The expansion of a quarrying operation in Goochland County is moving forward, despite protests from lawmakers in neighboring Henrico County.
Goochland County-based Luck Stone was granted permits to build about 70 acres onto its Ashland Road site, which it has operated for about 60 years. The growth will push Luck Stone’s operations to within 50 feet of a neighborhood on the other side of the county’s border with Henrico.
Luck officials have argued that the expansion would secure its operations for the next 70 to 100 years.
The expansion comes in two parts. A northern parcel was approved for its permits in 2012. At the time the Westin Estates neighborhood in Henrico had yet to be built.
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The second piece of the expansion is a 70-acre southern parcel, for which Luck needed approved permits.
An aerial view of homes near a Luck Stone quarry, which has a planned expansion that would eliminate 350 feet of woods, in Goochland County on July 23. A vote on final approval of the project is set for Sept. 4.
The company says the new parcels will be used for placing dirt dug up during the quarrying process, and other uses that don’t include digging or blasting.
The unanimously approved permits allow Luck Stone to decrease its buffer between the Westin Estates neighborhood from 350 feet to 50 feet. It also increases the berm height from 40 feet to 150 feet, roughly the size of a 15-story building.
Residents said they moved to the area specifically for the natural surroundings, with wildlife and tranquility.
Four Henrico lawmakers protested the expansion at Goochland’s Tuesday night meeting.
Three Chopt Supervisor Misty Whitehead, whose district includes Westin Estates, questioned the level of transparency in Goochland’s process. She said final documents were only made available 48 hours before going to the planning commission for initial approvals and that there was limited public engagement.
She spoke against the construction of a 15-story berm, reducing the distance between Luck operations and the Henrico neighborhood, and the hours of operation between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. which include Saturday mornings.
“It just has the appearance that this is not on the up and up,” Whitehead said.
Henrico Supervisor Dan Schmitt said he hopes the Goochland board would “press pause” on approving a similar project if it was Goochland homes that were impacted.
An aerial view of a Luck Stone quarry, which is planned to expand, is seen in Goochland County on July 23.
Goochland Chair Charlie Vaughters rallied to defend Luck Stone, saying he took offense at the protests against the company which had a “sterling reputation” in the county and contributed to several programs in the county such as the YMCA and Sheltering Arms.
“If there is a reason, Goochland representatives and staff are heavily supportive and defending luck companies, it is for good reason,” Vaughters said.
“I understand the emotion and frustration, but this is a company doing it right, that has done it right, that has gone through a very detailed process and this board, I think, is firmly in support of it.”
Other Goochland supervisors said they were sympathetic about the issue facing the Henrico neighborhood but stressed that these plans had garnered momentum before Westin Estates had built any homes.
Goochland Supervisor Neil Spoonhower placed some of the blame on real estate agents, with many of the Westin Estates residents thinking the 350-foot buffer was final.
Westin estates residents have complained about blasting in the middle of the night, plus smells and other disturbances. Luck said that it does not blast outside of the 7a.m. to 5 p.m. hours. The Goochland side of the border also includes another quarry, a landfill and an asphalt plant.
Luck representative Linwood Thomas said that the company will be able to keep all of the moved dirt internal to the property, further keeping trucks off of the surrounding roads should Luck have to transport dirt to another site.
Maurice Finnegan speaks about the Luck Stone quarry expansion in Goochland County, Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Goochland County-based Luck Stone was granted permits to build about 70 acres onto its Ashland Road site, which it has operated for about 60 years.
PHOTOS: 29 images from the Times-Dispatch archives
In October 1980, Ronald Reagan, at the time the Republican nominee for president, hoisted Brady Spindel, 8, of Portsmouth, during a rally at the Norfolk Scope coliseum. More than 4,000 Reagan supporters attended.
In February 1969, Medical College of Virginia nursing students Marsha Penney (left) and Martha Mooney checked equipment. They had joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in June 1968, and the Army was covering their tuition, room and board at MCV in Richmond. After graduation, they would begin transitioning from civilian to military life with five weeks of basic training in Texas.
In September 1959, stable hand Garfield Tillman walked award-winning racehorse First Landing through Meadow Stable, the Caroline County operation of horse owner Christopher T. Chenery. First Landing, the U.S. champion 2-year-old colt in 1958, had been convalescing after an illness.
In April 1948, James Phillips Schultz supervised a mumbletypeg game played by two youths at the Richmond Home for Boys. Schultz, 81, was the oldest alumnus of the home. To celebrate the institution’s 102nd birthday, alumni, families and children gathered for an afternoon program that included music , games and dancing for the youths.
In March 1969, St. Mary’s Hospital nurses used the Teachmobile, a cart that moved among floors and allowed workers to learn without relying on large group gatherings. Jeanne W. Orr (left), director of the hospital’s continuing education program, designed the cart with display boards and a tape-recorded lecture. With her is Mary Anne Cook. The Teachmobile was constructed from a flower cart by the hospital’s carpenter.
In August 1954, members of the Richmond Civic Ballet rehearsed for an upcoming performance. The open-membership volunteer group, which presented roughly a dozen performances annually at local events, was organized almost four years earlier by local former professional dancers Betty Carper Grigg and John Hurdle.
