Tag Archives: Union Road

Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ 2026-01-26

Not even the agenda is on lowndescounty.com for Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, much less any of the board packet materials.

You can see all of those, plus the minutes from the previous meeting, here on the LAKE website.

But why doesn’t Lowndes County put these materials on its own website, so the taxpaying and voting public can see them?

Maybe you’d like to ask your Lowndes County Commissioners. They have a Work Session Monday morning and a voting Regular Session Tuesday evening with Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Why does it take multiple open LAKE open records requests and further email interactions to pry these materials out of Lowndes County?

It’s not just the materials for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) that are not on the county’s website. While the agenda and one-page agenda sheets for the Lowndes County Commission are on the county’s website, none of the rest of their board packet materials are.

Why should a private media firm have to pry these materials out of the county?

I’m not blaming the county staff. They do what they are told to do by the County Commissioners.

I’m not blaming the Planning Commissioners. They are merely an advisory body.

So please ask your Lowndes County Commissioners why they do not publish important materials so the public can see what they the Commissioners are using to make decisions?

Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential @ GLPC 2026-01-26, Office & storage in Lowndes County; None of this on lowndescounty.com

The Valdosta item is for a dense residential development in an appropriate city character area, with appropriate conditions recommended by staff. It’s the opposite of sprawl. Seems like a good idea to me.

I’m less clear on the proposed office and storage facility in Lowndes County, REZ-2026-03. It is not in an appropriate Character Area. It has noise and lighting concerns. It crosses a county sewer force main and a natural gas pipeline. It crosses a creek that feeds into Franks Creek into the Little River. The staff-recommended conditions seem like weak tea.

We only have the board materials for this third county case because LAKE insisted on the county honoring the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA). The materials for this city case and this county case are on the LAKE website, along with the agenda and the minutes from the previous GLPC meeting.

For the materials for the other two county cases, see the previous post:

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25459

Here is the GLPC agenda, which is still not on the county’s own website:

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, January 26, 2026 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office 325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
Continue reading →

Packet: 3 Lowndes County rezonings @ GLPC 2026-01-20

Update 2026-01-24: Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ GLPC 2026-01-26.

Lowndes County has three small rezoning cases on this week’s agenda for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).

This post has what Lowndes County sent before the GLPC Work Session, coming up 5:30 PM, Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Obviously these materials are not yet complete, since the third one has nothing but one conceptual site plan. The agenda is also not yet ready.

And the county tells us that County Planner JD Dillard said, “The DRAFT minutes are still in draft status.”

Collage @ GLPC Packet 2026-01-20

The City Clerks of Remerton and Lake Park say they have no items for GLPC this month.

Valdosta, Hahira, and Dasher have not been heard from yet.

This may be the first time Lowndes County has responded first to a LAKE open records request for GLPC materials. Those materials are on the LAKE website.

Since I seem to have been hasty in sending this request before the Work Session, I guess I’ll send another request before the Regular Session, which the county says will be January 26.

As always, the appointed GLPC Commissioners make recommendations, and the county or city elected officials make the actual decisions later. Continue reading →

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-15

Ms. Terri Lupo was reappointed to the 5.a. Valdosta Lowndes Development Authority.

The Lowndes County Commission at their Regular Session of January 14, 2025, also passed everything else unanimously, with little or no discussion.

Collage @ LCC 14 January 2025

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did have a question about 7.k. GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory. He also had a special thanks for Samaritan’s Purse in Commission Comments.

Former Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton, Jr., sat front and center the entire meeting.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Packet: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Update 2025-01-16: Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-14

Yesterday morning Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for 7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application. Here’s the project list:

Road paving list and Broadband map @ LCC Packet 2025-01-13

The map appears to be where Windstream thinks Lowndes County already had broadband in 2021. Continue reading →

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Work Session 2025-10-13

The Lowndes County Commission started the Work Session yesterday morning by welcoming new Commissioner Michael Smith. He will vote for the first time at the Regular Session this evening at 5:30 PM.

Collage @ LCC 13 January 2025

Chairman Bill Slaughter praised Terri Lupo, long-time baord member of the 5.a. Valdosta Lowndes Development Authority, although he noted there were two other applicants for her expired term.

