County rezones once rejected US 84 property
Oct. 4—VALDOSTA — A year after returning to the drawing board due to a prior denial, O'Neal Properties received a unanimous rezone approval from the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners at a recent meeting.
The request was for a change in zoning at 2547 U.S. Highway 84 from R-21 (medium density residential) to C-H (highway commercial) zoning for speculative commercial marketing.
Gary O'Neal said in his letter of intent to the county that he planned to sell miscellaneous items "automobiles, boats and farm equipment" as he has done since he purchased the property in 1999.
At the meeting for the initial request on July 13, 2021, J.D. Dillard, county planning and zoning director, said that the technical review committee found the request "inconsistent with existing land use patterns" but had no additional objectionable comments, and the Planning Commission recommended approval in a 7-2 vote.
During the public hearing portion last year, residents expressed concern about the subject property's reputation as the "eyesore on 84," increased traffic and decreasing property values over a rezone.Brent Stewart, who opposed the rezoning, claimed the Georgia Department of Transportation has issues with the rezoning. When questioned by Commissioner Scottie Orenstien, Mike Fletcher, county engineer, said he had not spoken with GDOT regarding the rezone.
The issues, along with an ongoing code enforcement case regarding property violations, caused Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter to break a tie by voting against rezoning last year. At the September 2022 meeting, Commissioner Demarcus Marshall questioned the property's code violations, and Slaughter confirmed that while the petitioner has resolved some of the violations, it had not handled all of them and it still has an open case with Code Enforcement.
As of July 29, the code infractions are: — Semi-trailer. — All agricultural items: implements, tractors, scraps, chemicals, drums, etc. — Construction type materials, scrap metal, appliances, culvert and other pipes, hoses and posts. — Pull-behind vehicle trailers. — Numerous vehicle and tractor tires, some of which hold stagnant water. — Trash and debris including kitchen trash, plastic bottles, aluminum drink cans, paper and cardboard items. — Tools scattered by shop. — Buckets, trash cans and other containers full of stagnant water. — Overgrown grasses and weeds, particularly those around the debris, vehicles and structures. — Chemicals, chemical containers, propane tanks, fuel containers and oil buckets. — Limbs, tree pieces and all other overgrown vegetation. — Seven listed junked vehicles (no license plates, tags or appear inoperable).
Dillard said the Planning Commission still recommended approval at its Aug. 29 meeting in a 5-1 vote despite still finding it inconsistent with the land area.
Bill Langdale, O'Neal's attorney, assured commissioners that O'Neal has and will continue to clean up the area and he pointed out that the decision wouldn't have any impact on the code infraction as the property would have to be brought up to code either way.
Lonnie O'Neal, Highway 84 resident, spoke in favor of the request, stating the area wouldn't be ideal for raising a family anyway and commercial property makes sense.
While no one spoke against the request during the public hearing portion this time, homeowners still stood in opposition to the request, garnering 80 signatures against while the supporting side only had 16 signatures.
The opposing petition stated that "to approve this request would be like putting a Dollar General in Kinderlou Forrest."
