The Richmond County Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustments will hear several requests Tuesday.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Chambers in the Administrative Building, at 125 S. Hancock St., Rockingham.
The Board of Adjustment and Appeals will review four requests for conditional use permits; for two sand mining operations, one Internet cafe and a military and law enforcement firing range.
Unimin Corp. is requesting a conditional use permit to expand existing sand mining operations located along Cognac Road, east of N.C. Highway 177. The company recently requested rezoning of the 29-acre lot which was surrounded by the rest of its property. In order to begin expanding its mining operation onto the rest of its land, the land needed to be rezoned from Agricultural Residential to Heavy Industrial.
In order to expand its mining operation, Unimin Corp. applied to have its mining permit modified.
“The modification is to increase the permitted acreage to 2,026 acres and affected acreage at this site to 1,684 acres as indicated on the mine map last revised February 13, 2012,” wrote State Geologist James D. Simons to Jeffrey S. Ferguson at Unimin Corp.’s office in Spruce Pine in March. “Your permitted acreage at this site is 2,026 acres and the amount of land you are approved to disturb is 1,684 acres.”
The letter also said the mining operation itself was renamed from Marston Plant to Marston Mine.
Marston Mine Director Joe Howell said, “Our biggest product is high purity sand for making glass. We also mine sand for golf course sandpits and people mix the sand with peat for golf greens. It’s a pretty good volume business.”
Barnhill Contracting Company is requesting a conditional use permit to start a sand mining operation located along Wayman Chapel Road in Hamlet. They are in the process of obtaining the required approvals to expand the company’s current mining activities into a new 28-acre land area, though about 22 acres will be the amount of disturbed land.
T&S Investments is requiring a conditional use permit to open and operate an Internet cafe to be located on U.S. Highway 1 North just south of Hoffman, in a pre-existing commercial building previously doing business as the Sandhills Trading Post and Grill. According to planning staff, the parking for the facility, though not paved, appears to meet the requirements. Handicapped spots that meet the N.C. State Building Code will need to be provided.
Oak Grove Technologies, LLC is requesting a conditional use permit to open a military and law enforcement firing range and urban shoot house on property located off U.S. Highway 1 north, just north of Hoffman and bordering Camp Mackall. The property is on Rushing Road.
According to the planning staff, this training facility would be used in connection with Oak Grove facilities located approximately one-fourth of a mile away.
“The proposed use will be live fire flat range for small arms munitions including a pole barn for cover along with an urban shoot house with simulated munitions,” wrote planning staff in the case report that the board will receive.
— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.
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