Tag Archives: Planning

Text Amendment —Richard Raines

Received yesterday, referring to
TXT-2012-02, which is on the agenda for

Monday morning’s Work Session and Tuesday evening’s Regular Session
of the Lowndes County Commission.
-jsq

From: Richard Raines

To: Gretchen Quarterman

Subject: RE: Text Amendment

Gretchen,

Based on a conversation with the Chairman yesterday, it is my


understanding that this issue will be tabled until sometime next
year (Chairman-elect Slaughter will decide when to put it back on
the agenda) because we are working with MAFB on a compromise as they
are well aware of our mandate to balance property rights with
protecting against base encroachment.

Since I’ve been on the County Commission we have made it a priority
to constantly evaluate the ULDC and all zoning districts. MAZ 1-3
is no exception and must be evaluated to make sure that it is
balanced and consistent.

We have discovered

Continue reading →

Solid Waste, Developer Favors, Dollar General, Library, and Alcohol: Agenda @ LCC 2012-12-10

Updates 9 Dec 2012: Marked with *.

Will the Lowndes County Commission Tuesday evening
finish railroading through their non-solution to solid waste disposal,


without shouldering its legal responsibility to protect
the environment and the public health, safety, and well-being from solid waste,
and what’s this about a vendor change?
Will the Chairman once again invite a developer to speak in Monday morning’s
Work Session without letting anyone else speak?
Will the Commission change the zoning code and rezone inside and against
the Moody Exclusion Zone for that same developer they already
provided $130,000 in road construction labor to back in 2007?
Does Naylor need the area’s nineteenth Dollar General, and who’s behind it, anyway?
How come the Five Points library is still on the agenda even though SPLOST VII failed?
And what are they doing to the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance this time?
Come Monday morning at 8:30 AM and Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM and see!
Better yet, also call or write your Commissioner before then.

Trash

6.b. Solid Waste Ordinance

Will the Commissioners finish

railroading through their



already-failing non-solution to solid waste disposal
in the last session of this Chairman?
The plan for which they held

zero public hearings while any of
the Commissioners who voted on it this October were on the Commission,
yet someone down there feels free to

anonymously ridicule concerns about that plan failing?
Two citizens

spoke up anyway,
even though

Citizens Wishing to Be Heard
was after the scheduled vote last time,
and

another on this blog,
all willing to state their names, unlike the anonymous pro-trash-railroad
ridiculer.
What was that

unspecified new information
that caused them to table it last time, anyway?

8.b. Exclusive Franchise Agreement for Residential Solid Waste Collection Services with Advanced Disposal Services of Central Alabama, Inc.

What happened to Veolia;

Continue reading →

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

Land Development For Future Industries —Andrea Schruijer of VLCIA

Executive Director Andrea Schruijer explained the Industrial Authority’s
theory behind all those industrial parks.
And she mentioned market analysis for a sustainable local economy.
Nothing about market analysis about whether industrial parks actually
bring in new businesses….

Valdosta CEO posted 28 NOvember 2012,

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Invests in Land Development For Future Industries,



Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director of the Valdosta Lowndes County
Industrial Authority. A few years ago the community had the
foresight to approve a mill that they would set aside for the
Industrial Authority to provide for economic development. And
because the community did that, the industrial authority is able to
better plan for the future in growing our opportunities for economic
development. One of the things that we noticed a few years ago is
that we didn’t have enough land for development. And we didn’t have
the right sized tracks in case we had a large user coming in looking
at the community, where would we put them?



She says “the community did that”?
That’s funny,

Gary Minchew said he organized that.
Kari L. Sands wrote for VDT 20 June 2007,

Lowndes preps for vote on budget,

Continue reading →

Financing solar energy: Georgia’s special problem

In most states, financing solar energy is largely a matter of learning
all the local ropes.
In Georgia, there’s a bigger problem.

Michael Mendelsohn
wrote for RMI 5 December 2012,

How Do We Lower Solar Installation Costs and Open the Market to Securitized Portfolios: Standardize and Harmonize,

Soft costs can be pretty tough. The cost of solar installations can
be generally separated into “hard” costs — representing
primary components such as modules, racking, inverters — and
soft costs including legal, permitting, and financing. While the
former group — particularly modules — have dropped
dramatically over the last several years, the latter have not.
According to a recent NREL analysis, these costs represent roughly
30% of both residential and utility installations (slightly less for
commercial-host systems). See Figure 1.


In fact, soft costs are so critical to the overall success of solar
adoption, their reduction is a primary focus of the Department of
Energy’s SunShot Initiative to make solar energy cost-competitive.
In order to reduce the cost of financing, NREL recently completed
and continues to work on various efforts to tap public capital
markets and enable other vehicles that securitize project
portfolios.

We’ll come back to tapping public capital markets and the like,
because that’s the key to what

Georgia Solar Utilities (GaSU) is trying to do.
But there’s a special problem in Georgia, buried in the next paragraph:

Continue reading →

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 →

Planning Commission recommends nineteenth Dollar General @ GLPC 2012-11-26

The

Planning Commission 26 November 2012
ignored a Naylor citizen’s questions about
a market survey, traffic, trees, peace and quiet, rural living, and sprawl
and unanimously recommended a rezoning request for
the eighteenth Dollar General in the area.
They did this for a developer who doesn’t live in Lowndes County,
and who didn’t even have her name revealed by the Planning Commission,
even though anyone who spoke against had to show up in person
and state name and address.
All this for a location that wasn’t specified in the agenda.
Does this seem right to you?


Dr. Bobbie Robinson

3. REZ-2012-19 Robinson Milltown Properties, LLC

US Highway 84 East, Naylor, Georgia

Request to rezone 2 acres from E-A (Estate Agriculture)
to C-G (General Commercial)

It’s for a Dollar General.
County Planner Jason Davenport said nobody had called in.
The agenda doesn’t say which parcel is the subject,
and the County Planner didn’t specify.

Robinson Miltown Properties map
Judging by the map displayed on the screen, it’s the southeast corner of

parcel number 0250 003, 101.91 acres owned by
Robinson Milltown Properties LLC of 2605 Hall Ave., Tifton, GA 31794.

Dr. Bobbie Robinson of ABAC
According to the Georgia Secretary of State,

that LLC’s agent is
Bobbie Ann Robinson of 2605 Hall Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794.
I’m told she is the Dr. Bobbie Robinson

Professor of English and
Dean, School of Liberal Arts at ABAC in Tifton.
It’s curious how anybody speaking in opposition had to show up in
person and state their name and address,
but she the developer didn’t have to do any of those things.


Clayton Milligan of Lovell Engineering

Clayton Milligan of Lovell Engineering spoke for,
merely saying he offered to answer questions.
Commissioners asked him no questions.


Matthew Richard of 5569 Upper Grand Bay Road spoke against.

Continue reading →

Georgia statehouse and the anti-sustainability astroturf talking points (aka “Agenda 21”)

Somebody wrote me a week or two ago:



I saw in todays paper Chip Rogers and other Senate leadership was changed yesterday.
Thank goodness!

Well, don't cheer too soon.
According to Jim Galloway in the AJC

15 November 2012,

"Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of Woodstock withdrew his re-election
bid and endorsed Ronnie Chance of Tyrone, the governor's floor leader,
for the position."



Ronnie Chance is not only

also ALEC,
Chance is

the other ALEC state Senator
who put both the charter school amendment
and the multi-year amendment on the ballot.
Is this leadership "change" improvement?
Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.

Why must we get fooled again?
When will the people of the state of Georgia get tired of government
by astroturf and elect some legislators who will represent the people?

-jsq

Arctic sea ice melting faster than expected —WMO

A major source of the water for the

sea level rise already affecting Savannah and Jacksonville
is melting Arctic Ocean sea ice.

WMO Press Release No. 966:
2012: Record Arctic Sea Ice Melt, Multiple Extremes and High Temperatures,

“Naturally occurring climate variability due to phenomena such
as El Niño and La Niña impact on temperatures and precipitation on
a seasonal to annual scale. But they do not alter the underlying
long-term trend of rising temperatures due to climate change as a
result of human activities,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel
Jarraud.

“The extent of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. The
alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching
changes taking place on Earth’s oceans and biosphere. Climate change
is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a
result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
which have risen constantly and again reached new records,”
added Mr Jarraud.


30 years of Arctic sea ice

15 September 1982 vs 16 September 2012

The Arctic reached its lowest annual sea ice extent since the start
of satellite records on 16 September at 3.41 million square
kilometers. This was 18% less than the previous record low of 18
September, 2007. The 2012 minimum extent was 49 percent or nearly
3.3 million square kilometers (nearly the size of India) below the
1979—2000 average minimum. Some 11.83 million square
kilometers of Arctic ice melted between March and September 2012.

WMO noted other effects of climate change outside the arctic, including:

Continue reading →