VALDOSTA — The City of Valdosta wants answers on how Lowndes County calculated a reduction in construction fees for Packaging Corporation of America (PCA).

Mayor John Fretti addressed the fee changes at city council’s Tuesday work session.

The fees are assessed by an inter-governmental department, which bases the fees on a scale outlined in an ordinance, Fretti said.

The department stated that the company should be assessed $446,650 for construction permits and an additional 25 percent for a plan review fee for a total of $558,000.

The county proposed charging the company $7,895.

Today the City of Valdosta will send Lowndes County a letter of dispute in reference to the fees. The letter will not take issue on the amount but rather how the amount was calculated, Fretti said.

The intergovernmental agreement regarding the department outlines that any adjustment of fees will be discussed among all government entities represented in the agreement, Fretti said.

Once the Letter of Dispute is sent, the parties will have 10 days to meet and discuss the matter, he said.

“Someone was asleep at the switch when they thought they could do this alone,” Fretti said.

The Development Department operates from funds generated by fees and is currently operating in a deficit, Fretti said.

Robert Yost, District 6, then questioned how the deficit is resolved if fees are reduced or not collected.

A 2004 Local Intergovernmental Agreement states that the funds will come out of the general fund of the governments involved in the department 50/50, Fretti said.

That means that tax payers will then be subsidizing the department, he said.

When the agreement was revised in 2006 that language was removed, Fretti said, but the supplementing of the budget was reportedly understood as a still standing agreement.

Yost said that even though the Letter of Dispute does not take issue with the monetary amount of the fee, he requested that when the two entities meet, the amount and the fund deficit be discussed.

“They might not have known they would be creating a deficit in the enterprise fund,” Fretti said.



In other news:

The City of Valdosta’s policy on rezoning property within the city could be revised.

At Tuesday’s work session, the city council discussed policies pertaining to requests for rezoning and the effect it has on the Land Development Regulations adopted by the council.

Matt Martin, Interim Planning and Zoning Administrator, presented a request by Sangita Gupta to rezone .61 acres from single-family residential to office-professional on Gornto Road, across from Valdosta Stadium Cinemas.

Recently the applicant requested the case be postponed for two months to meet with the neighborhood in an effort to reach an agreement concerning the appropriate use of the property, Martin said.

That request did not stop council from discussing the future of rezoning in the city, specifically in areas such as the Gornto Road location that is in-between commercial and residential sectors.

The Planning Staff recommended denial of the rezoning request stating that the rezoning would further encroach upon an established single-family neighborhood and lots cited for rezoning are still viable properties for residential uses.

The rezoning would also potentially change the character of an Established Residential Character Area, as the two lots lie within an Established Residential Character Area.

Changing the property to office professional would change the landscape of the Land Development Regulations, Martin said.

The LDR also states that no amendment to the official zoning map, the Future Development Map of the Comprehensive Plan, shall permit a zoning district except in accordance with  the districts permitted within the Comprehensive Plan.

Fretti said this rezone closely mirrors the same rezone the council debated extensively last month on a similar lot that was up for rezoning from residential to office professional. That request was eventually approved by council.

Fretti asked if it would be acceptable if a person requesting a rezoning on a property that would change the character area of the Comprehensive Plan be required to petition for a change to the LDR before submitting a request.

As the LDR stands now, the property is not eligible to be rezoned because of the established residential character area, Martin said.

Yost said the Comprehensive Plan and its character areas were outlined by each council member for their district and suggested the council look at developing a policy or procedure to stop issues such as this before they make it to council. Martin agreed.

“That way we are not saying no, we are just pointing them in a different direction,” Martin said.

He went on to say that if the council decides on Thursday to table the request for two months, the city would be required to re-advertise the rezoning.

Yost said he would be willing to table the request for a month.