The McIntosh County Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to recommend a proposed zoning ordinance to limit house size on Sapelo Island to 1,550 square feet under roof with an additional 400-square-foot porch.
At the public hearing preceding the vote, no one spoke in favor of the ordinance. In the 20 minutes allowed for public comment opposed to the ordinance, seven residents and supporters of the Gullah Geechee community of Hogg Hummock spoke, most indicating that while it was better than previous versions that allowed larger houses, it could still be improved.
The three-year battle over house size in Hogg Hummock revolves around a fear of gentrification and the higher taxes that could drive the remaining Gullah Geechee people out of their ancestral home on Sapelo Island.
Commission to meet Aug. 6
The McIntosh County Commission will hold a hearing on the zoning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at the Old City Hall, Darien, followed by a scheduled vote that could finalize the ordinance.
The controversy began in 2023 when, over strong objections from Gullah Geechee descendants and their supporters, the county passed a zoning ordinance that more than doubled to 3,000 square feet the allowable size of houses on the island. The county eventually held a referendum in January, 2026, in which voters retracted that zoning by a wide margin, but not before litigation over the issue cost the county more than $500,000.
Since the referendum, the county commission has considered three proposed zoning ordinances. The first, with an 1,800 square foot limit, was rejected in early July when it was discovered that loopholes in it would allow bigger houses to be built. Then the county commission considered two alternatives that both aimed to get the interior space limited to about the traditional 1,400 square feet. It moved forward with the current proposal that allows 1,550 square feet “under roof,” a measurement that can be made without entering the home.
The seven people who criticized the zoning Tuesday raised a range of issues, including the need to integrate historic preservation into the ordinance, concerns over the county’s use of AI in the zoning’s development and pleas for the county to avoid rushing to a decision.
Carolyn Rader, a professional planner who grew up on the island because of her father directed the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo, was one of those who urged the county to slow down and pay heed to the fact that Hogg Hummock is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Officials have said they are racing against the end of the current building moratorium, which expires Aug. 10. They are loathe to extend it again for fear of being sued by property owners queued up to build. But Rader said her reading of the McIntosh code indicates that’s an unfounded fear.
“You have Section 205 in your code that specifically says if there’s no zoning, you cannot get a building permit,” said Rader, who owns a small, traditional home in Hogg Hummock.
Andy Desmond, an island resident since 2022, cautioned that the ordinance as written would allow a flat roof, which could be dangerous in a heavy rain.
Desmond also denounced the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in developing the ordinance, especially without having professional architects doublecheck the results for possible errors or loopholes.
“Tell me the names of the real architects who have now looked at those interactions,” Desmond said. “There are no real architects.”
Building and Zoning Director Bryan Boone defended his use of AI to create form-based regulations that can be enforced easily. Boone explained that AI helped determine the maximum acceptable height given the variations in base flood elevation around the island. It also allowed an easier calculation the maximum square footage “under roof” that would result in interior square footage as close as possible to the traditional 1,400 square feet.
“So yes, I did have extensive conversations with them, … but I just had no other way to run that math in an efficient way, and I think it led to a very strong ordinance.”
Several speakers questioned why the ordinance limits a building’s height to 32 feet above the natural ground level, rather than using base flood elevation — the height at which flood waters are expected to rise in a 100-year flood. Boone said he considered using base flood elevation but ultimately rejected it.
“It steps away from form-based regulations,” he said. “Two, it creates a slight inequity between landowners in the different base flood elevations. So someone with lower land would would be further limited, but I do believe the 32-foot rule solves some of that inequity.”
Josiah, “Jazz” Watts, a Gullah Geechee descendant who lives on Sapelo, called for the process to be slowed. This draft was better than previous ones but could still be improved, he said.
“I’ll say, for example, I still feel like what is proposed should be passed by the State Historic Preservation Office and and the National Trust,” he said. “Those are people that have historic preservation expertise.”
He also reiterated a point he has made previously that the ordinance should use the traditional Gullah Geechee spelling “Hogg Hummock” rather than the county’s version “Hog Hammock.”
Watts spoke for many when he said the lengthy zoning struggle has been exhausting.
“We woke up one day, and all of a sudden we were dealing with 3,000 square feet,’ he said. “We’re here three years later, and we’re still dealing with this.”
