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
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
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
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
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
Continue reading
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
Does this
rural land revaluation map
resemble the
Comprehensive Plan Future Development map?
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
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
If we’re tired of arguing over pieces of cloth, how about we do
something about one of the main tools of racist oppression in the
U.S.? Legalize drugs, thus stopping paying for 75% of the U.S.
prison population, which is far more black than white, and is often
rented out for literally pennies.
Remember, slavery is not illegal
in the U.S., as long as it is punishment for some crime. Second clause, 13th Amendment:
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted
More black men are in jail, prison, probation, or parole now than were enslaved in 1850, as Michelle Alexander has noted. Anyone who says Continue reading
This evening, the notorious
TXT-2015-01 Moody Activity Zoning Districts (MAZ) ULDC text amendments
are back on the agenda, for decision by the Lowndes County Commission
a month later.
Usually reliable sources say the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce
will be opposing some of these changes.
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 zone to less density while REZ-2015-13 Clementine Miller wants more density. And in Valdosta CU-2015-02 Kelly Barcol wants a church in a Single-Family Residential (R-10) district.
Here’s the agenda. Continue reading
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thirty six years before Pope Francis spelled out why we all need to escape a dark hot nightmare,
and Jimmy Carter’s sunny dream is now coming true.
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