Packet: Gresham Event Venue on Old Valdosta Road and Byrd Road individual residences @ GLPC 2024-01-29

Update 2024-02-11: Videos: Gresham Event Venue on Old Valdosta Road, Byrd Road residences, Hahira three-parter, and Valdosta rezonings @ GLPC 2024-01-29.

My bad: Lowndes County did send the packet materials for the two Lowndes County items Friday, plus the proposed GLPC calendar for 2024. They are on the LAKE website, for this evening’s Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting.

About the Byrd Road “individual residences&rdquop, staff express what seem to be reservations that the “unique shape of the property coupled with the requirements for individual well and septic systems naturally limits the overall development.” But staff recommend approval.

For the Gresham Event Venue on Old Valdosta Road, staff recommend several conditions, and they cite four other rural event venues. It’s worth quoting much of that agenda sheet:

to utilize the property as a Club, Lodge, Meeting or Event Facility, primarily for weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, corporate events, community gatherings, etc., with the ability to accommodate overnight guests.
PDF

ACTION REQUESTED ON: REZ-2024-01 Gresham Event Venue
8415 Old Valdosta Road (0008 087)
E-A to PD-R, Well and Septic, ~10.3 acres
HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES:
This request represents a change in zoning on the subject property from E-A (Estate Agricultural) zoning to PD-R (Rural Planned Development) zoning. The general motivation in this case is for the applicant to utilize the property as a Club, Lodge, Meeting or Event Facility, primarily for weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, corporate events, community gatherings, etc., with the ability to accommodate overnight guests. The subject property possesses road frontage on Old Valdosta Road and Salem Church Road, a collector and local road respectively, and is within the Rural Service Area and Agricultural/Forestry Character Area.

Aspects of this case worthy of consideration include: 1) The nature of the request as it pertains to a rural setting, 2) Current trends of event venues in rural areas, 3) Surrounding agricultural and clustered residential use of lands.

The TRC considered the request and is supportive of the following Staff-recommended conditions:

Uses permitted in the Estate Agricultural (E-A) zoning district, and

A club, lodge, meeting or event facility, with overnight accommodations, where the operation of the facility is limited to meetings, retreats, celebrations, and weddings for groups no larger than the fire code allows for the proposed buildings/area¹. Outdoor performances by bands or ensembles that are accessory to a meeting, retreat, celebration, or wedding shall be allowed.

Unless otherwise noted on the LCBOC approved site plan, the use of the property shall be subject to all standards applicable to properties in the E-A zoning district.
The operation of the event facility shall adhere to the Lowndes County Noise Ordinance.
Exterior lighting shall be shielded to avoid direct illumination of adjacent properties.

OPTIONS: 1. Approve 2. Approve with Conditions 3. Table 4. Deny
RECOMMENDATION: Option 2 DIVISION: Planning STAFF: JD Dillard
¹ The following Occupant Loads and Square Footages of other rural event venues are listed below for reference:
Quail Branch — Occupant Load of 296; Total of 11,016 sf
Hallabrook Hill — Occupant Load of 214; Total of 4,812 sf
Fox Hill Plantation — Occupant Load of 250; Total of 5,258 sf
Highgrove Farms — Occupant Load of 467; Total of 5,428 sf (among 4 buildings, highest Occupancy of 250)

These are the same two rezonings of the January 14, 2024, Public Notices, Rezonings on Old Valdosta Road and Byrd Road @ GLPC 2024-01-29.

For the agenda and the rest of the packet, see Packet: Hahira 26 acre development; Valdosta financial instituation, animal boarding, and commercial speculation; Lowndes County event venue and subdivision @ GLPC 2024-01-29.

There are more images below.

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate