THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140558
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 68 lines
State mining officials will not allow further work on a Sandbridge Road fish pond until they see an analysis of how the digging of an eight-acre, 50-foot hole there might affect homeowners' wells in the adjacent Lago Mar neighborhood.
The project, a source of considerable Angst in Lago Mar, has been on hold while the state Division of Mineral Mining reviewed homeowners' concerns and the details of a permit application filed by developer Gale M. Levine.
In a ruling issued at midweek, the state gave Levine 60 days to submit a groundwater study that would address such issues as depletion of the water table, saltwater intrusion and the potential for contamination. About 200 Lago Mar residents rely exclusively on wells, while many others need well water for their heating and cooling systems.
The hearing officer also requested further details on the hours of operation at the site, and steps to be taken to ensure safety and reduce noise and dust.
Homeowners near the site in the city's rural southeast fear that Levine is planning a deep, drawn-out excavation of a borrow pit. Levine insists that she is building a fish pond on agricultural land, and that the end result will be a commercial fish-farming operation. She acknowledged that sand and gravel from the site would be sold commercially, which required a permit from the state mining office.
Levine was out of the city Thursday and unavailable for comment, her secretary said.
Beyond the new round of state requirements, the Lago Mar project could be affected by a series of restrictions approved Tuesday by the City Council.
In the past, farm ponds and fish ponds on agricultural land were largely outside the control of the city. The council approved measures that would require city permits for any excavation that is more than 12 feet deep and involves more than one-quarter of an acre.
Levine's project is far larger and deeper than that, but would be immune from the new rules because construction was begun last year. What could affect the work there, though, were rules the council passed requiring a hauling permit when a substantial amount of sand and gravel is trucked from an excavation site, whether it is a borrow pit, a farm pond or a fish pond.
``That's a safety issue,'' said Charles Hassen, of the city Planning Department. ``We're talking about the condition of our roads and the safe travel of individuals that use our roads. Under our police powers, the city can enact an ordinance that covers everybody, and it becomes effective immediately.''
The requirement for a hauling permit would cover any operation where more than 337 cubic yards of dirt, sand or gravel are to be taken from the site. That is about 500 tons, or, depending on the size of the truck, roughly 34 to 48 truckloads.
It does not take much of a hole, Hassen said, to produce that amount. A commercial borrow pit would exceed that output in just a few hours, he said. The hauling permit would require allowance for traffic safety and repairs of any damage done to city streets.
In April, the city slapped an eight-ton load limit on Colechester Road because trucks hauling sand from an excavation there allegedly caused severe damage to the road, making it unsafe.
Thompson Grading Co., which was trucking the sand from that site, filed suit against the city this week. The company argues that the city's action breached its right to equal protection under the law, was a selective enforcement and has caused the company significant financial harm. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Developer Gale M. Levine says that she is not planning a borrow pit,
but a commercial fish-farming operation.
KEYWORDS: SANDRIDGE ROAD PROPOSED POND RULING CONSTRUCTION by CNB