{"id":760,"date":"2012-06-13T18:42:05","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T22:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/buffer-variance-var-2012-07-copeland-zboa-2011-06-05.html"},"modified":"2012-06-13T18:42:05","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T22:42:05","slug":"buffer-variance-var-2012-07-copeland-zboa-2011-06-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/buffer-variance-var-2012-07-copeland-zboa-2011-06-05.html","title":{"rendered":"Buffer variance? VAR-2012-07 Copeland @ ZBOA 2011-06-05"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"http:\/\/i1.ytimg.com\/vi\/PTQ8Ntb2zdc\/default.jpg\"><\/a>\nA controversial case made its way from the Planning Commission for a\nrezoning recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a buffer variance\ndecision,\nall before it reached the Lowndes County Commission for a decision\non the rezoning.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nValdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA)\nhad one Lowndes County case at its\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/video-playlist-zboa-2011-06-05.html\">\n5 June 2012 meeting,<\/a>\na buffer variance request,\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PTQ8Ntb2zdc&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=6&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nVAR-2012-07.<\/a>\nRelated aspects of this same property had already been heard by\nthe Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) on 21 May 2012\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/copeland-rezoning-rez-2012-09-glpc-2012-05-21.html\">\nas the controversial rezoning case REZ-2012-09 Copeland.<\/a>\nZBOA member Nancy Hobby recused herself from VAR-2012-07.\nZBOA discussed it at great length and eventually\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WTWRm8gv4I8&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=16&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\ndecided to table it.<\/a>\nZBOA, unlike GLPC, does actually make binding decisions,\nbut chose not to do so at this meeting for this case.\n<\/p>\n<H3>Presenting the Case<\/H3>\n<ul>\n<li><a name=\"Carmella_Braswell\"><\/a>\nCarmella Braswell, Lowndes County Zoning Administrator,\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PTQ8Ntb2zdc&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=5&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\npresented the case,<\/a>\nsaying the property owner, John A. Copeland,\nwanted a buffer variance for his property at 3258 Loch Laurel Road.\nThe applicant and four neighbors spoke for the buffer variance,\nbut one neighbor spoke against, and others had hired locally famous\nlawyer Bill Nijem to speak against.\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"GLPC\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ndzn0Ps_Yzo&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=6&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nCarmella Braswell noted<\/a>\nthat GLPC had moved\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/copeland-rezoning-rez-2012-09-glpc-2012-05-21.html\">\nits meeting ahead a week<\/a>,\nbut staff had managed to meet statutory requirements.\nZBOA wanted to know what they were buffering against.\nAnswer seemed to be one single-family residence and a pasture.\nMs. Braswell said staff had considered buffering according to\nthe zoning statutes, and there were for example churches nearby,\nplus the existing buffering was mostly on other landowners&#8217;\nproperty, and the applicant would be required to plant his own\nvegetative buffer, plus staff recommended a six foot privacy fence.\nDave Kirk noted the abuse of the property had been occuring since 1967.\nMs. Braswell said that was unbenownst to county zoning.\nAlso there was no current business license on the property,\nnot since 2007.\nGretchen Quarterman asked how long the residents to the north had been there:\nbefore or after 2007.\nMs. Braswell said well before 2007, and they were present at the meeting.\n(See <a href=\"#Hiers\">Gail Hiers<\/a> below.)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<H3>Speaking For<\/H3>\n\n<!--more-->\n<ul>\n<li><a name=\"John_A_Copeland\"><\/a>\nThe applicant,\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ChrliTnQxF0&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=7&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nJohn A. Copeland of 3264 Loch Laurel Road, spoke for.<\/a>\nHe said he started his business in 1967, built a bigger building\nand moved into it in 1981.\nHe said he was no relation to the other Mr. Copeland.\nA long history of the use of the land ensued,\nand the applicant said there were no complaints during any of those uses.\nHe said he&#8217;s out of money and he needs to do something,\nso he was asking for rezoning.\nLaverne Gaskins asked about the business license.\nHe said he made a mistake.\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Alan_Davis\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0j356bP9bNs&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=8&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nAlan Davis of 3284 Loch Laurel Road spoke for.<\/a>\nHe said his property adjoins, and the guys in the applicant&#8217;s\nshop helped him repair things.\nDavis said he had no problem with a fence on the north side,\nwhich was what ZBOA was considering.\nHe said the current uses of the subject property\nwere less noisy than Valdosta Airport, which is a training location\nfor Moody Air Force Base.\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Charles_Miles\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PfJ-bUt04BQ&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=9&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nCharles Miles of 3274 Loch Laurel spoke for.<\/a>\nHe said the subject shop was totally visible from his back yard,\nand he supported his neighbor in every respect.\nHowever, he didn&#8217;t want a privacy fence on his side,\nand he also didn&#8217;t understand why one would be required only on the north side.\nPlus like Alan Davis said, Valdosta Airport is noisier.\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Norman_Bush\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AkDlQUZ-s0w&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=10&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nNorman Bush 3140 Loch Laurel Road spoke for.