Tag Archives: legal

Nottinghill resolved, Spectra profit sharing? Planning Commission transparency? @ LCC 2013-12-10



The Commission’s designated first speaker

confused order with good.
Chairman Bill Slaughter
required a sitting judge to go to the podium to speak,
even though he had not required that for multiple Spectra pipeline reps
the previous morning.
Nottinghill is finally resolved,
after yet more probing questions by Commissioners; more than they
asked the Spectra reps.
A

VSU professor
and

a landowner
asked very good questions about the pipeline,
a

KLVB board member gave a report,
and

Gretchen asked the Commission to post Planning Commission minutes online.

Two people were

appointed; one spoke.
The two

beer licenses, a

liquor license,
the

decorative special tax lighting district for Windstone,
the

contracts,
the

resolution to ask the legislature for an additional judge,
and the

bids were all approved with little discussion.
The

settlement for back pay it turns out didn’t
actually involve
employees having to sue to get paid.

Here’s

the amended agenda with the

two added items,
plus links to the videos and a few notes.
See also

the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AMENDED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail not a common carrier with open access in Georgia –Mindy Bland @ LCC 2013-12-10



A local landowner said that with no open access in Georgia,
Sabal Trail Transmission should have no standing to use
Georgia eminent domain law.
And Sabal Trail must comply with local, state, and federal laws and
ordinances, including ones that could be passed by the Lowndes
County Commission, she said at their

10 December 2013 Regular Session.



For example, a depth ordinance, or an ordinance requiring
a minimum distance from homes or schools.
Or a tax on the pipeline easement.
She recommended

PipelineSafetyInfo.com.
She asked for the Commissioners to use their voice.

As
WCTV quoted her in their coverage, she said,

I don’t want to have to fear for my children as they sleep at night.



County Manager Joe Pritchard shuffled papers and

alleged County Attorney Walter G. Elliott yawned during these
citizen presentations.

Mindy Bland
noted Commissioner Powell had asked for Continue reading →

New Nottinghill subvivision finally resolved @ LCC 2013-12-10



The long-deferred rezoning for the Orr Road version of the Nottinghill subdivision
was finally resolved at the

10 December 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.a. REZ-2013-11 Nottinghill, Orr Rd R-A to R-21



County Planner Jason Davenport said
“staff has laid out for you background information”, etc.
and staff recommended approval.

Commissioner John Page pointed out that there was still
some question of the land being purchased by applicant,
and not all the signatures were yet ready.

Davenport said some were word of mouth, others were power of attorney,
etc.



The
alleged County Attorney Walter G. Elliott
said Continue reading →

All 4 Commissioner questions about the pipeline –VDT @ LCC 2013-12-09



The VDT let local citizens speak, unlike the Lowndes County Commission.
Perhaps the VDT, like many local citizens, does not think transparency
means what the County Commission thinks it means.

Matthew Woody wrote across the top of the front page of the Valdosta Daily Times
today,

Sabal Trail presents at County Commission work session,

Protesters stood outside of the Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex at 8:30 a.m. in opposition to the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline project as representatives from the company made a presentation at the Commission Work Session.




That’s Matthew Woody across the street taking that picture,
and

here are more pictures of the protesters.

“We strive everyday for zero incidences,” Fahrenthold
said “All of our meetings, company wide, starts with a safety
update.”



Really?
So why afterwards did both Brian Fahrenthold and Andra Grover Continue reading →

Spectra Sales Pitch, Nothing about Nottinghill, etc. @ LCC 2013-12-09



Given

dozens of questions submitted by citizens
and every opportunity,
Commissioners asked only four perfunctory questions after
Spectra Energy’s

Sabal Trail pipeline sales pitch.
Chairman Bill Slaughter repeatedly let multiple Spectra reps
speak from the audience without having them come to the podium,
or even identify themselves before they spoke.
They were pointed at by the chief Spectra speaker when he named them,
but they did not stand up or raise their hand at the time,
so it was quite hard to tell which was which.
The Chairman never allows that sort of behavior from local citizens.
Why is he granting extra courtesies to a company from Houston
that wants to exercise eminent domain on local citizens’ lands?
Who does the Lowndes County Commission represent?

