The Gloucester Planning Commission recommended changes to the county’s zoning ordinance concerning surface mineral mining during a meeting April 7 in the colonial courthouse.

The proposed changes to the zoning ordinance add definitions for mines, minerals and surface mineral mining and add surface mineral mining as a defined use in the supplementary district regulations.

Planner Tripp Little said sand and gravel mining would be defined as “surface mineral mining” and removed from “extractive manufacturing,” which includes coal, oil and natural gas.

Little said the proposed ordinance would allow surface mineral mining by-right in the Light-Industrial (I-1) zoning district. In addition, surface mineral mining would be allowed by conditional use permit in the Rural Countryside (RC-1) and Suburban Countryside (SC-1) districts.

Only one person spoke during the scheduled public hearing. Attorney Breckenridge Ingles said he represents Al Cottee, who operates ...