The McIntosh County Commission on Thursday imposed a 30-day moratorium on building in the Gullah Geechee enclave of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island.
The moratorium follows Tuesday’s decisive countywide vote that repealed a controversial 2023 zoning amendment allowing larger structures to be built in Hogg Hummock, an historic district that’s home to Gullah Geechee people whose ancestors were once enslaved in Coastal Georgia. Fearing that ensuing gentrification would force Gullah Geechee descendants off the island in favor of wealthy developers, voters rejected the amendment by a 5-to-1 margin.
At the start of Thursday’s special called meeting, County Commission Chair Kate Pontello Karwacki read a statement indicating that the county’s legal council suggested the moratorium was necessary “to align the county’s codes and ordinances with the outcome of the referendum.” It’s the county’s position that the repeal of the 2023 amendment leaves Hogg Hummock with no zoning and without the moratorium there would be no limits on what could be built.
“If we do not put a pause in place, it is theoretically possible that someone will claim that there is no zoning on Sapelo, therefore, ‘here’s my permit for a 4,000 square foot house’,” Commissioner Roger Lotson explained.
The moratorium was initially proposed for 60 days but was amended to 30 days with commissioners noting that courts prefer a shorter pause and the commission would be able to extend the 30-day moratorium if necessary. The measure passed unanimously.
McIntosh has been involved in multiple lawsuits stemming from the 2023 zoning amendment. The resulting legal costs have topped half a million dollars for the small rural county and continue to climb.
“I know there’s three people on this board that is ready to put this to bed,” Commissioner Henderson Hope said during the commission’s discussion. “We’re ready to stop the bleed. This thing needs to be over with. The taxpayers in this county have spent an exorbitant amount of money to get through this. And I know we’re sick of it. We’re tired of it. Put it to bed.”
The moratorium gives the commission time to put new zoning in place or return to the zoning in effect prior to September 2023. That earlier zoning was criticized for being difficult to enforce because it allowed structures of “1,400 square feet of heated and cooled space,” a specification easy to sidestep with a retrofit after county inspectors signed off on a property.
Still, Commissioner Chris Jarriel suggested reinstating the previous Hogg Hummock zoning.
“So I just say, put it right back like it was and be done with this and move on,” he said.
Lotson is looking for more input from Sapelo Islanders this time around.
“(What’s next is) getting the residents of Sapelo to communicate to us what their wishes are regarding this matter, and once they do that, then we can make a better decision,” Lotson said after the meeting. “And as I said before, we know that they’re not all going to be on the same page, but if we can at least get some kind of guidance from them, then maybe, maybe, we can satisfy the mass.”
The commission intends to adopt zoning as quickly as possible but must adhere to mandatory minimum notice and comment period requirements.
“We’re trying to get the citizens to understand that we can’t snap our fingers and make it better,” Lotson said.
Lotson opposed the 2023 zoning amendment. Henderson and Jarriel were elected to the county commission after the 2023 rezoning vote. All three appeared eager to settle the matter.
Money wasn’t the commission’s only loss from the more than two year zoning saga, Hope said after the meeting.
“The main thing is building trust back to this commission that we’re going to work in their best interest,” he said.
“We inherited this problem. But I’m ready to shut this problem down. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of it costing people. I’m sick of how things went down in the beginning. It should have never worked that way. But I’m going to do whatever I got to do to burn the hills off of this thing and get it over.”
The Tide brings regular notes and observations on news and events by The Current staff.
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