At least
WALB
and
WCTV
let a landowner speak: that’s more than the County Commission did.

Nottinghill is back yet again.
A Commissioner did ask staff whether it was really ready,
and it isn’t, but no Commissioners asked any such probing
questions of the Spectra reps.

The three

beer licenses, a

liquor license,
the

contracts, and the

bids were glossed over in almost as
perfunctory a manner.
There were some questions from Commissioners about
costs to the county government.
But there were none from Commissioners about costs to landowners
from gashing a pipeline through their property.

Given that there’s a

settlement for back pay for some county employees,
it appears that the employees maybe had to sue to get paid.

Staff did express concern about

“customer service” for a decorative
special tax lighting district, but none about service to the
landowners of the county whose land Spectra proposes to run through,
or for that matter to the taxpayers of the county to whom the
Commission and staff cannot be bothered to show what they’re voting
on before they vote.

Here’s

the agenda plus links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED-AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Pipeline and Nottinghill, VLMPO, lawyers and alcohol @ LCC 2013-12-09



The proposed

Sabal Trail pipeline
presentation is really on this time,
with
citizen questions asked by the Commissioners.
Nottinghill is back yet again.
Two appointments to the
VLMPO Citizens Advisory Committee.
All that plus three beer licenses, a liquor license,
and a bunch of contracts and a couple of bids.

Here’s
the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED-AGENDA


WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor



  1. Call to Order



  2. Invocation

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  4. Minutes for Approval



    1. Work Session — November 11, 2013



    2. Regular Session — November 12, 2013


  5. Appointment



    1. MPO Citizens Advisory Committee (2)


  6. Public Hearings


    1. REZ-2013-11
      Nottinghill, Orr Rd R-A to R-21, Community Well and Septic, 14.71 acres



    2. Decorative Special Tax Lighting District – Windstone Subdivision (Orr Rd)



    3. Beer and Wine License — Twin Lakes Ventures, LLC — 4878 HWY 41 South



    4. Liquor License — Big Al’s — 4991 HWY 41 S. Lake Park


  7. For Consideration



    1. Approval of the 2014 Commission Meeting Schedule



    2. 2014 Public Defender Services Contract & 2014 Operating Contract



    3. Land Application Site (LAS) Bar Screen Replacement



    4. Budget Calendar FY 2014-2015



    5. Beer and Wine License — Parnish Corporation — 3119 Madison HWY



    6. Beer and Wine License — Jay Brahamani, LLC — 2601 Madison HWY



    7. Back Pay for 9-1-1 Center Employees



    8. Second State Court Judge — Resolution & Act


  8. Bids



    1. Repair of Damaged F150- LCSO



    2. Repair of Damaged Fire Tanker- LCFR


  9. Reports-County Manager



  10. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  11. Sabal Trail (Work Session)

-jsq

Lowndes County’s 2007 and 2012 favors for the same developer

According to the Lowndes County Commission’s minutes,
the developer for whom the Commission now proposes
to change the zoning code back in 2007 got $130,000 in road
construction labor from the Commission.

In the

26 June 2007 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Minutes:

County Engineer, Mike Fletcher, presented an item that was brought
to the Commission during the previous work session regarding the


paving of Davidson Road. Further, Mr. Clint Joyner was in the
process of building a previously approved development that was being
affected by an unforeseen Department of Transportation requirement
regarding a costly intersection improvement. Mr. Fletcher further
stated that Mr. Joyner was required to pave a portion of Davidson
Road; however, due to the intersection cost he was offering to
purchase the materials for the funding of the entire road, if the
county would provide the road construction labor at a cost of
approximately $130,000.00. Commissioner Lee made a motion to approve
the request, Vice Chairman Carter and Commissioner Roberts offered a
second. Motion carried.



Somebody help me here, is not that the same Clint Joyner back in 2007
getting a $130,000 subsidy from the County Commission
who last month

got invited to talk to the Commission in a Work Session
with nobody else invited to speak?
The same one for whom

the same Commission is now proposing to change the zoning code?
For another development on the same Davidson Road?
A development

the Chamber and Moody and the Planning Commission
are all opposing, while the VDT channels Ashley Paulk in promoting it?

