Tag Archives: development

South Losing Trees

Doyle Rice writes in USA Today about U.S. losing trees faster than other heavily forested nations:
Out of seven of the most heavily forested nations on Earth, the United States experienced a greater percentage of forest loss from 2000 to 2005 than did any of the other countries, a study said Monday.
But what part of the U.S.?
The one part of the contiguous USA that experienced the most forest loss was the Southeast, a large chunk of which lost more than 10% of its forest cover from 2000 to 2005, the year for which the most recent data were available.
Compared to what? Continue reading →

Sea Island Co. Goes Bust

What happens when you build an economy on real estate:
The once-vaunted Sea Island Co. is awash in debt, badly behind on its loan payments and desperately trying to find a buyer for its five-star portfolio that once seemed immune to the economic whims that batter regular folk.

The company’s downward spiral is a stunning tale of over-borrowing and over-expansion that collided with the worst recession since World War II, a downturn that has pummeled the luxury resort market across the nation.

OK, so a big developer goes belly-up; who cares? Continue reading →

Hahira Discovers Planning Overlays

Hahira just put a three week moratorium on development from its only stoplight west along U.S. 122 to Interstate 75: Hahira Gateway LLC land in Hahira
The new development regulations were proposed in light of plans for the Gateway to Hahira project, which include a Harveys Supermarket. While the developer for the project has promised that its design will match the integrity of the small town, downtown atmosphere, there are no regulatory provisions in place to ensure this.

“During a previous work session, council members learned that there could be design overlay guidelines adopted along that corridor,” Sumner said. “Therefore, regulations are being developed and will go to the planning commission before they are presented to the council for consideration. This moratorium (or hold) just ensures that we have time to adopt the guidelines at the November meeting before anything is done along the gateway corridor.”

Or they could just trust the developers of a project bigger than downtown Hahira that it will preserve the Mayberry character of Hahira. The Lowndes County Real Estate database shows that Hahira Gateway LLC owns much more land north of 122 than it does in the angle south of 122.

As the developers say, Continue reading →

Where and why flooding happens

Michael E. Kanell and Ty Tagami, writing in the AJC about More than 16,000 flood-related claims filed in Atlanta area, quote Robert Klein, professor of risk and insurance at Georgia State University:
Moreover, the maps that set out those high-risk areas are “woefully inadequate,” he said.

Maps should be recalibrated to account for continued development and sprawl, he said: destruction of trees, paving of roads and parking lots, addition of new homes to older areas and landscaping all change the way water drains — or doesn’t drain.

And maybe somebody should do something about that continued development and sprawl.