The Hahira rezoning was withdrawn by the applicant, but all the other
rezonings were heard by the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission last month, including the contentious
REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, Camelot Crossing and Val Del Road,
which has already come before the Lowndes County Commission
once
and is back again today.
Here is the
agenda.
The board packet is
on the LAKE website,
The Valdosta rezoning items were sent by City Planner Matt Martin.
The Lowndes County rezoning items were received in response to a LAKE open records request.
The county did not send the agenda nor the minutes of the previous meeting, both of which LAKE got off the county website.
The county also did not send the Valdosta items, in apparent violation of the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA).
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Monday, March 21, 2022 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, March 28, 2022 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
The Commissioners unanimously denied the rezoning for the
subdivision on Miller Bridge Road.
Applicants spoke a minute over their time, yet did not present the slides
they said the previous morning they were going to present;
we include scans of those slides here for historical reference,
for when the next subdivision like this comes up, next week or next year.
Commissioners unanimously approved the other two rezonings.
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know if this was for private wells.
County Planner JD Dillard said the application was for a community well,
and while the lots were big enough for private wells, the soils had
not been tested for that.
Don Powell spoke for the applicant.
Jesse Bush also spoke for, listing many things they were not there to talk about,
including aquifer recharge or community wells.
He said the only question was six homes (which the landowner can do by right anyway) or twelve homes.
Chairman Bill Slaughter cut them off saying he’d given them an extra minute,
and he’d give the other side an extra minute.
Brad Folsom spoke against on behalf of a room full and a 360-signer petition of opponents.
He reminded the Commissioners that the subject property was in an Agricultural and Forestry Character Area.
While R-A was permissible in such an Area, it was not appropriate.
He discussed nearby zonings and lots that had been brought up by staff previously.
Among the many other points he brought up was flooding would be exacerbated by tree cutting and paving for a subdivision.
He reminded the Commissioners that they had told him they did not want any more community well systems.
Somebody else (unnamed, but see below) speaking against said it would be spot zoning.
He said he owned 320 acres and had been there for more than a hundred years.
This rezoning would change the character of the community and would be
a precedent for other rezonings.
He said he owed this community a debt and he would like to repay it.
Elton D. Redding, 7649 Webb Road, representing the Redding property,
John L. Redding his brother.
Demarcus Marshall moved to deny, Mark Wisenbaker seconded, unanimous vote to deny.
Unanimously voted down: Miller Bridge Road subdivision @ LCC 2022-02-08
Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County adheres to Local and State standards when in the Groundwater Recharge Area
Notable Developments in Recharge Area in Lowndes County)
Landfill
Kinderlou Forest and Foxborough Subdivisions
Valdosta Regional Airport
Moody Airforce Base
City of Dasher
City of Lake Park and surrounding area
Lake Park Industrial Park
While probably all these points are true (I haven’t checked each location),
most of them precede current concerns about groundwater recharge,
and there is no need to make the problem worse.
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!
In a milestone for Valdosta’s ongoing upgrades to its sewer system,
tonight the Mayor and Council will approve the last two of 37 emergency standby generators for lift stations.
Plus three small rezonings, recommended by staff and the Planning Commission, some with conditions.
Another rezoning and annexation were withdrawn by applicant because his sale fell through.
HISTORY: To ensure continued sewage lift station operations during
power outages and to satisfy the Georgia Environmental Protection
Division requirements, the Utilities Department developed a scope of
work to purchase two emergency standby generators. These generators
are needed to prevent lift station failures due to power outages
from storms or other unexpected causes. Several years ago, the City
initiated a program to purchase standby generators or emergency
standby diesel pumps for all of its existing sewage lift stations.
These are the final two generators needed to complete the Program.
Once they are installed, all 37 of our lift stations will have some
form of dedicated emergency backup capability from generators and/or
backup diesel pumps. Additionally, this will complete Condition 18
of the EPD Consent Order which requires the installation of fixed
generators and/or backup pumps at all lift stations by September,
2023. Moving forward, all new City lift stations will include a
dedicated emergency backup capability as part of their construction.
At the February 28, 2022, Regular Session of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission,
the Valdosta annexation and rezoning requests,
10. VA-2022-02 11. VA-2022-02 Murray Staten Farms, LLC,
were both withdrawn by applicant.
All the other requests were unanimously recommended for approval,
some with conditions.
The various elected bodies will decide.
In the longest time at nineteen minutes,
Four citizens spoke against
5. REZ-2022-04 Radney, 5761 Long Pond Road.
Donna Weldon, the President of the Long Pond Property Owners Association,
agreed that with the revised conditions accepted by the applicant,
the rezoning would be acceptable.
Glenn Gregory, the last speaker, emphasized that still more duplexes
could be built in that heavy traffic hazardous area.
GLPC modified the conditions to retain the conditions prohibiting mobile homes and duplexes, and to add a minimum heated size.
Unanimous recommendation for approval with conditions.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the agenda.
