Videos: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. comm. tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Update 2026-07-09: Draft Minutes: Lowndes County small subdivision and communications tower, Valdosta doublewide and contractor office @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Update 2026-07-08: Work Session Monday or Tuesday? @ LCC 2026-07-14.

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commissioners (GLPC) approved everything unanimously, except for three split votes: on the proposed communications tower in Langdale Park (see below), on a CUP for a mobile home in a single-family residential zoning district in Valdosta (see below), and on setback variances at Exit 29 in Hahira (see below).

They heard all the Dasher cases together, then voted on them one by one.

https://youtu.be/xjF9ymuajvE?si=08W6F1_phjUJhfwl

See also Packet: 4 Dasher @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

For Lowndes County case 7. REZ-2026-14 6808 Wisenbaker Road

there was quite a bit of discussion about use of a dirt road but applicant said that they never used the dirt road because there are two paved access lanes to the parcel.

https://youtu.be/uyopRnx4WzI?si=5ZMwLURg93vwcUm4

See also Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

[4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, w. comm. tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29]
4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, w. comm. tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Regarding 8. TWR-2026-02 Bermuda Run, 3781 North Valdosta Road

I was the only speaker in opposition. My main point was that county staff had not supplied information in a timely manner so that the public, or even the Planning Commissioners, would have adequate time to consider the evidence. Plus according to conformance with the ULDC, which is what staff said the Commissioners were supposed to be evaluating, the tower does not fit in Langdale Park. For my points, see Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25853

They did recommend approval, but with a split vote, 5 to 2.

https://youtu.be/djKNudEhsSw?si=FUQuYHyMoPXktGlY

See also Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Regarding 9. CU-2026-05 Request by Tierra Inman for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the placement of a mobile home in a Single-family Residential (R-6) zoning district

Gretchen Quarterman spoke in favor, in addition to the applicant. Gretchen also noted: Continue reading →

Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Update 2026-07-06: Videos: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. comm. tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Here is some information about the Verizon Wireless proposed communications tower in Langdale Park, that was missing from the board packet for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meeting on June 29, 2026.

There are still more missing pieces that are required by the county’s own Unified Land Development Code (ULDC):

  • An inventory in VALORGIS of the applicant’s existing towers or alternative tower structures. See ULDC 5.05.05.B.2
  • Signature and seal of “appropriate licensed professionals or qualified industry experts.” See 5.05.05.E
  • An argument for why Langdale Park would not be a “historic district” or a “scenic view corridor.” See 5.05.05.G.5
  • An argument for why hiking trails cleared by numerous citizens would not be public rights of way. See 5.05.05.I.I. and the Right-of-Way definition on page 1-25.

GLPC recommended approval of TWR-2026-02, but only by a split vote: LAKE videos to come.

The Lowndes County Commission will decide at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

[Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29]
Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29

The tower would be a stone’s throw from the main trail kiosk, at 30.885908, -83.320453, and right next to White Trail A, which many citizens helped clear of Hurricane Helene deadfalls.

Thanks to Jason Davenport, consultant for Lowndes County Planning, who sent this additional information in the morning before the meeting. He was responding to a followup I sent after the initial county response to the LAKE open records request of the previous Tuesday. My followup request was a brief version of the discrepencies I noted in the LAKE post with the previously-received TWR-2026-02 board packet materials. Continue reading →

Packet: 4 Dasher @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Update 2026-07-04: Packet: Propagation maps for Verizon tower in Langdale Park @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

You can see in these packet materials how the four Dasher items are related, in the agenda for the Monday, June 29, 2026, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).

[Packet: 4 Dasher @ GLPC 2026-06-29, All related, On US 41 S]
Packet: 4 Dasher @ GLPC 2026-06-29, All related, On US 41 S

It took a while for them to arrive, since it was not obvious who was the contact or how to contact them. Now that that’s sorted, next time should be easier.

These GLPC board packet materials, received in response to a LAKE open records request, are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

Also, after the GLPC meeting, Dasher put these materials on its own city webs ite. Now if they’ll just do that before the meeting, and if Lowndes County, Valdosta, Hahira, etc., will do the same, nobody will have to play this open records request game.

See also the Continue reading →

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

The Regular Session of June 23, 2026, took 39 minutes, largely because a special presentation, an unscheduled report on the 911 center, and five Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

One of the citizens asked a question about the Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance that he could have read the answer to for himself if the county had published the draft ordinance before the meeting.

Why does the county continue to make more work for itself and everybody else by not publishing its own board packets?

Unsurprisingly, the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved every voting item, including reappointing Raymond Conner to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS). Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent.

[Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23]
Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

Three citizens spoke about Datacenters: George Fisher about sinkholes, Michael Noll about a datacenter ordinance, and Tetiana Babcock, who wanted to know where the county stands in developing a datacenter ordinance. You may recall that in March she alleged encroachment on her property from the datacenter site, which would be a violation of one of the conditions of the July 2025 rezoning of that potential datacenter site.

This time she asked for a timeline of development of a datacenter ordinance and robust citizen involvement. Which would be refreshing, compared to what we just saw as the usual Lowndes County ordinance public engagement: none. They just slapped the alcoholic beverage ordinance update on the agenda and voted on it, without any public hearing and without even publishing the draft beforehand.