In January 1964, traffic on East Broad Street in Richmond moved slowly after the city received more than 4 inches of snow.
In April 1977, workmen removed the fountain from its foundation in Monroe Park in Richmond. A replacement, cast from a mold of the old one, was to be made by an iron company in Alabama and installed during the summer.
In May 1978, owner Jim Thayer stood outside Borkey’s store on Atlee Road in Hanover County. He planned to highlight the store’s more than 100-year history by ordering products that were sold there in the early days.
In April 1978, students from Huguenot High School in Richmond worked with director Dave Anderson on a public television series called “As We See It.” Financed by a federal grant, the series shed light on school desegregation across America, with students contributing scripts for scenes. The Huguenot segment was titled “The Riot that Never Was” and included a re-enactment of a tense moment in the cafeteria during the previous school year, which ultimately was resolved.
In January 1956, the Boys Club of Richmond expanded by purchasing the house next door to its North Robinson Street location. Options for the new space included more offices, a library, kitchen, meeting quarters and a basement rifle range. The price of the new building was $10,000.
In November 1978, African-American women gathered for a beauty clinic at the Thalhimers at Eastgate Mall in Richmond. The clinic, sponsored by Fashion Fair, brought in beauty professionals, including Pearl Hester (standing at right), to demonstrate makeup techniques.
This May 1965 image shows a section of East Broad Street in downtown Richmond after an evening storm.
In September 1941, amid a nationwide gas shortage, Harry J. Donati (left) and Joseph G. Robben drove their horse-drawn carriage down 25th Street in Church Hill in Richmond.
In November 1980, a 1922 firetruck with extension hose was on display at Engine Co. 20 on Forest Hill Avenue in South Richmond. The vehicle, which was in service until 1958, deteriorated for years until local residents and businesses volunteered to restore it.
In October 1987, Lee Lockwood, 5, rode on the back of a pony village cart driven by Laura Crews (right) and his aunt, Grace Battisto, at Maymont in Richmond. They were attending the park’s Victorian Day, a lawn party highlighting turn-of-the-century life.
In September 1961, the Bellevue Theater marquee on MacArthur Avenue in North Side still read “Closed for the Winter.” Neighborhood Theatre Inc. said there were no plans to reopen the theater, closed since 1960. It became home to the New Dominion Barn Dance, a country music radio show.
This June 1964 image shows Buchanan School in Richmond’s East End a day before its scheduled demolition. The school opened in 1912. In 1964, the property was purchased by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority as part of the 17th Street Redevelopment Project. The almost 600 students were transferred to the new Mosby School .
In December 1986, Irene Dameron stood behind the counter of her Westmoreland County shop with regulars (from left) Bob Prather, Ben Allen and Bob Sanford. Dameron had run the shop for 28 years — she had taken over the business from her father, who ran it for 33 years before that. Though the store’s inventory had been reduced, her loyal customers came in almost every day to pass time, action Dameron encouraged by having benches and chairs in the shop.
In June 1951, square dance caller Richard Chase taught playground directors some steps in preparation for a dance scheduled for the Byrd Park tennis courts in Richmond as part of Park and Recreation Week. The program was organized by the city and sponsored by Thalhimers.
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In December 1947, Charles C. Slayton (left), president of the Society of American Magicians, was the target of a card trick when Dan Friedman pulled an oversized deck of cards from Slayton’s vest pocket during an event at The Jefferson Hotel .
On Valentine’s Day 1989, a 50-foot-wide heart hung from the columns of the state Capitol’s south portico in Richmond. The oversized valentine was created to mark the 20th anniversary of the “Virginia is for Lovers” advertising campaign.
This May 1947 image shows a street scene on Main Street near Ninth Street in downtown Richmond. At the time, cars shared the road with electric streetcars. Two years later, with the increase in buses and automobiles, the streetcar system was replaced.
In July 1940, a Richmond Colts batter headed to first base while a teammate scored in a victory over the Norfolk Tars in a Piedmont League game at Tate Field, which was on Mayo Island in Richmond.
In September 1972, Rudy Peele (left) and Al Sanders shared a laugh at the Virginia Squires rookie tryout camp in Richmond. About 16 players were expected at the camp, including four who were invited after doing well at an open tryout in Norfolk the previous week. That tryout attracted 81 players who hoped to join the American Basketball Association team.
In March 1964, Native American children left the two-room state-funded school on the Mattaponi Reservation in King William County. An accompanying article reviewed population trends among Virginia’s Indian tribes; there were 22 Mattaponi and Pamunkey children attending the school at the time.
In August 1947, patrons of a Richmond laundromat played bridge while their clothing was in the machines. The new coin-operated laundry facilities saved time, as a half-day chore without machines at home was reduced to a 30-minute cycle. The laundromat also became a social gathering place.
In June 1943, a sign posted in the elevators of the Atlantic Life Insurance Co. in downtown Richmond challenged tradition by asking men to keep their hats on to speed elevator service and allow for more room.