LAKE will publish the board packet as soon as we get the Hahira and Valdosta items from Matt Martin. It is now well over the statutory three days since LAKE sent the GORA request.
The developer of the proposed
5.c. REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision, 7532 Miller Bridge Rd.
plans to make a presentation this evening at the voting Regular Session,
we heard at yesterday morning’s February 7, 2022, Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen, who was there, followed by a LAKE playlist.
See also the agenda and board packet,
and that post has links to the previous relevant meetings and materials.
On the agenda for tomorrow morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session,
county staff included the petition against
REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision, 7532 Miller Bridge Rd..
County staff note “RECOMMENDED ACTION: Board’s Pleasure or Deny”,
unlike the other two options, where the second option is “Approve”.
Those who do not want that rezoning to pass would do well to contact their Commissioners before the meetings, and then show up at the meetings,
or at least the Tuesday 5:30 PM voting Regular Session.
As usual, county staff say rezonings do not cost the county anything.
Nevermind that subdivisions far from county services will never pay enough
in property taxes to fund sending school buses, fire trucks, and Sheriff vehicles,
so all the taxpayers subsidize those costs.
Update 2022-01-09: Cancelled: Lowndes County Commission Meetings 2022-01-10, so expect the contentious Miller Bridge Road subdivision that was withdrawn last time to be back with larger lot sizes at the January 24 and 25 Commission meetings.
The contentious Miller Bridge Road Rezoning was withdrawn from the December Lowndes County Commission meeting,
but the withdrawal letter said it would be back, possibly in January.
The Rocky Ford rezoning from industrial to residential did not pass;
although Commissioner Clay Griner voted against and Scottie Orenstein abstained, the other three voted to deny.
They reappointed the incumbent, Rick Williams, to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority, even though Commissioners Demarcus Marshall and Joyce Evans voted for Nick Harden (who did attend the meeting).
Most everything else sailed through.
The meeting was very long anyway, because there was only one December Commission meeting, so everything got lumped into one.
Turns out there was a petition that the County Planner “just took … out of this packet for now”, for
REZ-2021-28 Windy Hill S/D, 7532 Miller Bridge Road, ~34 acres, E-A to R-1, Community Well & Septic.
(WITHDRAWN).
We know this because Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked.
(See 6m:15s).
That petition was not returned for the LAKE open records request for the board packet for this County Commission meeting.
County Planner JD Dillard said the petition had been presented to the Planning Commission.
The petition also was not returned in response to the LAKE open records request for the Planning Commission packet, even though that response arrived several days after the Planning Commission meeting.
County Chairman Bill Slaughter said they could get that information to the Commissioners before their next meeting.
I’m not sure that’s what the Georgia Open Records Act says.
Update 2021-12-27:
Here is the petition, received in response to another LAKE open records request.
Looks like the county redacted the email addresses.
County Planner JD Dillard
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Apologies for the very long first video; turns out the county sound feed was not working, so Gretchen had to go back and patch in county sound from another source.
See also Continue reading →
The entire board packet for the November 2021 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting is
on the LAKE website now,
received in response to a LAKE open records request.
At the Planning Commission meeting end of November, staff said it did not match the Comprehensive Plan, and the Planning Commission
unanimously recommended denial.
However, Planning Commissioner Franklin Bailey said, as he made the motion to disapprove,
that he would be comfortable with 2.5-acre lots instead of 1-acre lots.
The developer took him up on that idea with a written letter to the County Planner saying they would be back in January to ask for R-A rezoning, which will permit 2.5-acre lots.
Plus staff has dug up a 1999 rezoning nearby for 3-acre lots which could serve as a precedent.
Yet almost none of those 3-acre lots have sold in the past two decades,
so why is there any need for any more such lots
“very deep in the Rural Service Area”?
![[Example rezonings]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2022-03-28--glpc-packet/many.jpg)
![[WINDY HILL SUBDIVISION, Lowndes County Rezoning Application, REZ-2022-03]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0001.jpg)
![[Requested Zoning Change]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0002.jpg)
![[WINDY HILL SUBDIVISION CHARACTERISTICS]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0003.jpg)
![[Location of Property]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0004.jpg)
![[Justification for Zoning Request]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0005.jpg)
![[Zoning map]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0006.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (1 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0007.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (2 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0008.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (3 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0009.jpg)
![[Rezonings and Generators]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/valdosta/2022-03-10--vcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Photograph]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/valdosta/2022-03-10--vcc-packet/031022-Agenda-Packet-R-1-0082.jpg)
![[Radney]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2022-02-28--glpc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Chairman and Miller Bridge Road rezoning]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-07--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Miller Bridge Road rezoning: Petition, Opposition parcels; Bemiss Road rezoning]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-07--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Two rezonings that did not pass]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-12-14--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Rezonings with LAKE logo]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2021-11-29--glpc-packet/packet.jpg)
![[Rezonings]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-12-13--lcc-packet/many.jpg)