What is it about this Clint Joyner or Joyner Realty or Davidson Road
that the County Commission should favor him or them so?
It can’t be the individual Commissioners: not a one of them is the
same now from 2007.
What is the same then and now?

Maybe we should find out before the Commission grants any more favors.

-jsq

Chamber opposes zoning code change for developer near Moody

Apparently it’s the Chamber and Moody and the Planning Commission

Red arrows on MAZ
and the TRC all against Ashley Paulk
on the Moody rezoning-and-zoning-code case, with the VDT sidling towards Paulk.
The VDT claimed Lowndes County Chairman stated something that’s
not true according to the agenda and LAKE’s videos of the
recent Planning Commission meeting.
And the VDT buried opposition by the Chamber of Commerce’s relevant committee
at the end of its article.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT today,

County disagrees with proposed zoning amendment,
Paulk: Military intervention could prevent development near base,
and the caption of the picture on the right says:

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission proposed a text amendment to
the Unified Land Development Code in November that would reduce lot
density restrictions from 2.5 acres to one acre, allowing landowners
within the Moody Activity Zoning (MAZ) district “more
flexibility” to parcel off their land holdings, Paulk said.

The Planning Commission’s own agenda says TEX-2012-02 was proposed by
“Lowndes County Board of Commissioners”.
And the Planning Commission

voted to recommend against approving that
text amendment to the ULDC.
According to Planning Commissioner John Page,
that vote was following the recommendation of the Technical Review Committee (TRC),
which consists of staff of Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta.
Page is also an incoming Lowndes County Commissioner, to take office
next month.
So either Paulk said something he as the Chairman of the Lowndes
County Commission should know not to be true, or the VDT wrote erroneously.

The VDT also seemed to indicate that Paulk was speaking for

Continue reading →

Developer didn’t get his way: change the zoning code! @ GLPC 2012-11-26

A developer didn’t get his way at the Lowndes County Commission last month,
so now the county is proposing to change the zoning code for him!
To change zoning right next to Moody Air Force Base,
the largest employer in this area.
A change opposed by Moody because

of flight safety and safety of property,
and
“the longterm viability of Moody Air Force Base.”
A change that would set a precedent for further sprawl,
as Moody indicated indirectly when
the related rezoning first came before the Planning Commission.
Apparently a developer can get whatever he wants around here,
no matter how much it threatens the livelihoods or well-being
of the rest of the citizens.
Does that seem right to you?
To their credit,

the Planning Commission at its 26 November 2012 meeting
unanimously voted against this TEX-2012-02 just as they
did the rezoning case REZ-2012-17 last month.
Both will be decided by the Lowndes County Commission
at its 11 December 2012 meeting.




4. TEX-2012-02

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners

A proposed text amendment to the Unified Land Development Code as it pertains to Single Family residential
Density and Minimum Lot Area within the MAZ (Moody Activity Zone)

County Planner Jason Davenport introduced this item.


TEX-2012-02 ULDC changes
Ultimately at the end of the day this text amendment is a request
to change the minimum lot sizes allowed and the minimum residential densities
allowed in a MAZ-3 zoning district.
We have those changes highlighted on the screen but they have also been
highlighted in the packet….
At the end of the day that is what has happened.

Well, yes, at the end of that day.
At the end of many future days this zoning code amendment
if approved will be used as a precedent for more sprawl
right next to Moody Air Force Base,
which is by far the biggest employer in this area.
The packet he referred to is not available to the public.
The changes he mentioned are not on his

Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) web page.
A view of them as seen from the back of the room is shown on the right here.
Can you read them?


Moody insert in ULDC Map
The

ULDC map linked on that page
includes the Moody Area insert map shown here on the right.

Davenport added that he had received one open records request and a response
from Moody.
Plus state law requires 30 days for Moody to respond and it had been 31 days.
Then he walked through some history using pages in Commissioners’ packets
that we the taxpayers, voters, and residents of Lowndes County can’t see.

Davenport

specifically tied this text amendment to a tabled zoning case:

Continue reading →

CUEE filed enough petitions for a referendum


Less than one percent of the registered voters in Valdosta have made
the difference between CUEE’s school consolidation petition getting on
the ballot and not.

According to the City of Valdosta’s website 19 August 2011:

Continue reading →