In last month’s Planning Commission meeting we learned that developers get agenda items in PDF; yet the county still doesn’t publish agendas or minutes, much less agenda packets, online. Nottinghill (on Orr rather than Cat Creek Road this time) was tabled. Norwood (on Springhill Drive in Valdosta) got recommended denial by 5-4 and was later withdrawn, plus a a Hahira variance (5 to 3 against), a Valdosta conditional use permit (unanimously recommended), a Dasher zoning text amendment (unanimously recommended), and three other rezonings in Lowndes County, on New Statenville Highway, Whitewater Road @ Williams Road, and Barrington Drive @ Bemiss Road.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Monday, September 30, 2013* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

CALL TO ORDER, INVOCATION, PLEDGE

Chair wasn’t there yet, so Vice-Chair Diondra R. Nichols read the boilerplate (advisory body, say who you are, etc.).

1. Approval of the Minutes: July 29, 2013

   Chair Johnnie Ball arrived just before approval of the minutes. They approved both sets of minutes unanimously.

2. Approval of the Minutes: August 26, 2013

CITY OF HAHIRA CASE:

FINAL ACTION by the City of Hahira Mayor-Council
Thursday, September 5, 2013
[date is incorrect]
Hahira City Hall, 102 S. Church Street, Hahira, Georgia
7:30 p.m.

3. HA-2013-03 Gerald Light
   Property Location: Gerald Light
   Request Variance from the maximum culumative square footage of accessor buildings on a residential lot.

   This got bumped to later in the meeting because City Planner Matt Martin wasn’t there yet.

   Later they grilled the only speaker for, Gerald Light, for ten minutes. Nobody spoke against. Commissioners didn’t see any hardship (required for the variance) and voted 5 to 3 to recommend denial.

CITY OF VALDOSTA CASES:

FINAL ACTION by the City of Valdosta Mayor-Council
Thursday, September 5, 2013
[date is incorrect]
Valdosta City Hall, 216 E. Central Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
5:30 p.m.

4. CU-20l3-03 Brian & Laurie Colbert
   Property Location: 1110 North Patterson Street
   Request Conditional Use Permit (CLIP) for a proposed Event Center in Community Commercial (C-C) zoning.

   Historic neighborhood. Request was so complicated it took Matt Martin five minutes to present it, including additional late handouts. Commissioners asked questions for several minutes. The applicants spoke for, saying they had talked to their neighbors but had nothing in writing yet. Nobody spoke against. Unanimous approval.

5. VA-2013-13 Norwood Land Holdings LLC
   Property Location: 2009 Springhill Drive
   Request to rezone 0.69 acres from Ofiice Professional (O-P) to Residential Professional (R-P).

   Bill Nijem spoke for on behalf of applicant; they grilled him for a long time. Nobody else spoke for. Mr. Boyt spoke against, saying he’d lived there 40 years and he had concerns about traffic and other things..

   A Mr. Chester(?) spoke against, saying the development would face his bedroom, and other concerns, such as the likelihood of college students moving in, and no amount of fence or buffer being sufficient to preserve privacy, and traffic.

   A Ms. Tharpe(?) spoke against saying the properties were near swimming pools in back yards, and with “people hanging out on their balconies, we will have no more privacy”.

   After more questions to the developer, Commission recommended denial by 5-4. Later withdrawn by applicant.

CITY OF DASHER CASE:

FINAL ACTION by the City of Dasher Mayor-Council
Monday, October 7, 2013
Dasher City Hall, 3686 US Hwy 41 South, Dasher, Georgia
6:00 p.m.

6. DA-2013-01 Text Amendment to Section 3-4 of the Dasher Zoning Ordinance
   To amend Section 3-1 of the City’s Zoning Ordinance as it pertains to maximum density in the Agricultural Use zoning district.

   Approved unanimously.

LOWNDES COUNTY CASES:

FINAL ACTION by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex
Commission Chambers, 2nd Floor
327 North Ashley Strcet, Valdosta, Georgia
5:30 p.m.

7. REZ-2013-ll Nottinghill
   Location: Orr Road, Valdosta, Georgia
   Request to rezone 14.99 acres from R-A (Residential Agricultural) to R-21 (Medium Density Residential)

   Tabled at request of the applicant, to be brought back at the 28 October 2013 meeting.

8. REZ-2013-12 Barrington
   Location: Barrington Drive/Bemiss Road/Sara Road, Valdosta, Georgia
   Request to amend an approved Planned Development (Single- Family & Multi- Family Development)

   Applicant wanted to increase the height of the development.

9. REZ—2013-13 Lester Family Trust
   Location: Whitewater Road, Williams Road & Belotville Road, Valdosta, Georgia.
   Request to rezone ~868.7 acres from R-1 (Low Density Residential), R-A (Residential Agricultural), E-A (Estate Agricultural) & R-10 (Suburban Density Residential) to E-A (Estate Agricultural)

   Georgia Power owns a right of way: not an easement; they own it outright.

10. REZ-2013-14 Fletcher
    Location: New Statenville Highway, Valdosta, Georgia.
    Request to rezone 3.26 acres fi’om E-A (Estate Agricultural) to R-A (Residential Agricultural)

    Nobody spoke for or against. The Commission recommended the rezoning unanimously.

OTHER BUSINESS

11. Attendance policy for appointed Boards

    City Planner Matt Martin discovered Commissioners hadn’t gotten the agenda item on that, so it was deferred to the next meeting. You know, if agenda items were on the county’s website, there’s be no need for Commissioners to dig around in their mailboxes to find them.

    County Planner Jason Davenport asked if Commissioners would like agenda items in PDF format. One Commissioner wanted to be sure that wouldn’t preclude still getting hardcopy format. Davenport said no it wouldn’t preclude that. Other Commissioners said PDF would be helpful. We already know Davenport keeps all his materials in electronic formats, because he asked me if it would be OK to send me the Notting Hill documents in PDF and other electronic formats. So why is it difficult to put those same formats on the county’s own website?

ADJOURNMENT

Here’s a video playlist:

Videos: Nottinghill tabled, Barrington, Whitewater, New Statenville + VLD * 2 + Dasher + Hahira variance
Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 30 September 2013.

-jsq

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