{"id":23460,"date":"2023-03-13T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T01:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=23460"},"modified":"2023-03-13T21:25:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T01:25:00","slug":"videos-contentious-james-road-rezoning-lcc-work-2023-03-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2023\/03\/videos-contentious-james-road-rezoning-lcc-work-2023-03-13.html","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Contentious James Road rezoning @ LCC Work 2023-03-13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nThis wasn’t even the Public Hearing, which is tomorrow evening.\r\nThe Lowndes County Commissioners themselves were trying to make sense\r\nof\r\n\r\nthe James Road rezoning<\/a>.\r\nCommissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know how many floors the current zoning allows,\r\nand whether Smith Road would be improved.\r\nTwo floors and the county has no plans to modify Smith Road at this time.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Collage<\/a>\r\n
Collage @ LCC 13 March 2023<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nCommissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know when James Road got widened.\r\nThe County Planner said, “prior to 2008, for sure.”\r\nThe County Manager said, “about fifteen years ago.”\r\nActually, that widening started on February 16, 2009<\/a>, which is 14 years ago.\r\nThe County Manager later did produce the date of 2009;\r\napparently the County Attorney looked that up.\r\n

\r\nThe widening happened because of the proposed-in-2007 but-never-built\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMarket Street mega-mall project<\/a>.\r\nGDOT contributed $587,000 to the widening, plus SPLOST VI funds from the county.\r\nTaxpayers were still paying to fix damaged driveways\r\nin\r\n2014<\/a>\r\nand\r\nin\r\n2015<\/a>.\r\nAs the Chairman said in the meeting this morning about James Road,\r\n“it was all developed on an anticipation of a development out there that never happened.”\r\nFrom which he drew the moral that the county should deal with Smith Street “if it becomes an issue.”\r\nDitto a traffic light at James Road and US 84.\r\n

\r\nYet the county pushes water mains ever northwards, including on this agenda the\r\n\r\nVal Del Water Main Extension<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nCommissioner Joyce Evans said local residents had complained about traffic\r\nbacked up near the school.\r\nThey discussed that that happens at any school in the county.\r\n

\r\nCommissioner Scottie Orenstein wanted to know\r\nwhy the Planning Commission recommended denial.\r\nIf the county videoed the Planning Commission meetings,\r\nthey could watch and see.\r\nNow they can watch \r\nthe LAKE videos of that GLPC session<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nRemember this that Chairman Bill Slaughter said,\r\n“If he folks out there chooses not to sell property,\r\nthen it’s not gonna grow.”\r\nSo that’s the best way to avoid sprawling subdivisions and chain stores:\r\ndon’t sell.\r\n

\r\nRegarding James Road, Commissioner Orenstein said development is “long overdue”.\r\nRemember that when the Commissioners say they are not developers.\r\n

\r\nYes, the screech was on the sound feed the county was supplying to LAKE.\r\n

\r\nBelow are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,\r\nwith a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,\r\nfollowed by a LAKE video playlist.\r\nSee also the\r\nagenda<\/a>\r\nand the preceding\r\nPlanning Commission meeting<\/a>.\r\n