Tag Archives: Lowndes County

Four big + 2 small county rezonings, four Valdosta rezonings, 3 of them CUP @ GLPC 2021-11-29

Update 2021-12-01: Videos: An inappropriate rezoning unanimously opposed, but beware return with different acreage @ GLPC 2021-11-29

There’s been alarm in the northwest part of Lowndes County for a month about the 34-acre Miller Bridge Road rezoning. And there are three more big rezonings on the agenda tonight for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission, on Rocky Ford Road, Val Tech Road, and Seminole Drive.

Those are Lowndes County cases, plus two more small rezonings.

The four Valdosta cases include one “CUP for very high density MultiFamily residential in C-C zoning” on West Hill Avenue, which sounds like a better idea than more sprawl out into the county.

[Four big rezonings]
Four big rezonings

Below is the agenda plus some maps from the Lowndes County Tax Assessors.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Monday, November 22, 2021 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, November 29, 2021 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Continue reading →

Videos: Comprehensive Plan, rezonings, tower, Hospital Authority, elections @ LCC 2021-11-09

All the main items breezed by unanimously, including the Comprehensive Plan and the Hospital Authority re-appointment of Ben Copeland, at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, November 9, 2021.

The only things taking longer than three minutes were the County Manager’s Report and Citizens Wishing to Be Heard about how the Board of Elections is appointed and funded.

[Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager's Report, Electios]
Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager’s Report, Electios

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, the agenda and Board packet, and, for the rezonings and the tower, the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

For the Comprehensive Plan, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.

Okefenokee resolution, Planning Commission, Airport, Sewer system, Road renaming moratorium @ VCC 2021-11-11

With a packed agenda, the Valdosta City Council passed eight resolutions, approved five bids or purchases, and appointed people to four boards, yet the longest discussion was after all that.

[Mayor, Howard, Gibbs, WWTP, Manager & Tooley, Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Mayor, Howard, Gibbs, WWTP, Manager & Tooley, Suwannee Riverkeeper

Perhaps the most far-reaching item was one of the briefest, presented by Mayor Scott James Matheson: 3.f. Resolution in Opposition to a proposed strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, opposing the proposed Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) strip mine or any others within ten miles of the Swamp, asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reverse its abdication of oversight, asking GA-EPD for a moratorium on all mining permits until effects are settled of the recent court overruling of 2020 Clean Water Act changes, as well as to reject the TPM permits, or at least to review those applications as thoroughly as the Army Corps would, and asking the Georgia legislature to prevent such strip mines near the Swamp or any blackwater rivers in the Suwannee River Basin. Continue reading →

Videos: One Valdosta-Lowndes, Troupville River Camp, Hospital Authority re-appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing @ LCC 2021-11-08

By far the longest item at 33 minutes at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session was a presentation about One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL).

[OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing]
OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing

Second longest at almost five minutes was 8.e. Request For Cash Match Increase For VAWA ASG Salary Supplement, about the Violence Against Women Act. Third at four minutes was 7.c. REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road.

The likely re-appointee to the Hospital Authority did attend.

Everything else got little discussion, including the final approval of the Comprehensive Plan Update.

They voted the following Tuesday evening.

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by

Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26

Only one citizen showed up to speak: David Houtz, who asked Commissioners not to change the Character Area Maps, and said he had not seen the latest plan. SGRC’s Elizabeth Backe handed him a copy; she also presented a summary of the process at the beginning of the meeting, and clarified process later.

[Citizen David Houtz, Elizabeth Backe of SGRC, Houtz receives plan, Sparse audience, City Planner Matt Martin, Commissioners Orenstein and Marshall, Commissioners and VDT reporter]
Citizen David Houtz, Elizabeth Backe of SGRC, Houtz receives plan, Sparse audience, City Planner Matt Martin, Commissioners Orenstein and Marshall, Commissioners and VDT reporter

You can see in this LAKE video a discussion between Valdosta and Hahira City Planner Matt Martin and Lowndes County Commissioner Scottie Orenstein about changes to the Hahira Character Area map is not recorded in the minutes, as well as the rest of the 17-minute meeting.

Commissioners discussed the Comprehensive Plan Update again this morning in their Work Session, and they will approve it tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 PM in their Regular Session. Continue reading →

Comprehensive Plan approval, Hospital Authority re-appointment, 3 small rezonings, AT&T cell tower, Regional Transit, LMIG Restriping, Budget Calendar, Second Harvest, Code Red @ LCC 2021-11-08

The Lowndes County Commission will probably re-appoint Ben Copeland to the Hospital Authority, and approve three rezonings, only one (REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey) apparently controversial, as well as an AT&T telecommunications tower, Tuesday evening after hearing them Monday morning.

