the Southampton County Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional‑use permit for a Gray family sand borrow pit with proffers including a 100‑foot minimum buffer, managed loblolly‑pine screening and emergency‑only extended hours; the vote was contentious with multiple commissioners and residents opposed.
The Southampton County Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend approval of a conditional‑use permit for a borrow‑pit sand extraction operation proposed by brothers Mitchell B. Gray and Alex J. Gray, after an hours‑long public hearing that featured forceful opposition from neighbors and multiple proffers from the applicants.
Planning staff read application 2025‑02 for a 155‑acre parcel with an initial mining area of roughly 15–20 acres and a 65‑acre reserve area. Applicants said the plan calls for a new entrance, earthen berms and a 100–200‑foot wooded buffer to shield neighbors, phased reclamation to a recreational pond, and limited truck movements tied to local contracts for road‑traction sand. Applicants estimated roughly 28 truckloads per day in routine operations, far fewer than the very large operations cited by a resident who presented an academic…
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