Kelly Saxon spoke about Craig Center warming/cooling center funding.

Mr. Patel wanted to know how the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinances changes would affect established businesses.

If the county had simply published that ordinance before voting on it, they wouldn’t get so many questions, and we wouldn’t see at least one Commissioner trying to explain it on facebook.

As you may know, LAKE published that ordinance as soon as we got it by open records request.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25794

The county has finally published it on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Video: Budget Public Hearings @ LCC 2026-06-23

There was actually only one Budget Public Hearing last week. It was at 5 PM, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, before the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

This morning at 8:30 AM there is a Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

See that post also for the actual presentation slides for this year, which the county posted on its website the day after that Public Hearing last week.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25830

[Video: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2026-06-23, One citizen spoke, No Commissioners spoke]
Video: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2026-06-23, One citizen spoke, No Commissioners spoke

Meanwhile, here is the LAKE video of the June 23 Public Hearing, in which you can see Finance Director Stephanie Black presenting them.

https://youtu.be/QDp8cB2eh0c?si=5qPxAX9OWWEZiDg9 Continue reading →

Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

Update 2026-07-09: Videos: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

There’s a Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget at 8:30 AM, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in the Lowndes County Commission Chambers, second floor, 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.

The FY 2027 Budget Public Hearing Presentation is linked from the Finance Department page on lowndescounty.com, and there is a link under Lowndes County News saying it was posted June 24, 2026. Images of each page are below.

[Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30]
Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

This notice is on the calendar on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Update 2026-07-03: Packet: 4 Dasher @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Staff recommended denial of the first of two Valdosta items, and of the one Hahira item, on the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) agenda for 5:30 PM, Monday, June 29, 2026.

The first recommendation for denial is 9. CU-2026-05, Tierra Inman, CUP, 602 Ulmer Avenue Tax Parcel 0161A 219 which is another request for a double-wide mobile home in a stick-built neighborhood. Neither GLPC nor the Valdosta City Council likes those.

The Hahira recommendation for denial is 11. HA-2026-01, Williams Investment Company, Variances Section 5-6.1 Hahira Subdivision Regulations Access Standards, I-75 Exit 29 at Union Road.

“In this particular case, it is very clear that the applicant’s request for Variances is simply a matter of convenience and that the conditions triggering the need for Variance are self-imposed. They can be easily avoided, and they do not extend from any legitimate hardship that is peculiar to the current conditions of the land nor the development thereon (it is all vacant property and this is all new development). Therefore, these Variance requests should be denied.”

[Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29, 2 staff recommendations for denial]
Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29, 2 staff recommendations for denial

Narrator: the City Planner for both cities is Matt Martin.

The board packet materials for these items, received belatedly in response to a LAKE open records request, are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

See also the Continue reading →

Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Update 2026-06-28: Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Update 2026-06-27: WWALS blog post Verizon tower in Langdale Park? @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Verizon Wireless wants to put a communications tower in Langdale Park, a stone’s throw from the main kiosk, at 30.885908, -83.320453.

The rezoning sign is not in Langdale Park: it’s on the private property on Hyta Mederer Road, at 30.8870644, -83.3173206.

The FAA NOTICE CRITERA say it’s in Remerton.

The packet materials for TWR-2026-02 Bermuda Run say its address is 3781 North Valdosta Road, which is misleading at best.

[Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29]
Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Also:

The decision to be made by the Board of Commissioners is not a zoning decision. It is a quasi-judicial decision whether the standards for a telecommunications tower in Section 5.05.05 of the ULDC are met.

The TRC analyzed the request, the standards set forth in Section 5.05.00 (attached), and Section 10.02.00 of the ULDC, and noted that Continue reading →

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22

Update 2026-06-30: Videos: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23.

They asked a few questions about the three court grant cash match items, the Lowndes County Commission in their 14-minute Monday morning Work Session, June 22, 2026.

Regarding the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance, Gretchen Quarterman wondered, “I would have thought that the commission might want to have a public hearing on an issue like this to hear from both liquor store owners and churches and schools.”

[14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 --LAKE videos]
14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 –LAKE videos

Here is a LAKE video playlist.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiHj9P_d0XwfATVAWOI3xNiy&si=vDsQm_cdRJcXLBfq Continue reading →

Packet: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Update 2026-06-24: Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22.

You can now see the proposed Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance the Lowndes County Commission intends to adopt this evening at 5:30 PM, and something about the infrastructure they intend to approve for the Camelot Crossing Commercial Development.

You can speak about pretty much anything, including datacenters, in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Don’t forget the 5:00 PM Budget Public Hearing.

[Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22]
Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Raymond Conner wants to be reappointed to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS).

Three court grants require county matches, plus Microsoft has left little option but for shifting to Microsoft Exchange Online.

Cost What
$42,404.00Lowndes County DUI Court FY 27 Grant Award
$32,459.00Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$31,886.40Email Software License
$12,773.00Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$119,522.40Total

This Monday after 4 PM the county satisfied the LAKE open records request of last Tuesday. The resulting board packet and minutes from the previous Commission meetings are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

See also the Continue reading →