The
annexation request for The Gardens was withdrawn
(perhaps because
the Lowndes County Commission had already explored
options for modifying it or just not annexing it),
and the
rezoning for the Brookhaven apartments was very unpopular,
both for Lake Park, plus
a Zoning Ordinance change.
The twin
Hahira cases to
rezone
and then
annex
a lot on the east edge of town sailed through.
No city of Valdosta cases this time.
Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos.
Continue reading
The twin
Hahira cases are to
rezone
and then
annex
a lot on the east edge of town.
No city of Valdosta cases this time,
but three each for
Lowndes County
and
Lake Park.
One of the Lake Park cases is
a Zoning Ordinance change.
Here’s the agenda, which arrived as a PDF of an image, which I have OCRed into HTML.
Continue readingGreater 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 AvenueMonday, March 31, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Mostly single-family rezonings this time, plus one 15 acre
planned development request.
Here’s the agenda, supplied by an informant. This one came as a real PDF, permitted extracting the text, so that’s an improvement over last month. Too bad about that “the expense” for the county to put it on the web in the first place.
Greater Lowndes Planning CommissionContinue readingLowndes 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 AvenueMonday, February 24, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Make pipeline companies answer questions, motivate implementation of safety standards, announce FERC Scoping meetings, and enforce reasonable local zoning restrictions: these are things local governments can do, and NTSB and FERC say they should do most of them. Gilchrist County Commission in Trenton, Florida has done most of them, and plans to continue doing more. The Lowndes County Commission and the Valdosta City Council still can, too, plus all the other county and city governments along the proposed pipeline path, and their statewide county and city government associations. Will our local elected officials represent we the people?
There were
Real questions at the Gilchrist County Commission meeting in Trenton, Florida Monday.
Two hours of first questions from a citizens committee with
Spectra’s reps expected to answer right there in front of everybody,
then questions from locals and people from many counties around,
including attorneys representing landowners and other county
commissions cross-examining Spectra on the spot. The Chairman of the
Gilchrist County Commission said there was a general opinion among
the populace that they were asking specific questions and getting
only general answers. Congratulations, Chairman, Commission, staff,
Committee, and everyone who asked questions for showing the world
how it’s done, and for exposing Spectra’s evasions to public
scrutiny.
This is in sharp contrast to Continue reading
Yet another
Dollar General,
two
small rezonings in Lowndes County,
a
business office
in Valdosta,
and a proposed
Historical Overlay District.
Here’s the agenda, supplied by an informant. It came as PDF of an image, so I OCRed it to get this text. But why should any citizen have to do that? Oh, right, “the expense”.
Greater Lowndes Planning CommissionContinue readingLowndes 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 AvenueMonday, January 27, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meets tonight at 5:30PM,
but there’s no agenda posted anywhere online.
At
the same meeting at which he asserted
“we have broadband”,
and
“transparency is not a problem”
County Chairman Bill Slaughter said the county doesn’t publish
agendas or minutes for the Planning Commission because of
“the expense”.
“the expense”
v.
“When officials act like
they have something to hide,
they often do”
I suppose I don’t know much about this Internet stuff, so maybe somebody can explain it to me: what’s the big expense in publishing the GLPC agendas and minutes the same way the county publishes its own agendas and minutes? Yet if you search for the Planning Commission on the county’s website, all you find is its name in a list of Boards, Agencies & Commissions; tonight’s meeting is not even listed in the county’s online calendar.
For that matter, what would be the big expense in posting the entire agenda packets, like for example Continue reading
A county
no bigger than Lowndes County has
agendas and minutes online for
its Board of Commissioners, Board of Health, Local Emergency Planning Committee,
Board of Adjustment,
Board of Elections,
Social Services Board,
and yes, its Planning Board.
Why can Nash County, NC afford this yet Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter
says Lowndes County can’t afford to put agendas and minutes online for
the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission?
And if a county can require a solar farm to follow stormwater management
and numerous other regulations, why can’t a county require a natural
gas pipeline to follow local regulations?
It can, if its elected officials actually stand up for their citizens.
And why can Nash County, quite a bit north of Lowndes County,
install solar farm after solar farm while there are none in Lowndes County?
The Nash County online documents also include the details of what the various boards were considering, such as in the Agenda and Minutes of the Nash County Planning Board 21 October 2013, which include this item:
- Conditional Use Permit Request CU-130901 (Previously Tabled Item).
Made by Chris Killenberg With Community Energy Solar on Behalf of Castalia Solar LLC to Develop a Solar Farm on an Approximately 22.91 Acre Portion of Two Tracts Located on the West Side of N NC Highway 58 and South of NC Highway 56 in the A1 Agricultural Zoning District.
And not just the agenda item, also extended discussion in the meeting, including: Continue reading
How would you as a citizen have known
Nottinghill
is on the real agenda
they’re using right now in the Planning Commission meeting?
