{"id":23675,"date":"2023-07-01T19:23:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-01T23:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=23675"},"modified":"2023-07-17T10:46:02","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T14:46:02","slug":"videos-uldc-chicken-changes-deferred-biomass-site-to-boat-storage-lake-park-mini-storage-2-valdosta-subdivisions-and-a-church-glpc-2023-06-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2023\/07\/videos-uldc-chicken-changes-deferred-biomass-site-to-boat-storage-lake-park-mini-storage-2-valdosta-subdivisions-and-a-church-glpc-2023-06-26.html","title":{"rendered":"Videos: ULDC chicken changes deferred, Biomass site to boat storage, Lake Park mini-storage, 2 Valdosta subdivisions and a church @ GLPC 2023-06-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update 2023-07-17<\/strong>:\r\nAdded the Valdosta cases and Other Businesses that had inadvertently been left out of the playlist.\r\n

Update 2023-07-10<\/strong>:\r\nPacket: Complicated Library Board, ULDC amendments, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchases houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC 2023-07-10<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nWhy does Lowndes County want the Planning Commission (GLPC) and County Commission\r\nto vote on changes to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC)\r\nbefore the general public has a chance to review and comment on them?\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Collage<\/a>\r\n
Collage @ LCC 26 June 2023<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWhen even the number of ULDC items changed from 10 to 7 in the week before the GLPC meeting?\r\nWhen somebody asked for more time for citizens to review and comment on these changes,\r\nwhy did the County Planning consultant toss out four straw men?\r\nWhy shouldn’t the general public have such opportunity when the Homebuilders were shown draft changes weeks ago?\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\nLowndes County Planning consultant Jason Davenport attempted to explain the\r\nULDC amendments and why the county had not shown them to the general county citizenry,\r\nat the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).\r\nHe said they had a plan for six public meetings and two social media posts.\r\nHowever, none of that had happened before this meeting.\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Only<\/a>\r\n
Only minor amendments to the ULDC –Jason Davenport<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nOne citizen did want to comment.\r\n“Please state your name and address for the record, Gretchen,” said Chairman Ed Hightower.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[The<\/a>\r\n
The people should have an opportunity to have their say. –Gretchen Quarterman<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nGretchen Quarterman objected that “the public has not been informed about this satisfactorily.”\r\nThey had shown up before the GLPC in Other Business back in April<\/a>, not as an agenda item,\r\nso the public had no way to know to show up for that.\r\nShe noted these changes had not been on the website nor on social media.\r\nThe Homebuilders and salespeople had had a chance to review.\r\nBut regular people had not.\r\n\r\n

\r\nCounty Commissioner Joyce Evans arrived while Gretchen was speaking.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[County<\/a>\r\n
County Commissioner Joyce Evans arrives<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“The people should have an opportunity to have their say,”\r\nsaid Gretchen Quarterman. She asked for a recommendation to table.\r\n

\r\nJason Davenport said it had been on the website for a week (which later in the same meeting we discovered actually meant since the same day as this meeting).\r\nHe reiterated what he planned to do (not what they had done)\r\nfor public meetings and social media.\r\n

\r\nThen he tossed out straw man #1<\/strong>, “I welcome constructive criticism\r\nabout how to reach the general public without sending 50,000 people a notice in the mail,\r\nbut at this point with our resources and our staff,\r\nI think you can clearly see that we have tried to put these things out there for review.”\r\nStraw man because nobody had asked for sending out notices (although that’s not a bad idea), and no, we can not see that the county has tried to put these things out for review.\r\n

\r\nThen straw man #2<\/strong>, “And, honestly, the Planning Commission Public Hearing tonight is an opportunity\r\nto get additional press, more coverage, to get the word out there,\r\nbecause these amendments will go to the County Commission on July 11th,\r\nso there is a break between now and then for additional public notice.”\r\nStraw man because the agenda lists it as\r\nTXT-2023-01 ULDC Update<\/a>,\r\nnot as a Public Hearing.\r\nCalling it an “Update” does not even indicate that any action was requested from the GLPC.\r\nThe GLPC Chairman called for public comment anyway, but he did not say he opened a\r\nPublic Hearing, and he did not ask first for speakers in favor of the item,\r\nfollowed by speakers against the item. It was not a Public Hearing.\r\n

\r\nThere was a post on the Lowndes County government’s facebook page on June 21st<\/a>\r\nthat called it a Public Hearing.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Lowndes<\/a>\r\n
Lowndes County ULDC facebook post 2023-06-21<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nBut in the GLPC agenda it was scheduled as an “Update”, not a Public Hearing.\r\n

\r\nJason Davenport concluded by asking the GLPC for a recommendation to approve.\r\n

\r\nThe solar item #5 was removed from this draft\r\nfor more time to review decommissioning.\r\nIt was removed at the request of the County Manager, or the County Attorney,\r\nor Moody Air Force Base, or maybe all three.\r\nApparently it was removed after\r\n\r\nthe copy LAKE got last week as part of the board packet<\/a>\r\nin response to an open records request.\r\nApparently two others were also removed,\r\nbecause Jason Davenport said he was offering three<\/del> seven amendments in this meeting.\r\nSo the public does not know what he was actually proposed to GLPC.\r\nAnd what was in the GLPC board packet was not what the GLPC was asked to approve.\r\nSeems to me that alone would be enough reason to table.\r\n

\r\nIt also seems to me that the ULDC should also promote solar parking lots and rooftop solar.\r\nWhich is something the public could suggest, given an opportunity.\r\n

\r\nThe Planning Commissioners had questions, including,\r\n“Is it possible the reason you haven’t gotten comments is because\r\nyou just posted it today?”\r\nJason Davenport said that there was notice as of the 18th.\r\nWhich is straw man #3<\/strong>, because the county showed the draft amendments to the Homebuilders Association.\r\nWe know this because the County Manager said so<\/a> two weeks previously, in a \r\n\r\nCounty Commission meeting, 2023-06-12<\/a>:\r\n“In addition to the Planning Commission,\r\nthe amendments have also been shared with the Homebuilders Association,\r\nas our largest group of stakeholders,\r\nwe’d like for them to be able to give us some feedback.”\r\n

\r\n