Gretchen took these LAKE videos at the South Georgia Native Plant and Wild Flower Symposium, at NESPAL, UGA, Tifton, GA. The event was sponsored by the University of Georgia and the Garden Clubs of Georgia.
Continue readingTag Archives: Agriculture
Videos: Trash, Vallotton agriculture, animals, body armor, HEAT, water, and a canopy road @ LCC 2015-04-14
ADS trash collection price and performance
wasn’t on the agenda, but even
former Commissioner Richard Lee
stood up to speak about it two weeks ago at the April 14th 2015 Regular Session, along with two other citizens
David Eaton
and
me.
See also
VDT trash story.
The VDT didn’t pick up on
Ann Swayze’s smoot and soot concerns
also being related, because nobody stood up to complain about burning in
Foxborough before the collection centers closed.
Commissioners did the right thing and unanimously rezoned Vallotton Farms back to Estate Agriculture, like it was before county-wide rezoning happened. It wasn’t like the County Planner said, “it has developed around it in an urban way”. The subject land and landowners didn’t do that: other people have built subdivisions around it the the county’s active promotion. And for once agriculture won, after landowner attorney Bill Langdale, Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, and I spoke up for it.
They’re even going to preserve the canopy on Boring Pond Road and I thanked the County Engineer for that.
The two Sheriff’s requests for Continue reading
Videos: Vallotton agriculture, animals, body armor, HEAT, water, waste, and a canopy road @ LCC 2015-04-13
The County Planner said “I can’t tell you anything beyond that”
about why
Vallotton Farms
is requesting rezoning to Estate Agriculture,
which is mysterious, since he (and the County Chairman)
sat through the entire Planning Commission explanation
by attorney Bill Langdale, several Planning Commissioners,
and me: see the LAKE video
of that GLPC item.
The County Planner did say “we expect development” in that area.
They vote on their expectations tonight at 5:30 PM,
although they have to listen to citizens for and against first.
I’d like to commend County Engineer Mike Fletcher for preserving the canopy
in the plans for
Boring Pond Road Phase III.
The
Vickers rezoning item
was withdrawn by applicant,
and the County Planner yesterday morning
explained that was because they’d worked out a way for the property
to count as five acres so no rezoning was necessary.
The
Vickers Jennings rezoning to commercial is still being considered.
Also discussed yesterday morning and to be voted on tonight at 5:30 PM are
three
water-related
items,
a
Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request,
two Sheriff’s requests (
body armor,
and
High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant),
another paving items (Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley))
a
Fuel Island Upgrade.
The
Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund
is about reimbursement for
monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill
about which
the county chooses to reveal very little.
Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through
there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe.
I wonder how that would affect monitoring?
Here’s the agenda and below are links to the videos, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading
Why Vallotton wants to rezone back to agricultural @ GLPC 2015-03-30
Yesterday morning the County Planner seemed perplexed about
the Vallotton family request to go back to the most agricultural
zoning, E-A.
Yet he was there when Bill Langdale explained
that at the
Planning Commission 30 March 2015, aided by multiple Planning Commissioners,
plus a few words from me.
He didn’t bring agriculture to the city; the city come to him….
I think it’s going to be real hard one day trying to eat this concrete.
–Tommy Willis
See for yourself. And remember the County Commission votes on this case this evening at 5:30 PM; maybe you’d like to come speak for. Continue reading
Videos: Vallotton agriculture on Bemiss Road, historic preservation, personal services @ GLPC 2015-03-30
They took the
Lake Park personal services case
first and recommended it 8:0.
REZ-2015-06 Vickers was withdrawn by applicant.
Vallotton Farms‘ reversion to Estate Agricultural was recommended 8:0
after an explanation by attorney Bill Langdale (and yours truly chimed in).
Denser zoning for
Edward Jennings LLC
was recommended 5:4 with a rare example of the Chairman voting, this time in favor.
And the Valdosta historic preservation
LDR changes were recommended 8:0.
Those two Lowndes County cases have already been heard at the
Lowndes County Commission
Work Session yesterday morning
and will be voted on tonight at the Regular Session.
The Vallotton case greatly puzzled the County Planner and at least one of the Commissioners.
Here’s the agenda, reordered according to how they actually considered the cases, with links to the videos, results of the votes, and a few notes. Continue reading
Spay, Rezonings, Body Armor, HEAT, Water, Waste, Ponds, and Roads @ LCC 2015-04-13
Update 2015-04-13: videos.
The three rezonings from the Planning Commission are on the agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. One has been withdrawn by applicant, Vallotton Farms still wants to rezone to Estate Agriculture, and another wants to rezone to commercial. Also to be considered this morning and voted on tomorrow evening are three water-related items, a Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request, two Sheriff’s requests ( body armor, and High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant), two paving items (Boring Pond Road Phase III and Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley)) a Fuel Island Upgrade, and what’s this about Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund? Ah, that’s about reimbursement for monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill about which the county chooses to reveal very little. Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe. I wonder how that would affect monitoring?
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Return to agriculture, historic preservation, and personal services @ GLPC 2015-03-30
While
Vallotton Farms wants to revert to Estate Agricultural,
Vickers
and
Edward Jennings LLC want denser zoning.
It’s not clear what the
Valdosta historic preservation case
or the
Lake Park personal services case
are about, since the county still doesn’t publish board packets.
Note that Vallotton Farms (both the part outlined in red
that appears to be the subject of the rezoning and the bigger part west of Bemiss Road) is on Cherry Creek, upstream from the dam,
and upstream from Cherry Creek Sink on the
Withlacoochee River, which leaks into our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer.
Better agriculture upstream from that than other possibilities.
Here’s the agenda. Continue reading
Green corridors are good for people, business, plants, and animals
Some of this is happening locally: Valdosta is planting trees along Hill Avenue, Lowndes County is building Naylor Park with a boat ramp that will be part of the Alapaha River Water Trail and VLPRA has long been thinking about a blueway on the Withlacoochee River, where it already has a string of parks and ramps. Valdosta has the Azalea City Trail across several parks and VSU. Imagine if that Trail extended a little farther on each end, connecting the Withlacoochee River and the Alapaha River: a greenway between two blueways. Imagine if Lowndes County planted trees in that concrete median in Bemiss Road. Imagine a bus running down that parkway….
Janice Astbury, the nature of cities, 29 March 2015, Green Transport Routes Are Social-Cultural-Ecological Corridors,
…natural corridors do not appear on the standard online GPS systems that people increasingly use to plan their routes. In other cases, the path is suddenly interrupted by infrastructure hostile to pedestrians and cyclists. It is clear that green and active transport routes are an afterthought, an add-on, rather than a core part of the city’s transport strategy.
Local government should invest in developing and maintaining the natural connective tissue of the city. In the same way that significant investment is made in arterial roads because they are believed to serve everyone and to connect up vital places, so inviting connective green infrastructure should be supported. The canals, footpaths, and cycleways that provide routes for active transport should appear prominently on maps and signage. Whole systems should be indicated when possible, even when portions of them are currently inaccessible, in order to enhance system understanding, and to encourage thinking about connecting up fragmented corridors.
Few people complain when a county or city spends millions of dollars on Continue reading
Solar panels or plants must be on new commercial roofs in France
No different than requiring proportions of parking spaces: here’s one way to push the solar deployment curve up faster and hasten the year that most of the world’s power comes from the sun.
Agence France-Press 19 March 2015, France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels,
Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels, under a law approved on Thursday.
Green roofs have an isolating effect, helping reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer. The argument for divesting from fossil fuels is becoming overwhelming Read more
They also retain rainwater, thus helping reduce problems with runoff, while favouring biodiversity and giving birds a place to nest in the urban jungle, ecologists say.
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Valdosta Wastewater presentation to Greenlaw, Save Our Suwannee, SRWMD, Hamilton Co., and WWALS 2015-03-17
Due to requests from Greenlaw in Atlanta and Save Our Suwannee in Florida,
WWALS Watershed Coalition asked the City of Valdosta for a presentation
on their wastewater situation.
Valdosta presented less than two weeks later, and brought their entire
hierarchy related to this issue, from the mayor on down.
Plus Lowndes County, which isn’t even responsible for Valdosta’s wastewater,
was represented by their Chairman and a Commissioner.
Not all questions could be answered that quickly, but many were.
The slides are on the LAKE website and the videos are on the LAKE YouTube channel; see below. See also Valdosta’s Sanitary Sewer System Improvements web page.
At the meeting, clockwise from Tim Carroll (introducing), were: Continue reading