Verizon tower in Langdale Park? @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Verizon Wireless wants to put a 159-foot-tall communications tower in Langdale Park, a stone’s throw from the main trail kiosk, too close to White Trail A, and with no demonstration that no existing tower would do, not even an inventory of existing towers.

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) will hear this case at 5:30 PM, Monday, June 29, 2026, and the Lowndes County Commission will decide at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

County staff wrote that the application satisfies the requirements of the county’s Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). Actually, it fails to do so in at least four ways.

Verizon tower in Langdale Park? Next to White Trail? @ GLPC 2026-06-29

The GLPC agenda sheet for “8. TWR-2026-02 Bermuda Run, 3781 North Valdosta Road, Map and Parcel 0076C-025” says in part:

The decision to be made by the Board of Commissioners is not a zoning decision. It is a quasi-judicial decision whether the standards for a telecommunications tower in Section 5.05.05 of the ULDC are met.

The TRC analyzed the request, the standards set forth in Section 5.05.00 (attached), and Section 10.02.00 of the ULDC, and noted that the proposed location satisfies the Standards for New Tower Development in 5.05.05, and therefore recommends Approval of the request.

to construct a new ~159’ telecommunications tower on a 10,000sf leased area of Langdale Park off Hyta Mederer Drive near North Valdosta Road to fill an alleged gap in the existing coverage area.
PDF

Actually, the application is inconsistent with ULDC 5.05.05 in several ways:

There is no Inventory of Existing Sites, as required by 5.05.05.B.
There is no demonstration that no existing tower or existing alternative tower structure can accommodate the proposed antenna, as required by 5.05.05.E.
The tower would be located where it would negatively affect a historic district and a scenic view corridor; see 5.05.05.G.5.
The tower would be too close to a property line of the lot or parcel containing the tower, and too close to the public right-of-way of a hiking trail; see 5.05.05.I.1.

Each of these inconsistencies is examined below.

5.05.05 Development Standards

…

Inventory of Existing Sites

To facilitate the co-location review of antennas, each applicant seeking to locate a new tower, alternative tower structure or antenna, or modify any such existing structure, shall provide an updated inventory of its existing towers or alternative tower structures. Applicants seeking to erect and amateur radio tower or antenna, or receive-only antenna as described in Section 5.05.03(C), shall be exempt from this provision. This required inventory information shall be maintained by Lowndes County in the form of a digital database that is geographically referenced and encoded as part of the County’s Geographic Information System (VALOR). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that this inventory data is accurate and kept up to date.
The inventory shall include all such structures that are within the jurisdiction of the governing authority; within a municipality located, in whole or in part, within Lowndes County; or within one-quarter (1/4) mile outside the border of Lowndes County. This inventory shall include specific information about the location (latitude and longitude coordinates), height, design, tower type, and general suitability for antenna co-location of each tower. Such information is a public document.

I’m not finding this Inventory of Existing Sites in the GLPC board packet.

The May 29, 2026, letter from Baker Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC notes on page 2:

As required by your local regulations, attached with this application please find the following:

…
RF Justification for site, along with an inventory of sites and coverage maps.
A letter signed and stamped by a engineer certified in the State of Georgia stating that the tower, antenna, and support structure meets or exceeds all applicable requirements of the Lowndes County Unified Land Development Code (“ULDC”).
…

Upon construction, the facility will be visited on average once per month for routine maintenance pulposes and will not emit noise or glare.
PDF

Maybe item b. is that Inventory. If so, it was not included in the board packet received by LAKE from Lowndes County in response to an open records request, even though ULDC 5.05.05.B.2 says, “Such information is a public document.”

I also do not see that inventory in VALORGIS, even though 5.05.05.B.1. says, “This required inventory information shall be maintained by Lowndes County in the form of a digital database that is geographically referenced and encoded as part of the County’s Geographic Information System (VALOR). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that this inventory data is accurate and kept up to date.”

