King George has postponed a public hearing on three requests, including a rezoning, to enable the mining of sand and gravel on hundreds of acres at Belle Grove Plantation property, the site of President James Madison’s birthplace.
The hearing was postponed due to incomplete information in the county’s requested legal advertisement.
The public hearing, which was originally scheduled for next week on Jan. 19, is now slated to take place on Feb. 2, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Board of Supervisors has final authority over approval or denial of the requests.  
Mid Atlantic Materials, Inc., acting as applicant for the property owners, Haas Belle Grove, Inc., is asking that 30 acres of Belle Grove be rezoned with proffers to Industrial (I) from its current zoning of Limited Agricultural (A-1).
The applicants also want approval for two special exception permits, one for the sand and gravel industrial processing, should the rezoning be approved, and the other for sand and gravel extraction on 346.543 aces of the total 376.543 acres.
The property is located along the Rappahannock River at the southwest corner of the intersection of U.S. 301 (James Madison Parkway) and Route 607 (Port Conway Road) and is identified as Tax Map 38, Parcel 19A.
On Nov. 10, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of all three of the requests, following public hearings on each.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation followed the one from Jack Green, director of the county department of Community Development.

HISTORIC PLANTATION
According to the King George Comprehensive Plan, the Belle Grove Plantation house was built circa 1770.
It is listed on both the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The Comprehensive Plan notes that the Belle Grove Plantation house, which is on a smaller adjacent plat from the parcels requested for mining, is said to be the largest colonial house in the county.  
The house is thought to stand on or near the site where James Madison, fourth president of the United States, was born on March 16, 1751.
The original owner of Belle Grove Plantation was Francis Conway, who was the grandfather of James Madison. Belle Grove was the childhood home of Madison’s mother, Eleanor Rose
“Nellie” Conway, the daughter of its owner, Francis Conway, for whom Port Conway was named. Madison was born while his mother was visiting at her ancestral home.

CASE DOCUMENTS ON FILE
Case documents on the rezoning and mining requests can be viewed in the Community Development Department on the main floor of the Revercomb Administration Building, located behind the King George Courthouse.
Those who wish to comment may attend the Feb. 2 public hearing.  
Those who wish to comment, but are unable to attend, may submit comments in writing to the Director of Community Development, 10459 Courthouse Drive, Suite 104, King George, VA 22485, prior to the scheduled hearings.
— Phyllis Cook