<\/a>\nHe bought the north end of the old Copeland farm,\nand John A. Copeland bought the south end.\nHe didn&#8217;t see why anyone would complain of diesels around there,\nsince there were many.\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Kevin_Copeland\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZUzEX-hxHtw&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=11&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nKevin Copeland of 3208 Loch Laurel Road spoke for.<\/a>\nHe said John Copeland is his father, and he worked for him for years.\nRegarding noise, 10-20 years ago they did a lot more work and made\na lot more noise, starting before daylight and until after dark.\nWhatever noise is going on there is a lot less than was before, he said.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<H3>Speaking Against<\/H3>\n<ul>\n<li><a name=\"Nijem\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=56mW4lYbLDA&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=12&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nWilliam Nijem, &#8220;Mr. Robert&#8217;s son-in-law,&#8221; spoke against.<\/a>\nWilliam doesn&#8217;t live there, nor does Mr. Robert Copeland,\nwho recently acquired the property just north of the applicant&#8217;s property,\nbut actually lives across the road from the applicant.\nHe also left ZBOA a packet about other property owners who oppose\nboth the rezoning and the buffer variance.\nAmong other things, they have horses, and they want them protected.\nAlso there are questions about hazardous waste disposal.\nThey don&#8217;t want to force anybody out of business,\nbut this is residential agricultural property, not commercial.\nZBOA vice-chair Orrenstein pointed out those issues were with zoning,\nnot with the buffer.\nNijem said that was true, and raised the question of why the variance\nwas being requested before the rezoning.\nAnd if the property was rezoned, he would definitely be in favor of a buffer.\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=E30s-7tzvl0&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=13&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nContinuing<\/a>,\nNijem said the nuisance next door had been ongoing since his client had\nowned the property, although there had been no business on the subject\nproperty at the time (2009).\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Gail_Hiers\"><\/a>\n<a name=\"Hiers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=J2mptx-tP7o&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=14&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nGail Hiers,<\/a> whose family owns the property\nat 3466 Brown Road that adjoins the subject property,\nsaid she can see that property,\nand it has been used for truck repair, now semi-truck repair.\nShe said it was no longer a continued family business;\nit&#8217;s turning into a commercial business;\nsemi lights are higher than the barrier ZBOA was considering;\nand the trucks roar while they idle; plus\nthey come in down both Brown Road and Loch Laurel Road,\nwith more noise.\nShe said she would prefer ZBOA grant no variance,\nasked for the maximum possible barrier.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<H3>Discussion and Vote<\/H3>\n<ul>\n<li><a name=\"Petition\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Vz8I-TBhlOI&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=15&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nZBOA had in hand a petition for,<\/a> with 29 signatures.\nHowever, it was in favor of the rezoning, and ZBOA\nwas considering a buffer variance.\nCarmella Braswell, Lowndes County Zoning Administrator,\nclarified that staff recommends the variance with four conditions,\ncontingent upon success of the rezoning (at the Lowndes County Commission).\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Vote\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WTWRm8gv4I8&#038;list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D&#038;index=16&#038;feature=plpp_video\">\nDave Kirk noted<\/a> that the abuse of the current zoning\nof the property had been going on for years,\nbut the neighborhood had changed, and that should also be\ntaken into account.\nLaverne Gaskins said she thought any ZBOA decision\nwould be premature, because the objections she was hearing\nwere to the zoning, not so much to the buffer.\nCarmella Braswell said her understanding was that\nthe applicant was actively looking to lease the property\nuntil after the impending rezoning vote at the County Commission.\nLaverne Gaskins made a motion to table to the next regularly scheduled\nZBOA meeting; it passed unanimously.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D\">\na video playlist:<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLD0FE7E07032DF19D\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<small>\nVAR-2012-07 Copeland\n<br>\nRegular Session, Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA),\n<br>\nValdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 5 June 2011.\n<br>\nVideo by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).\n<\/small>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n-jsq\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A controversial case made its way from the Planning Commission for a rezoning recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a buffer variance decision, all before it reached the Lowndes County Commission for a decision on the rezoning. Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA) had one Lowndes County case at its 5 June [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,571,21,1341],"tags":[2322,2323,2324,2326,8701,10,8702,12,7,4,255,2325,6,2320,8826],"class_list":["post-760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-moody-afb","category-planning","category-zboa","tag-5-june-2011","tag-buffer","tag-commercial","tag-fence","tag-georgia","tag-gretchen-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-regular-session","tag-rezoning","tag-sound","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-lowndes-county-zoning-board-of-appeals","tag-zboa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-cg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}