The McIntosh County Commission on Friday extended by 90 days its moratorium on building in the Gullah Geechee enclave of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island.
The commission initially imposed the moratorium in January, following a referendum in which voters overwhelmingly rejected the county’s 2023 zoning amendment that allowed larger structures to be built in Hogg Hummock. Many feared the new zoning would lead to gentrification, forcing Gullah Geechee descendants off the island in favor of wealthy developers.
Sophia Hondroulis, 17, a student at The Howard School in Atlanta, gave public comment at the McIntosh County Commission meeting in Darien on Feb. 20, 2026.
Public commenters traveled from Atlanta to attend the meeting, making it clear that the concerns for the Gullah Geechee culture on Sapelo spread beyond McIntosh County.
“I just have one question for today,” said 17-year-old Sophia Hondroulis, one of four students from The Howard School in Atlanta who gave public comment. “What do you really think is best for the island and for its people, not for profit, but the culture that is still important?”
McIntosh County Commission Chair Kate Pontello Karwacki in Darien on Feb. 20, 2026.
In introducing the moratorium extension for a vote, Commission Chairwoman Kate Pontello Karwacki said it would provide the commission “the necessary time to thoughtfully develop and adopt a new zoning code for the land,” adding that the lack of defined and updated land use leaves everyone vulnerable.
The five-member commission passed the measure unanimously without discussion. The extension will expire May 21.
The county has organized three listening session to collect public comment on the issue in March. They are listed below.
Listening sessions scheduled
McIntosh County has scheduled a series of listening sessions to allow public comment on the consideration of amendments to the McIntosh County Zoning Ordinance, specifically to the Hogg Hammock (HH) District, Article 2, Section 219 pertaining to zoning limitations in said district:
- 10 a.m. March 10 at the McIntosh County Recreation Department Gymnasium, 402 Pack St., Darien.
- 10 a.m. March 18 at the First African Baptist Church, 1736 E. Perimeter Road on Sapelo Island.
- 6 p.m. March 25 at the McIntosh County Recreation Department Gymnasium, 402 Pack St., Darien.
The current Hogg Hammock zoning ordinance was recently repealed by referendum. As a result, the County Commission is considering re-imposing zoning limitations in the Hogg Hammock District.
These listening sessions do not supplant or replace the required public hearings and zoning amendment processes provided for in the McIntosh County Planning & Zoning Ordinance. It is anticipated that the listening sessions will lead to a proposal that can be presented in a public hearing for discussion before the McIntosh County Planning & Zoning Board at a later date.
Source: McIntosh County
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://thecurrentga.org/2026/02/20/mcintosh-county-extends-zoning-moratorium/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://thecurrentga.org”>The Current</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/thecurrentga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cropped-TheCurrent_site-icon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://thecurrentga.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=97973&ga4=G-L05EDNCRHK” style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://thecurrentga.org/2026/02/20/mcintosh-county-extends-zoning-moratorium/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/thecurrentga.org/p.js”></script>
