Planning commission approves gravel storage yard at Crossroads Drive with engineer‑approved surface treatment

The Midlothian Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve a special exception allowing an alternate gravel pavement and outdoor storage yard on an approximately 8.75‑acre portion of lots at 620 Crossroads Drive, subject to conditions intended to limit dust and traffic impacts.

Staff told the commission the project would incorporate a 3‑foot earthen berm, an 8‑foot black vinyl‑coated chain‑link fence and a landscape plan that includes shrubs spaced 4 feet apart and street trees to provide screening. Staff also described a warehouse on the site (306,925 square feet on 19.4 acres) and said the consolidated development would total about 28 acres if the north 8 acres are incorporated. Staff said it recommended denial of the exception but outlined mitigation it would accept, including an emulsified asphalt topcoat and a geotechnical design demonstrating the surface would support 80,000 pounds (roughly the weight of a fire engine).

"Staff has recommended denial on all three of these requests," said Mary, a planning staff member who presented the case and explained the standards and late changes in the submittal.

Kayla Welsh, vice president of development for Hillwood, the applicant, told commissioners the company would comply with staff recommendations and offered two alternative dust‑control treatments in addition to an emulsified asphalt option. "There are two other options that we can suggest: calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. Both of those attract moisture from the air and every time it rains it's reactivated," Welsh said.

Commissioners questioned whether the top coat would hold gravel in place and whether rocks could be tracked into public streets. The applicant said most activity in the gravel area would use forklifts to move electrical equipment and that trucks would be loaded in a truck court and exit onto concrete pavement before reaching Crossroads Drive, limiting the amount of gravel tracked onto public streets.

After discussion the commission amended the motion to add explicit language requiring that the gravel area be treated with "an emulsified topcoat or a top coat determined by the city engineer that will provide similar or better dust control as provided by an emulsified top coat," and to require the screening and landscape details discussed in staff presentation. The amended motion passed unanimously.

Procedural next steps identified during the hearing include submission of an updated landscape plan to reflect the berm and screening and a geotechnical report or design demonstrating the treated surface will meet the 80,000‑pound support requirement. The commission did not identify a specific end user for the storage yard at the hearing; staff and the applicant said the material to be stored would likely be electrical equipment averaging about 4–5 feet in height.