{"id":294,"date":"2012-12-05T11:11:32","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T16:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/developer-didnt-get-his-way-change-the-zoning-code-glpc-2012-11-26.html"},"modified":"2012-12-05T11:11:32","modified_gmt":"2012-12-05T16:11:32","slug":"developer-didnt-get-his-way-change-the-zoning-code-glpc-2012-11-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/developer-didnt-get-his-way-change-the-zoning-code-glpc-2012-11-26.html","title":{"rendered":"Developer didn’t get his way: change the zoning code! @ GLPC 2012-11-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nA developer didn’t get his way at the Lowndes County Commission last month,\nso now the county is proposing to change the zoning code for him!\nTo change zoning right next to Moody Air Force Base,\nthe largest employer in this area.\nA change opposed by Moody because\n\nof flight safety and safety of property,<\/a>\nand\n“the longterm viability of Moody Air Force Base.”\nA change that would set a precedent for further sprawl,\nas Moody indicated indirectly when\nthe related rezoning first came before the Planning Commission.\nApparently a developer can get whatever he wants around here,\nno matter how much it threatens the livelihoods or well-being\nof the rest of the citizens.\nDoes that seem right to you?\nTo their credit,\n\nthe Planning Commission at its 26 November 2012 meeting<\/a>\nunanimously voted against this TEX-2012-02 just as they\ndid the rezoning case REZ-2012-17 last month.\nBoth will be decided by the Lowndes County Commission\nat its 11 December 2012 meeting.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\n\n4. TEX-2012-02<\/a>\n<\/h3>\nLowndes County Board of Commissioners\n
\nA proposed text amendment to the Unified Land Development Code as it pertains to Single Family residential\nDensity and Minimum Lot Area within the MAZ (Moody Activity Zone)\n

\nCounty Planner Jason Davenport introduced this item.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"TEX-2012-02<\/a>\nUltimately at the end of the day this text amendment is a request\nto change the minimum lot sizes allowed and the minimum residential densities\nallowed in a MAZ-3 zoning district.\nWe have those changes highlighted on the screen but they have also been\nhighlighted in the packet….\nAt the end of the day that is what has happened.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nWell, yes, at the end of that<\/em> day.\nAt the end of many future days this zoning code amendment\nif approved will be used as a precedent for more sprawl\nright next to Moody Air Force Base,\nwhich is by far the biggest employer in this area.\nThe packet he referred to is not available to the public.\nThe changes he mentioned are not on his\n\nUnified Land Development Code (ULDC)<\/a> web page.\nA view of them as seen from the back of the room is shown on the right here.\nCan you read them?\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"Moody<\/a>\nThe\n\nULDC map linked on that page<\/a>\nincludes the Moody Area insert map shown here on the right.\n<\/p>\n

\nDavenport added that he had received one open records request and a response\nfrom Moody.\nPlus state law requires 30 days for Moody to respond and it had been 31 days.\nThen he walked through some history using pages in Commissioners’ packets\nthat we the taxpayers, voters, and residents of Lowndes County can’t see.\n<\/p>\n

\nDavenport\n\nspecifically tied this text amendment to a tabled zoning case:<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n

