Tag Archives: Planning

Nova Scotia banned fracking; will southeast U.S. ban fracked methane pipelines?



Yesterday
Nova Scotia announced a ban on fracking.
Will local or state governments in the southeast, now threatened
by the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline,
ban such pipelines?
Especially since FERC has now directed Sabal Trail to examine
routes through Americus, Cordele, Ashburn, Tifton, Adel, Valdosta, and even Thomasville,
in addition
to the ones it already proposed through Dougherty, Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes Counties?

Sierra Club Canada wrote about public meetings
in its Media Release of 28 August 2014,

Government of Nova Scotia Needs to Ban Fracking,

“Public meetings held by the panel were attended by an
overwhelming majority of well-informed citizens who had deep
concerns about fracking,” according to [Gretchen] Fitzgerald,
“Those concerns should be met with the type of leadership they
deserve: an immediate, legally binding ban.”

And the Nova Scotia government listened.
Bruce Erskine wrote for The Herald Business 3 September 2014,

Nova Scotia to ban fracking,
posting a video in which you can hear
Energy Minister Andrew Younger say: Continue reading →

Water, events, flea market, religious events @ GLPC 2014-08-25



The

Turner Brooks
rezoning next to Pine Tree Road turns out to be in paved-over
wetlands that previously flooded, only slightly uphill from
notoriously-problematical Sugar Creek.
GLPC recommended tabling until Historic Preservation could look
at one of the houses, but these water issues could be
at least as important, and Valdosta City Council could decide
to approve anyway without waiting.

Also in Valdosta an

accessory building,
an
event center and flea market,
and
an

office park.
In Lake Park an

ordinance text change
about religious meetings in commercial districts.
In the county, a

request to remove some existing zoning restrictions
and

the county wants to approve all its recent ULDC changes.

And they only submitted one name for the County Commission

to consider for appointment to GLPC.

Here’s

the agenda
followed by links to the videos as events occurred in the meeting.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue


Monday, August 25, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Turner Brooks: flooding, runoff, Sugar Creek? @ GLPC 2014-08-25



The

Turner Brooks
rezoning next to Pine Tree Road turns out to be in paved-over
wetlands that previously flooded, only slightly uphill from
notoriously-problematical Sugar Creek.
GLPC recommended tabling until Historic Preservation could look
at one of the houses, but these water issues could be
at least as important, and Valdosta City Council could decide
to approve anyway without waiting.

People were
six deep in the foyer Monday night Continue reading →

SRO against Pine Tree subdivision @ GLPC 2014-08-25



Stuck in the foyer six deep because SRO in the Planning Commission tonight,
mostly for the

Turner Brooks
item, back with another plan after being

withdrawn last month.
Tom Call, representing some of the owners of the property sellers,
said they’d tried to meet with the neighbors, who refused.
He didn’t say whether they tried meeting with them one-on-one.
GLPC could have put a bunch of conditions
on it that would have mostly satisfied the neighbors’ concerns,
leaving the developers and sellers to decide whether it was worth it.
Instead, they tabled.
The Valdosta City Council can still decide if they want to.
However, one of the houses they’d have to demolish is potentially
on the National Historic Register, and if so, they can’t tear it down.


600x170 Panorama, in Standing Room Only, by Gretchen Quarterman, 25 August 2014

Also, they only submitted one name for the County Commission

to consider for appointment to GLPC; attorney Brad Folsom.
They didn’t include several potential women applicants,
several of them attorneys, and yes, also Gretchen.
As an old white man, even I find it impressive how much
this area is run by old white men.

The agenda arrived only as images Gretchen took at the meeting.
Videos to come. Continue reading →

Roger Budd on Francis Lake and Riverview on the Withlacoochee River @ GLPC 2014-07-28



Neverending

Nelson Hill was completely withdrawn this time.
Opposition showed up against

Roger Budd Jr‘s rezoning of 4.28 acres from R-10 to C-G
on Francis Lake in Lake Park.
Plus recommendations for a county appointee to GLPC.
In Valdosta,

Turner Brooks was withdrawn although paperwork was in progress for
a different submission,
and

Riverview Development LLC
still wanted to
rezone 3.59 acres to Community Commercial
and to
rezone 7 parcels of 3.14 acres total to Multi-Family Residential
partly in the floodplain of the Withlacoochee River behind Music Funeral Home.

Here’s
the agenda, and the videos are below. Continue reading →

Riverview development next to Withlacoochee River? @ GLPC 2014-07-28



A flood plain rezoning next to the Withlacoochee river came back from 2011,
at the

28 July 2014 Planning Commission meeting,
which voted unanimously for, as did the Valdosta City Council later.


7. VA-2014-05 Riverview Development LLC

Video.
This is

parcel 0074 088 on North Valdosta Road behind Music Funeral Home,
next to Langdale Park,
on the other side of the Withlacoochee River from Foxborough.

City Planner Matt Martin said only a tiny part of the property was
in the floodplain of the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading →

Family Dollar on Roger Budd property near Francis Lake in Lake Park? @ GLPC 2014-07-28



Opposition started arising to Roger Budd’s request to rezone
to put another Family Dollar near Francis Lake in Lake Park,
at the

28 July 2014 Planning Commission meeting,
which voted 5 to 2 with one abstention to recommend a compromise solution.


6. REZ-2014-14 Roger Budd Jr

Video.
County Planner Jason Davenport said he had received no indications of any opposition.
And one GLPC member asked the developer’s presenter whether residents
of Francis Lake had been notified.

Yet J.D. Carroll spoke against, Continue reading →

Rail Meeting 2 tonight in Valdosta



All aboard for the second and last rail plan meeting in Valdosta tonight.
Maybe you see something missing in

the current passenger rail corridor
proposal pictured on the right.
Maybe you’d like to suggest some changes or additions.

Stuart Taylor wrote for the VDT today,

Rail plan meeting scheduled,

Georgia Department of Transportation will host a 2014 Georgia state
rail plan public meeting from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, in the
Valdosta City Hall Annex, 300 N. Lee St.

Continue reading →

Nelson Hill and new county appointee + 2 Valdosta @ GLPC 2014-07-28



Tonight at 6PM, neverending

Nelson Hill is back after

GLPC tabled it last month
and half of it was
withdrawn at the County Commission and the other half tabled.
Is that other half related to

the staff variances of 2009 and 2011
without any public hearings?

Roger Budd Jr wants to rezone 4.28 acres.
Plus recommendations for a county appointee to GLPC.
In Valdosta, requests to

rezone 3.59 acres to Community Commercial
and to

rezone 7 parcels of 3.14 acres total to Multi-Family Residential.

Here’s

PDF of the agenda (no, not from Lowndes County),
and it’s below in HTML.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue


Monday, July 28, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Videos: Half Nelson Hill and rezoning to Agricultural @ GLPC 2014-06-30



Only two cases, both Lowndes County.
Johnny White withdrew

his request to rezone to agricultural.
GLPC tabled

REZ-2014-13 Nelson Hill.
And

Vice Chair Diondra Nichols is moving to Las Vegas.
She’s

a county appointee, so expect to see an appointment
on an upcoming Lowndes County Commission agenda.

Here’s
the agenda.
The date on the GLPC agenda
for the following Lowndes County Commission Regular Session
was wrong; should be 8 July 2014 (see
the videos of that LCC meeting).
That incorrect date

confused GLPC Chair Johnny Ball, as well.

Here are links to the videos of the 30 June 2013 meeting of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC),
followed by a playlist. Continue reading →