Availability of Suitable Existing Structures for Collocation
No new tower, except amateur radio towers, shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates that no existing tower or existing alternative tower structure can accommodate the proposed antenna. All evidence submitted shall be signed and sealed by appropriate licensed professionals or qualified industry experts. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the proposed antenna shall consist of one (1) or more of the following:

That no existing towers or suitable alternative tower structures are located within the geographic antenna placement area required to meet the applicant’s engineering requirements;
That existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet the applicant’s engineering requirements;
That existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant’s antenna and related equipment;
That the applicant’s proposed antenna(s) would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna(s) on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing tower or structures would cause interference with the applicant’s proposed antenna;
That the cost or contractual provisions required by the tower owner to share an existing tower or structure, or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable; or
That the applicant adequately demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.

I’m also not finding in the GLPC board packet this evidence that “no existing tower or existing alternative tower structure can accommodate the proposed antenna.”

Regarding the applicant attorney’s item c., the only thing I find in the packet materials with an engineer’s stamp is the letter that says it was prepared by Clint Coody and with a stamp of Brad R. Milanowski, P.E., S.E. That letter is about wind speed design. It says nothing about any other tower sites.

B+T Group is pleased to submit this Fall Certification Letter for the 155‘ Monopole to be constructed at the Bermuda (US-GA 5831) site.
PDF

How is it possible to hold a Public Hearing with an important public document missing?

Aesthetics
The guidelines set forth in this section shall govern the design and construction of all towers and the installation of all antennas.
…

Towers shall not be located where they will negatively affect historic structures or districts, or scenic view corridors.

You’d think the largest park in VLPRA’s system, almost completely wooded, with a river running down it, would be a scenic view corridor and a historic district.

I don’t see this point addressed in the GLPC board packet.

Map: Langdale Park 2026-06-27 –VLPRA

The proposed tower location, according to the FAA latlong, is literally a stone’s throw from the trail kiosk in Langdale Park: about 252 feet. Baseball players can throw that far.

Map: Kiosk to Verizon Tower, Langdale Park 2026-06-27 –Lowndes County Tax Assessors

Kiosk, Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River, 2026:06:25 –jsq for WWALS 13:54:15, 30.8858433, -83.3211552

Setbacks
The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers:

Towers/antennas shall be setback a minimum distance equal to one-third (1/3) of the height of the tower from its base to any public right-of-way or property line of the lot or parcel containing the tower.

One third of 159 feet (with lightning rod) is 53 feet.

According to the applicant’s own survey map, the center of the “VERIZON WIRELESS EQUIPMENT AREA” is only 45.2 feet from the north-south boundary of LL 12 District 11 and LL 12 District 12. It is even closer to the east-west boundary of LL 11 District 11 and LL 12 District 11. Those boundaries are also the Valdosta City Limits within Langdale Park.

SURVEY MAP
PDF

There’s a note on the SITE SURVEY:

Land Lot and District Line is also the line between two separately describe portions of land which were simultaneously conveyed to present owner in Deed 4379-91. This survey does not address how the Jurisdiction might treat such lines internal to contiguously owned property in relation to zoning.

The City portion of the park is in fact zoned differently (E-R) than the county portion (CON) because the two parts are in different jurisdictions.

That seems like a significant property line to me.

Zoning Location Map
PDF

The White Trail aka Trail A runs parallel and just east of that north-south lot line. That’s one of the trails VLPRA, Trails4Valdosta, and members of the public spent a lot of effort clearing after Hurricane Helene. Does it not count as a public right-of-way?

Trails map, Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River, 2026:06:25 –jsq for WWALS 13:54:25, 30.8858433, -83.3211552

For the GLPC board packet, see the post by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25805

Images of the relevant pages are below in this WWALS blog post.

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5.05.05 Development Standards

GLPC-Agenda-June-2026

TWR-2026-02 Bermuda Run (0076C 025), New 159-foot Telecommunications Tower

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