VALDOSTA – The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners denied a rezoning proposal for Quarterman Road after hearing several oppositions from area residents during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

The board first heard from the Planning Department’s county planner, J.D. Dillard, regarding the proposal at Monday’s work session. A public hearing was held to determine 18 acres on 6119 Quarterman Road to be rezoned from its original estate agricultural (E-A) to residential agriculture (R-A) including well and septic.

“Overall, this area is depicted as an agricultural forestry character area. The southern half has a different feel to it, more of a rural residential area. There are slightly pocket wetlands on this property. They might not actually exist but there are some blue line streams running through this area and multiple properties as well,” Dillard said as he presented to the board.

Dillard’s recommended action was neither in favor or against the proposal, but he did inform the board that the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission ruled to deny with a vote of 7-1. The commission considered two subdivision proposed plans that, upon approval, could allow the applicant four, five or seven lots.

“Both character areas encourage maintaining the rural character by limiting new development and promoting rural clusters or conservation strategies, with high degrees of building separation,” the agenda item document showed.

There are 131 properties that have access to Quarterman Road, with an average lot size of approximately 12.10 acres. Nearby within the Quarterman Crossing Subdivision an average lot size is about 0.68 acres while properties along the boundaries are 11.66 acres in size.

The commissioners information packet included a petition signed from multiple residents from the area particularly from Quarterman Road.

Chairman Bill Slaughter questioned, “If we did choose to do R-A, could we still put restrictions on the lot sizes?”

Dillard responded that the current E-A lot width is 210 feet and that was the Planning Commission’s recommended condition plan if the board chose to approve the request.

About six individuals who reside on Quarterman Road approached the commissioners during Tuesday’s public hearing portion of the request consideration. Each of the residents asked the board to deny the request to maintain the area’s true forestry and agricultural characteristics. They raised concerns with the area becoming too developed and said it is already suffering high traffic due to causes from the recent hurricane.

Gretchen Porterman was the first resident to oppose it. “Think about the 44 lots that are on our road. Our area is forestry and conservation, where people grow crops. It’s just not appropriate to have R-A,” she said.

Carolyn Silvey and Tom Larson, respectively, said they moved to the rural area after living in larger cities.

“I moved down here from Atlanta because of the growth and outgrown of Atlanta. I bought a house on a dirt road. … It is a rural setting. It’s hay fields and planted fields. It’s forestry and it’s wetlands. I do not feel that putting in what would amount to a small subdivision with a possible five to seven additional septic tanks and wells would help this area any. I think it would put a lot more traffic on the road that we don’t need. I think we need to keep the character of this road,” Silvey said.

Larson said it would be a slippery slope to approve the request and that it would lead to even more subdivision requests.

No one approached the board in favor of the request.

The attending commissioners denied the request with a vote 4-0. Scott Orenstein, Commissioner of District 2, was absent from the vote.

Other actions

A second public hearing was held for a rezoning request regarding four acres on 3728 Mt. Zion Church Road. The applicant proposed a rezoning from estate agricultural (E-A) to medium density residential (R-21).

“This property was originally zoned R-21 back in 2006 when the county rezoned all the properties, and the property owner at that time had requested for it to return to its agricultural state. The property has since changed hands,” County Planner J.D. Dillard told the board during the regular session presentation.

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission heard the request at its August meeting and recommended approval with a vote 8-0.

No residents approached in opposition of the plan. Roy Copeland, the current owner, approached the commissioners in support of it.

“This property is important to me. My family has owned it since 1873. We will cause no harm,” he said.

The board voted in favor of the request 4-0.

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners regular session meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.