The item with the biggest effect is the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Adoption.

[REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road; TWR-2021-01 CitySwitch II, LLC, Bemiss Road, New 265' Telecommunications Tower]
REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road; TWR-2021-01 CitySwitch II, LLC, Bemiss Road, New 265′ Telecommunications Tower

The big ticket near-term item is for roads, 2021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping.

Cost What
$281,529.502021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping
$32,266.00Request for Cash Match Increase for VAWA ASG Salary Supplement
$31,500.00Code Red Annual Renewal
$345,295.50Total

See the agenda. The board packet is on the LAKE website, received in response to a LAKE open records request.

For the Comprehensive Plan, see the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.

For the rezonings and the telecommunications tower, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

  1. Call to Order Continue reading →

Videos: Four Lowndes County rezonings, communications tower, Hahira office buildings @ GLPC 2021-10-25

Longest at 26 minutes was the rezoning for relocation of an “automobile inventory” to 3436 Mt. Zion Church Road.

Second at 19 minutes was the Hahira rezoning for office buildings in Hahira at 515 South Church Street, which got conditions.

Third at almost 13 minutes was the communications tower for CitySwitch at 5010 Bemiss Road, just north of the Lowndes County fire station.

The other two county rezonings were four minutes each.

[Godfrey, Hahira, Tower, Sineath]
Godfrey, Hahira, Tower, Sineath

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and the Hahira agenda packet item. The packet items for the four Lowndes County cases are also on the LAKE website, received Wednesday, two days after the GLPC meeting, in response to a LAKE open records request. We look forward to the county putting its board packets online like many other counties in Georgia and Florida have been doing for years. Continue reading →

Videos: Valwood award, river gauges, Comprehensive Plan, Alcohol @ LCC Regular 2021-10-25

Update 2021-11-08: Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26.

The County Manager said the Character Area Maps were not changing in the Comprehensive Plan Update, so she expected the Public Hearing Tuesday to be brief, but a quorum would be required. At the end, I thanked the Commissioners for not changing the character area maps and asked them to follow them in future rezonings.

[County Manager, PIO, Valwood Valiants, Character Area Maps]
County Manager, PIO, Valwood Valiants, Character Area Maps

The river gauge funding and the beer and wine license sailed through unanimously. The longest items were the two part Proclamation Presentation to Valwood Valiants Volleyball Team and the County Manager’s Report.

Here are links to each LAKE video of each agenda (and non-agenda) item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the same morning’s Work Session, the agenda, and the board packet which we received in response to a LAKE open records request and put on the LAKE website. Some day the county will put its own board packets on its own website. Continue reading →

Videos: River gauges, Lowndes County Extension Office @ LCC Work 2021-10-25

By far the longest item was the informative 7.a. Lowndes County Extension Office Presentation, at the Lownndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning.

[River Gauges, Beer and Wine, Reports, Extension Agent]
River Gauges, Beer and Wine, Reports, Extension Agent

The river gauges and the beer and wine license took not much longer than to read the agenda items.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request and on the LAKE website. Continue reading →

Maps: Comprehensive Plan Final Public Hearing @ LCC 2021-10-26

Update 2021-11-08: Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26.

Here is the almost-completed Lowndes County Character Area Map for tomorrow’s Public Hearing to Review and Transmit the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Update. It does not look like the Character Areas have changed much.

Still, if you care, be there.

When: 5:30 PM, Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Where: 327 N. Ashley Street, 2nd Floor Commission Chamber, Valdosta, GA 31601

[2016 and 2021 Lowndes County Character Area Maps]
2016 and 2021 Lowndes County Character Area Maps

Thanks to Elizabeth Backe of SGRC, who wrote this morning:

The most recent version of the comp plan update is located on our website here, however there is one additional update that our web team has not yet uploaded. This item is for each of the work programs and it is the completion of an electric vehicle report. I anticipate them uploading this today. The Character Area map is located in the Appendix of the plan.

More specifically, this is the draft I picked up from that SGRC web page.

That entire plan is now on the LAKE website, with images of each page:
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-10-26–public-hearing-comprehensive-plan

This is the map from page 128: Continue reading →