{"id":25453,"date":"2026-01-15T10:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=25453"},"modified":"2026-01-18T11:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:05:37","slug":"videos-workshop-2-lowndes-county-comprehensive-plan-update-2025-11-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2026\/01\/videos-workshop-2-lowndes-county-comprehensive-plan-update-2025-11-17.html","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Workshop 2, Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan Update 2025-11-17"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update 2026-01-17<\/strong>: the next such Workshop is being rescheduled; we don’t yet know until when.\r\n

Update 2026-01-16<\/strong>:\r\nPower, water, and datacenters –Suwannee Riverkeeper 2025-11-17<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nVery interesting discussions at the second Workshop on the five-year Update to the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan.\r\nDatacenters, water, sewer, power, trash, accessibility, affordable housing, guiding development, and more.\r\n

\r\nThe third Workshop will be this Monday<\/del> Tuesday, January 20, 2026, about 6 PM, after the Work Session of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), at 325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, GA.\r\n

Update 2026-01-17<\/strong>: the next such Workshop is being rescheduled; we don’t yet know until when.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Workshop<\/a>\r\n
Workshop 2, Lowndes County, Comprehensive Plan Update, Many interesting discussions, 2025-11-17<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nSuwannee Riverkeeper noted reliable power and water are needed for economic development,\r\nand AI datacenters could be a problem for that.\r\nAlso, don’t assume just because the governor says we’re doing datacenters that they will expand everywhere.\r\nRemember the dotcom bust and how cheap PCs took over, then smartphones.\r\nSomebody will invent a much less expensive method of doing so-called artificial intelligence,\r\na method that does not require huge datacenters.\r\nMeanwhile, there are natural limits on water, witness Barber Pool, fed by a spring that now hardly ever trickles.\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[John<\/a>\r\n
John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nGLPC Commissioner Tommy Willis, since not reappointed, recommended planning for dense housing where water and sewer already goes, instead of responding.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Tommy<\/a>\r\n
Tommy Willis, GLPC<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nLowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter seemed to mostly agree with him,\r\nand pointed out that affordable housing doesn’t really exist anymore,\r\nso now workforce housing is needed, to be made affordable by being closer together.\r\n

\r\nGLPC Chair Steve Miller spelled out that development follows water and sewer.\r\n

\r\nChamber President Christie Moore advocated for land development process transparency.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Movie:<\/a>\r\n
Movie: Land development process transparency, the whole case –Christie Moore, Pres. Chamber<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nEveryone seemed to agreed on revising some wording to say:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nObjective 1: Encourage land use that connects with existing utilities, services, and businesses\r\nand promotes active lifestyles and preservation of greenspace.\r\n

\r\nObjective 2: Guide growth that connects and protects natural resources.\r\n

\r\nObjective 3: Promote growth along existing infrastructure\/within Urban Service Areas\r\n

\r\nObjective 4: Educate the public on the purpose of planning and development procedures and\r\ntools; while Streamlining the processes and providing more transparency to citizens\r\n

\r\nObjective 5: Guide through land use designations (Urban vs. Rural)\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Guide<\/a>\r\n
Guide growth<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nSuwannee Riverkeeper noted that litter was not just an individual problem: businesses should assume responsibility for distributing single-use throwaway trash, and local governments could stop them.\r\n

\r\nAfter extensive discussion, mostly with Bill Slaughter, this wording was edited in:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nA key component of this goal is the desire for community\r\nbeautification of public and private land through individual and business behavior changes\r\nto reduce littering and through an increased focus on landscaping maintenance of property.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Individual<\/a>\r\n
Individual and business changes<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nChristie Moore also asked for accessible natural resources, both physically and by cost.\r\n

\r\nJessica Freeman of Remerton weighed in on smaller municipalities and surrounding areas.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"[Jessica<\/a>\r\n
Jessica Freeman, Remerton<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nSementha Mathews, E.D. of the Turner Center for the Arts, asked for cultural experience providers to be written into the plan.\r\n

\r\nYou may find many other interesting discussions in these videos.\r\n

\r\nBelow are links to LAKE videos the meeting, roughly divided by topics or speakers.\r\n\r\n