Videos: Ban passes 3:2 on Planning Commission reviewing ULDC changes @ LCC Regular 2024-07-09

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Only Commissioners Mark Wisenbaker and Clay Griner voted against prohibiting the Planning Commission from reviewing proposed amendments to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). Commissioner Scottie Orenstein made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Joyce Evants. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall also voted in favor. But if you’re a “stakeholder”, which county staff define as Chamber or Homebuilders, you’ll get special email notification and maybe sit-down meetings before ULDC changes appear before the County Commission.

[Collage @ LCC 9 July 2024]
Collage @ LCC 9 July 2024

If you’re a private citizen, you can speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, as Matthew and Debra Williams did, asking once again for the county to do something about a drainage easement draining onto their property.

Or Tara Parker, suggesting a spay and neuter program would be more effective than the new animal control building the Commissioners budgeted $10 million for. As usual, nobody answered them during the public meeting.

Everything else on the agenda passed unanimously.

Before they voted, on the ULDC changes, Gretchen Quarterman spoke in opposition, noting that they previously had ULDC text amendments in 2015 and last year, and the Planning Commission did not delay any of those. Also, if private citizens want a rezoning, they have to go through the Planning Commission first, yet this amendment means the county government does not.

Before that, Commissioner Scottie Orenstein asked about how ULDC changes would be advertised.

County Manager Paige Dukes answered, “Sir, we would still advertise the updates to the ULDC, just like we would advertise any type of rezoning. It just does not have to be advertised to go before the Planning Commission and then come to the County Commission. So we would still advertise for the ULDC like we would for anything else.”

But that’s not like anything else, because rezonings go before the Planning Commission, and have to be advertised for that.

The County Planner added, “[unintelligible] will be notified as part of a stakeholder group, similar to how we notify the Chamber, Homebuilders, of any particular amendments that might affect certain groups, they will still be notified and people provide input.”

So the county staff get to decide what might affect certain groups.

In the Work Session the previous morning, he said the Chamber and the Homebuilders Association get “a standard email, and any potential sit-down meetings.”

So the Chamber and the Homebuilders get special access that the taxpayers and voters do not.

On June 26, 2023, County Manager Paige Dukes talked about “stakeholder meetings” with “the development community.”

Were you invited to those meetings?

On January 24, 2023, the County Manager talked about an upcoming meeting with the Homebuilders Association, whom she referred to as “stakeholders in and customers of” the new Lowndes County permitting office. She did not mention citizens as stakeholders or customers.

On July 10, 2023, the County Planner said about a previous set of ULDC text amendments, “In addition to the Planning Commission, the amendments have also been shared with the Homebuilders Association, as our largest group of stakeholders, we’d like for them to be able to give us some feedback.”

The County Manager and County Planner’s idea of stakeholders is not what is in the 2021 Joint Comprehensive Plan Update, which lists “Joint Planning Commission” second only to “The local governments’ elected officials and staff.” It does list “The general public” dead last, but at least we are in there.

  1. Community Involvement
    1. Stakeholders were identified. These included:
      • The local governments’ elected officials and staff
      • Joint Planning Commission
      • Local educational institutions (Lowndes County Board of Education, Valdosta State University, Wiregrass College)
      • The Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce
      • Lowndes County Development Authority
      • Public safety departments, including police, fire, and the Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency
      • WWALS Watershed Coalition
      • Valdosta Regional Airport
      • South Georgia Regional Library
      • Local businesses and industries
      • The general public

That list is shorter than the one in the 2016 version of the Comprehensive Plan. Among those omitted in 2021 were Valdosta Main Street, Moody Air Force Base, South Georgia Medical Center, Valdosta City Schools, Lowndes County HIstorical Society Museum, Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, and Local nonprofit organizations.

[II. Community Involvement, III. Identification of Stakeholders]
II. Community Involvement, III. Identification of Stakeholders
PDF

It’s curious especially that Moody AFB was omitted, considering that the county has taken over both Moody’s wastewater plant and golf course, and the County Manager was absent from the previous day’s Work Session because she was at a change of command ceremony at Moody.

LAKE may no longer be considered a stakeholder, but we still can file open records requests and publish the results.

In her Reports in Tuesday’s Regular Session, the County Manager talked about tax assessments and mentioned that Chief Appraiser Lisa Bryant would be speaking in a Commercial Property Tax Process Forum at the Historic Lowndes County Courthouse on July 18th, 8:30-9:30 AM.

[Commercial Property Tax Process Forum 2024-07-18]
Commercial Property Tax Process Forum 2024-07-18

Curiously, I cannot find any mention of this event on lowndescounty.com. The only public posting I see is on facebook on July 10 by the Chamber. That’s the day after the County Commission meeting and by one of the “stakeholders”.

She also said One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL) on July 17 is kicking off a housing study on a contract with Georgia Tech to look at housing inventory and community needs to deliver to the county and its cities. A tip-off session will be held 2:30 PM at University Room at VSU. I do not see any public announcement of this meeting.

She said Lowndes County has been approved by GA-EPD for expansion of its Land Application Site (LAS), i.e., its sewage sprayfield. There will be a staff meeting next Thursday, which is July 18. She said to the Commissioners that if they wanted to be there she would give them further information. Nothing about the public being invited.

She asked for an executive session to discuss real estate. They did that after the end of the public meeting.

Here are links to each LAKE video, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, the agenda and board packet, the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting, and the Board Packet for that Planning Commission meeting.

Here’s a LAKE video playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiFc-NW6UU-JNvCggT-vi-kv


Videos: ULDC text amendments, small rezoning, and liquor license @ LCC Regular 2024-07-08
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, July 9, 2024.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

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Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
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