Tag Archives: Agriculture

3 small rezonings: Dasher, Lowndes, Valdosta @ GLPC 2015-08-31

Parcel 0120A 082 An automobile repair shop in Dasher, a agricultural rezoning in Lowndes County, and an office rezoning in Valdosta, in the GLPC agenda that appeared on the county’s website after Gretchen called to inquire.

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, August 31, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Agriculture, Internet access, and Transportation driving Development @ LCC 2015-08-24

New County Extension Agent Jenna Kicklighter will introduce herself at Monday morning’s Work Session,, they’ll consider a a Beer and Wine License for Dollar General, a new secondary Internet Bandwidth Contract with Mediacom, and the US 41 N widening has already spawned further road paving to promote development:

Lowndes County Engineering has received a proposal Continue reading →

Land is not just money: appeal tax valuations today

Appeal today if you think there’s more to land (or business) and woods and fields and streams than money, unlike the Tax Assessors, whose revaluation would drive development into agricultural areas of the county where it doesn’t belong, while avoiding populated areas such as the south side of Valdosta. We can expect pipeline companies and utilities from other states to think nothing of pillaging our lands for their profit. We shouldn’t expect that of our neighbors whom we elected Tax Asssessors. If you have affection for your land, your county, your neighborhood, today’s the deadline to appeal your valuation. And there will be an election later.

As Wendell Berry said,

Whatever has happened in what economists call “the economy,” it is generally true that the land economy has been discounted or ignored.

Are the Tax Assessors boomers? Are you a sticker? Wendell Berry explains: Continue reading →

Monday August 10th deadline to appeal tax valuations –VLCoC

Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce members just got a message from Bruce Allred, Government Affairs Council Chairman, saying:

MONDAY IS DEADLINE TO APPEAL PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS!

You can look up your property on the Tax Assessors’ website: www.qpublic.net/ga/lowndes.

See also the LAKE Videos: Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04.

That Chamber message includes this useful information: Continue reading →

Videos: Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04

See for yourself the Tax Assessor response to local landowners, in these LAKE videos of last night’s meeting at Farm Bureau. Do you think there’s a problem? If so, what do you think we should do to fix it?

The attendees appointed Gretchen to take notes. Here are her notes, followed by the videos.

Accessibility is not about access, it’s about geographic location…. That was done by one of our appraisers on staff. —Chief Appraiser Silas Hrobar

Rural and commercial land owners got surprises in the mail in July when they received the updated assessments of their properties. Lowndes County Assessors engaged a contractor last year to help with the reassessments of approximately 10,000 properties. Rural properties were categorized as small (under 20 acres) and large (over 20 acres) but complaints were the same, inconsistent and confusing application of criteria.

On Tuesday evening, Farm Bureau hosted Continue reading →

Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04

Are Bill Gates and subdivisions really more important than agriculture or rivers or public transportation? Come to Farm Bureau tomorrow evening and find out what’s going on with the rural land revaluation. facebook event.

When: 7PM, Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Where: 3296 Greystone Way, Valdosta, GA, (229) 242-7876

By: Farm Bureau board member Buddy Coleman called this meeting.

What: Compare the Comprehensive Plan to this revaluation here (PDF).

Sprawl: sprawling residential growth is a certain ticket to fiscal ruin (Or at least big tax increases). PDF of the report by UGA Prof. Jeffrey H. Dorfman Lowndes County paid for in 2007, The Local Government Fiscal Impacts of Land Use in Lowndes County.

Who: At least some of the Lowndes County Tax Assessors Continue reading →

Videos: MAZ tabled + 2 small rezonings @ GLPC 2015-07-27

Once County Planner Jason Davenport admitted the MAZ ULDC text amendments weren’t ready (as he had indicated might happen at the same morning’s County Commission Work Session), and the Planning Commission recommended tabling it 4:1, the meeting was very brief, even with the SGRC Transportation presentation (which they weirdly heard after adjourning the meeting, even though it was on the agenda). The David Brown Melody Lane rezoning and the Ron Borders Bemiss Road rezoning flew through to 5:0 unanimous recommendations, with three Planning Commissioners absent.

The county rezoning isn’t on the County Commission agenda yet, and they will probably table the ULDC MAZ item at its meeting 5:30 PM tonight.

See the Continue reading →

MAZ again + 2 small rezonings @ GLPC 2015-07-27

Planning Commission agenda is finally on county’s website after this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session, which included an item saying “The current public hearing/meeting timeline is as follows: July 27th GLPC and July 28th LCBOC.” Is it a public meeting if there’s no public agenda until a few hours before?

Yes, the notorious TXT-2015-01 Moody Activity Zoning Districts (MAZ) ULDC text amendments are back on the GLPC agenda, along with two small rezonings. Plus an SGRC Transportation presentation.

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, July 27, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Rural tax revaluation: Bill Gates and subdivisions more important than agriculture and public transportation?

Does this rural land revaluation map resemble the Comprehensive Plan Future Development map? Tax Assessors: Rural Land Accessibility Codes Why not? And why were rivers and public transportation not considered either by the Lowndes County Tax Assessors while tracts with road frontage were considered the “highest market area” and land purchases by Bill Gates were considered “benchmark sales” instrumental in pricing large tracts?

This rural land revaluation is yet another vehicle to drive development straight north into the agricultural areas of the county, not even stopping at the Withlacoochee River.

That way lies sprawl, which as Dr. Jeffrey H. Dorfman of UGA has said, “is a certain ticket to fiscal ruin* * Or at least big tax increases.”

The City of Valdosta better watch out! Much of this Continue reading →

Videos: Moody MAZ, Agriculture, Church @ GLPC 2015-06-29

At a very well attended June 29th meeting, the notorious TXT-2015-01 Moody Activity Zoning Districts (MAZ) ULDC text amendments got tabled again by the Planning Commission, but the Lowndes County Commission could take them up anyway at their meeting a month later. The Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce did oppose these changes in person (both their President and Chairman) after voting a resolution of opposition. Meanwhile, LAKE has laid out the board packet item from last time so you can get an idea of what’s going on and why, including links to the LAKE videos of the previous GLPC and Lowndes County Commission meetings where these MAZ changes were discussed.

REZ-2015-12 Martha Russ wants to Continue reading →