AGENDA DATE: 9/17/2025
TITLE:
Zoning Fill Regulations Work Session
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Work session to discuss potential zoning ordinance amendments for clean earth and inert waste fill.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Wall, Herrick, Tevendale, Filardo, Svoboda, Pohl, McCulley, Fritz
PRESENTER (S): Bill Fritz, Amelia McCulley
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: A report that details the input received, the best practices researched, and the proposed changes to the fill regulations is available in Attachment A, the Work Session Report.
When the Board approved the current fill regulations (Attachment A1) on September 16, 2020, it asked for a review of their impact after implementation. On November 15, 2023, staff provided a program update and the Board agreed that staff should engage with interested parties and generate recommendations for amendments to the regulations.
On June 5, 2024, the Board adopted a resolution of intent (Attachment A2) to review and amend the zoning ordinance provisions for clean earth fill and inert waste (fill).
STRATEGIC PLAN: Safety & Well-Being – Nurture a safe and healthy community.
DISCUSSION: In reviewing the impact of the current ordinance provisions, staff sought input from both internal and external interested parties regarding concerns and challenges with the current ordinance. A draft ordinance was then shared for feedback. Those comments are available in Attachments A3, A4 and A5, and summarized in Attachment A.
Additionally, staff reviewed zoning fill regulations from other Virginia localities to see common trends and best practices, which are summarized in Attachments A6 and A7.
The draft fill ordinance is found in Attachment A8. The recommended changes are explained in more detail in Attachment A, but are mainly focused on access roads, the agricultural exemption, and the special use permit requirement:
• Staff recommends that fill sites have direct access to a public road classified by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) as a collector or arterial (Attachment A9).
• Staff recommends creating an exemption and modified regulations for short-term clean earth fill or borrow activities when used for agricultural activity as defined by Section 3.1, such as building farm ponds or leveling fields.
• Staff recommends that changes to key requirements, such as duration of activity and fill activity road access, should require a special use permit instead of a special exception.
Attachment A10 provides a comparison summary of the existing and proposed fill regulations.
BUDGET IMPACT: Staff does not anticipate budgetary impacts resulting from this ordinance amendment.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff requests guidance from the Board of Supervisors on the following questions:
1. Does the Board support an exemption for agricultural use? If so, does the Board support the specific proposed exemptions and modifications for this agricultural use?
2. Does the Board support limiting by-right fill activity (that does not fit within an exemption), to property with direct access to a public road classified by VDOT as a collector or arterial?
ATTACHMENTS:
Att. A – Work Session Report
Att. A1 – Existing Zoning Fill Regulations
Att. A2 – Resolution of Intent
Att. A3 – Engage Albemarle Midway Report
Att. A4 – Engage Albemarle Survey Responses
Att. A5 – Email Input
Att. A6 – Survey Locality Fill Regulations
Att. A7 – Locality Research Summary
Att. A8 – Draft Fill Regulations
Att. A9 – VDOT Road Classification List
Att. A10 – Comparison Existing and Proposed Fill Regulations