VALDOSTA — A busy Monday night session gave Greater Lowndes County Planning Commission members plenty to wrestle with, including an annexation request that could bring a Fortune 100 company and 600 new jobs, and a single family subdivision on Mt. Zion Church Road that neighbors fear will hurt surrounding property values.

The Planning Commission voted 8-0 to approve a City of Valdosta request from Westside Business Park LLC to annex and rezone 137.79 acres to highway commercial to develop a “distribution business.”

The property is undeveloped and is located on the west side of North St. Augustine Road just north of Lloyd Jackson Road. Owner of Westside Business Park is listed as Charles Cowart. Commissioners were mum about the applicant, as was local attorney Bill Nijem, the applicant’s representative.

All Nijem would say is that the applicant is a Fortune 100 company that wants to bring 600 new jobs in with a distribution business, and planning commissioners didn’t press him further to divulge the company’s identity.

Surrounding residents, however, did raise several concerns about the annexation/rezoning, including noise, lighting, traffic and flooding.

Joanne Meyers of 1869 Verilli St. requested the commission recommend that no access to Lloyd Jackson Road be granted to the company because of the negative impacts of traffic and noise that would create for neighboring residents. She also warned the commission that a previous developer had to fix a flooding problem by reshaping the land, and asked that any developer not be allowed to tinker with the fix, lest residents again find themselves under three feet of water.

Terry Walker of 1930 Lloyd Jackson Rd. voiced his fears about the annexation, because he said it might put his property in an unfavorable unincorporated island.

“I don’t want to be forced to annex,” Walker said. “I know “Island” is not a popular term. I’ve got cows. My property is fenced in.”

City Planning and Zoning Administrator Anne-Marie Wolff assured Walker that state law does not allow municipalities to forcibly annex residents.

The commission approved the annexation/rezoning on an 8-0 vote with conditions that include a buffer of 25 feet using a land berm similar in size to the one separating Hunter’s Ridge subdivision from the Wal-Mart on Inner Perimeter Road. Also, any lot lighting must be pointed down and away from neighboring residences.

In other action Monday, the Planning Commission voted 7-1 to approve a City of Valdosta request to rezone 45 acres on Guest Road off Bemiss Road north of Valdosta, from a low to higher density residential zoning class to allow development of 136 single family home lots. Commissioner Tim Carroll dissented.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval came with the condition that lot sizes be no less than 8,000 square feet. Also, the developer must pave Guest Road from the end of pavement to Bemiss-Knights Academy Road, and cannot connect the subdivision with Chadwyck Place subdivision through Brandonshire Lane, as originally planned. The lot size requirement was birthed after several residents in nearby subdivisions complained that their property values would be hurt if the developer was allowed to build homes without garages valued at $85,000 to $90,000.

The Planning Commission also unanimously approved a Lowndes County request to revise an existing planned development of 20 acres of the proposed Northwind development to add two three-story condominium buildings with a total of 48 condo units, in replacement of two blocks originally slated for professional offices. The development site is on North Oak Street Extension west of Bemiss Road.

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will make final consideration of the Planning Commission’s recommendations when the County Commission meets at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 9, at the Board of Commissioners Building, 325 W. Savannah Ave.

The Valdosta City Council will make final consideration of the Planning Commission recommendations when the City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at City Hall, 216 E. Central Ave.