\nWe’ve recently had that rezoning request 2012-17 which was for the R-10\nzoning district that\n\ny’all saw and recommended on last month.<\/a>\nAt\n\nthe County Commission level<\/a>\nthey recommended\n\nto table that request.<\/a>\nAs a response one of the things we learned that the Commission had\nconcerns with the density requirement in this area.\nAs a result this text amendment is a potential way to address that.\nBasically saying that if you have a more restrictive zoning closer\nto the base,\nthis zoning can be less restrictive than one acre.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\n\"Parcel<\/a>\nNone of the County Commission or Planning Commission agendas\nspecified which property REZ-2012-17 was about,\nbut it appears to be the northwest corner of\n\nparcel 0181 001,<\/a> which is 105.86 acres total, plus\nJohn Henry Davis owns another 36 acres on the other side of Davidson Road,\nso that’s at least (105.86 + 36) – 23.49 = 118.37 more acres that one\nlandowner could conceivably claim this rezoning and recoding as a precedent\nfor further development.\nThis proposed rezoning is less than 2500-3000 feet from Moody AFB\n\nas Davenport previously noted<\/a>.\nYou can see for yourself on the map that it’s only a few thousand\nfeet from Moody’s runways.\nThat’s not very far as the jets fly, or sometimes crash.\nWhich is why the MAZ codes exist.\nIf they can be changed for a developer that close to Moody,\nwhy do they exist at all?\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"REZ-2012-17<\/a>\nDavenport’s version of history had some curious omissions.\nAt the 29 October 2012 Planning Commission session,\n\nnobody spoke for REZ-2012-17 and Moody spoke against:<\/a>\nthe Planning Commission recommended denial.\n<\/p>\n

\nAt the 12 November 2012 County Commission Work Session,\n\nthe Chairman, Ashley Paulk,<\/a> asked the developer to come forward and speak,\nwhich he did.\nThe Chairman did not ask anyone else to speak,\nnor was anyone opposed allowed to speak, if they even knew anybody would\nbe allowed to speak on this rezoning topic, which is very unusual in\na Work Session.\nIs letting one side speak and not the other even legal in an open meeting?\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the 13 November 2012 County Commission Regular Session,\n\nDavenport said the developer<\/em> asked for it to be tabled<\/a>\nuntil the Commission’s December meeting, which the Commission did.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the November GLPC meeting, Davenport said:\n<\/p>\n

\nI’ve tried to be very candid in your report; I hope that you would appreciate that.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nDo you think he or the Planning Commission or the County Commission has\nbeen very candid with the public, you and me, who will be affected by\nwhat they are proposing?\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\"Red<\/a>\n\nCommissioners had several questions,<\/a>\ncausing Davenport to elaborate on the red arrows and the MAZ zones.\nIn response to a question about what other communities did about their\nAir Force bases, such as Warner Robbins, he said he didn’t know, because\n“it would just take time.”\nAnd we just heard him say earlier in this same meeting that they had\ngiven Moody 31 days….\nWhat exactly is the rush?\nCould it have anything to do with the County Commission Chairman’s\nlast meeting being this month?\n<\/p>\n

\n\nNobody spoke for. Moody spoke against.<\/a>\nMoody’s position is unchanged: flight safety, property safety, noise,\nincluding night-time flying are all issues.\nThis time the Colonel speaking specifically mentioned\n“the longterm viability of Moody Air Force Base.”\nThat worried at least one Commissioner, Lou McClendon,\nenough to ask for elaboration.\nThe Colonel responded:\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nWell, I have to be very careful about my position,\nand not to speculate on what the Air Force may or may not do in the futre.\nAs I said last time I think we can\nanticipate a lot of changes in the Air Force with our mission,\nwith funding and budget cuts.\nAnd so anything we can do to enhance Moody’s value to military\nmissions is helpful.\nAnd I think what this does… it just invites reproaches….\nAnd so overcoming that could potentially be a problem\nif Moody is ever looked at.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nNobody else spoke against.\n\n<\/a>\n\nCommissioner Tommy Willis opened discussion recommending denial.<\/a>\nCommissioner John Page noted Moody had been there since World War II\nand recommended following staff recommendation\nand recommending denial.\nHe made that a motion.\nGLPC voted unanimously to recommend denial.\n<\/p>\n

\nHere is a\n\nvideo playlist<\/a>\nof all the Planning Commission and County Commission session items\nabout this rezoning and zoning code change to date.\nFinal action on this zoning code change TEX-2012-02 is scheduled\nfor the Lowndes County Commission\nat its Regular Session of Tuesday 11 December 2012,\nwith a Work Session on Monday 10 December 2012.\nThere is no agenda posted for either of those yet,\nbut remember last time they tabled the rezoning case REZ-2012-17\nto their December session, so that will probably be on the same agenda.\n<\/p>\n

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