What if you wanted to speak for or against in that public hearing?
The one in the last post wasn’t the real agenda,
and even some people who work for local governments didn’t know that.
Here is the real agenda, photographed by Gretchen just now, followed by text version. It also contains an additional item about election of a new Chair and Vice Chair.
Update: I had the date of this meeting wrong in the transcription; fixed now to November 25, 2013. If the county published the agendas and minutes of the Planning Commission, nobody would have to be transcribing by hand….
Greater Lowndes Planning CommissionLowndes 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 AvenueMonday, November 25, 2013* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
CALL TO ORDER, INVOCATION, PLEDGE
CITY OF HAHIRA CASE:
FINAL ACTION by the City of Hahira Mayor-Council
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Hahira City Hall, 102 S. Church Street, Hahira, Georgia
7:30 p.m.
- HA-2013-05 Wendy Black
Property Location: 7495 Union Road
Request for Variance from Section 10-6 of the Hahira Zoning Ordinance pertaining to size requirements for signsCITY OF VALDOSTA CASES:
FINAL ACTION by the City of Valdosta Mayor-Council
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Valdosta City Hall, 216 E. Central Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
5:30 p.m.
- CU-2013-04 Cynthia McDougle
Property Location: 808 Bethune Street
Request for a Conditional Use Permit to establish a personal care home for 4-6 residents in a Single-Family Residential (R10) zoning district- CU-2013-05 Jessie Marshall, III
Property Location: 625 East Gordon Street
Request for a Conditional Use Permit to establish a church in a Single-Family Residential (R-6) zoning district- CU-2013-06 Theresa Patterson
Property Location: 108 East Adair Street
Request for a Conditional Use Permit to establish a personal care home for 4-6 residents in a Residential Professional (R-P) zoning district- VA-2013-16 Mac Mackey
Property Location: 103 B Avenue
Request to rezone 2.2 acres from Manufacturing/Distribution (M-2) to Wholesale Light Industrial (M-1)
LOWNDES COUNTY CASES:
FINAL ACTION by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex
Commission Chambers, 2nd Floor
327 North Ashley Strcet, Valdosta, Georgia
5:30 p.m.
- REZ-2013-11 Nottinghill
Location: Orr Road, Valdosta, Georgia
Request to rezone 14.99 acres from R-A (Residential Agricultural) to R-21 (Medium Density Residential)
*Note: This case was tabled from the GLPC’s September 29th and October 28th, 2013, regular mtg.
REZ-2013-11 Nottinghill was tabled by GLPC 30 September 2013 and again 28 October 2013.
REZ-2013-11 was also tabled by the Lowndes County Commission 8 October 2013 and 12 November 2013, specifically until the County Commission’s 10 December 2013 meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS
Attendance policy for appointed Boards
- Election of 2014 GLPC Chair and Vice Chair
- GLPC 2014 Meeting Schedule
ADJOURNMENT
-jsq
I guessed wrong:
Nottinghill is not on the agenda.
Yet the County Commission decided at its November meeting to hear
Nottinghill at its 10 December 2013 meeting, which will be without
the Planning Commission ever having discussed this item.
How is that right?
If Planning Commission agendas were made public some days before
the meetings, the public could point out things like this in time
for them to be fixed.
REZ-2013-11 Nottinghill was tabled by GLPC
30 September 2013
and again
28 October 2013.
REZ-2013-11 was also tabled by the Lowndes County Commission
8 October 2013
and
12 November 2013, specifically
until the County Commission’s 10 December 2013 meeting.
So if the Planning Commission doesn’t discuss Nottinghill tonight,
the County Commission can vote on it in December without the
Planning Commission ever having discussed it.
Here’s the agenda for tonight, supplied by an informant about an hour ago. Will anyone from the county even show up, since without Nottinghill there are no county cases on the agenda? Continue reading
Why so secretive, planning board that recommends on
issues that affect citizens all over Lowndes County?
Where is your agenda for your meeting at 5:30 PM today?
Sure, Gretchen only asked for it today, but why
does LAKE have to wheedle it out of somebody?
Why don’t you or the county publish it so the
public can see?
Do you, the affected public, agree with
Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter that
transparency is not a problem?
We can guess the proposed Nottinghill subdivision will be back,
since it got tabled (again) at GLPC’s
October meeting.
Also probably the
attendance policy, since last time the GLPC Chairman wasn’t there
and only 6 of 11 Commissioners showed up.
But what else?
And why should have to guess what public business a public board
is taking up tonight?
Why do we have this Planning Commission if it doesn’t take its
responsibilities to the citizens of this county seriously enough
to show up or to tell us what it’s doing?
Lowndes County doesn’t even have today’s meeting on its public calendar. The City of Valdosta does; here’s Valdosta’s GLPC listing for today: Continue reading