There was some discussion on 7.f. Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5. Fire Station #5 is the one on Bemiss Road. Apparently after the November rain, there was a sewage back up in the fire station that was 3″ deep and everything from the floor to 2′ up the wall had to be replaced, including furniture. Insurance covered some of the cost.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for 7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application. Answer: yes.

They do not yet have a design for the 7.h. Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937).

There was Commissioner discussion about the prices for the Continue reading →

Agenda: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

It’s a busy first agenda of the year for the Lowndes County Commission, Work Session Monday morning, voting Regular Session Tuesday evening.

Agenda: VLDA appointment, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, VOCA grants, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Terri Lupo’s term has expired for the Development Authority. Robert Green and Brice Evans also want to be appointed. Usually the Commission reappoints the incumbent.

Cost	What
$1,300,000.00	Coleman Road NW Paving and Drainage Improvements, P.1.0016279 Supplemental Agreement No. 1
$635,000.00	GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory
$160,122.00	Bid for Six Compact SUV Vehicles for Multiple Departments
$79,380.00	Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5
$50,000.00	Lowndes County Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937)
$45,761.60	Union Road Lift Station Pump Replacement
$33,232.00	Approval of the Solicitor General’s FY25 VOCA Grant Award
$2,303,495.60	Total

The above table, generated by LAKE from the agenda items, is hard to add up because of items where the BUDGET IMPACT is actually incoming funds from a new source, such as this one: Continue reading →

Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29

The most contentious case at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission on August 29, 2022, was, at 28 minutes, Lowndes County REZ-2022-15 Gary O’Neal, 2547 US 84 West, 0089-094 and 095, 3.24 Acres, Current Zoning: R-21 (Medium Density Residential) Proposed Zoning: C-H (Highway Commercial). This was the only split vote. For that past case and for the Lowndes County Commission decision this time, see Packet: redo 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water & sewer, $438,537 RR crossing, $2,542,586 Griner Park @ LCC 2022-09-12.

Second at 21 minutes was Continue reading →

Agenda: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29

Update 2022-09-21: Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29.

I wonder if the developer at Wainwright Drive in Valdosta knows about the repeated sewer leaks on One Mile Branch? And will Valdosta ever fix those before something else is built near there, putting more load on the sewer system?

Both pages of the agenda

Almost all of the four Remerton cases are variances, because Remerton does its own variances without going through Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA).

Hahira has a partly commercial rezoning northeast of I-75 Exit 29.

Lowndes County has one rezoning from residential to highway commercial.

Board packet and LAKE videos will follow.

Here is the agenda:

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~

Monday, August 22, 2022 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, August 29, 2022 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
Continue reading →

Videos: Remerton and Hahira cases @ GLPC 2022-04-25

Remerton at almost 28 minutes was far the longest item at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission Monday. Second was for Hahira, at 12 minutes. Everything else breezed through.

Remerton and Hahira Cases @ GLPC 2022-04-25

The sound is not so good because the county has still not fixed the audio in the room.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the Lake Park packet item, which Loretta Hylton of the Southern Georgia Regional Commission sent, saying she heard I was looking for it. It’s now on the LAKE website (PDF). Also, she said “The attorney pulled the Dasher item before submitting it to the Planning Commission.”

We still don’t have the Remerton item. The Valdosta and Hahira items were already on the LAKE website, previously sent by City Planner Matt Martin. We still don’t have the Remerton items. There were no Lowndes County packet items. Continue reading →

Big Hahira rezoning, 4 small Valdosta @ GLPC 2022-04-25

Update 2022-04-25: Hahira subdivision proposed near Big Branch of Franks Creek @ GLPC 2022-04-25.

The one big rezoning on the agenda for this evening’s meeting of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission is HA-2022-06, Sweet Bay Properties, 7440 Union Road, 0024 024, 72 acres, R-15 to R-6, on the site of Guthrie Lumber Company.

Staff recommendation is “Find R-10 zoning consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Standards for the Exercise of Zoning Power (SFEZP), and recommend approval of R-10 zoning (instead) to the City Council.”

Rezonings

Here is the agenda. The Hahira and Valdosta items, sent by City Planner Matt Martin, are on the LAKE website. The Dasher, Lake Park, and Remerton items are not; LAKE will send Lowndes County an open records request. The minutes of the previous GLPC meeting are not on the county’s website yet, so they are also not included on the LAKE website yet. Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange