At a “listening session” about Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island Wednesday, speakers called for more meaningful input from islanders before Hog Hammock zoning is again formalized for the last intact Gullah Geechee island community in Georgia.
Several of the eight speakers also offered specific recommendations to shape the new zoning, including returning to the 1,400 square foot maximum size and allowing tiny homes.
In a January referendum, voters overwhelmingly rejected the county’s 2023 zoning amendment that allowed 3,000 square foot structures to be built in Hogg Hummock, the community’s name for the Hog Hammock zoning parcels. Many feared the new zoning would lead to gentrification, forcing Gullah Geechee descendants off the island in favor of wealthy developers. There’s currently a moratorium on building on the island while the county develops its new zoning.
The Sapelo Island listening session was the second of three scheduled. McIntosh County Chairwoman Kate Karwacki told about 20 audience members at the First African Baptist Church the purpose was to allow “residents, stakeholders and community members to share thoughtful opinions, express concerns and other preferences that can be carefully considered in the development of policy.”
A 1,400 square foot maximum was the only size suggested at the meeting. That’s the size listed in the pre-2023 zoning, though it specified “heated space,” which residents say created a loophole that allowed homeowners to enclose and heat porch or utility space after county inspections were complete.
“Most of the descendants of the community want to stay at 1,400 square feet,” said Gullah-Geechee descendant J.R. Grovner, clarifying that was the total under roof, not the total heated area. Grovner is running for County Commission in District 3 against incumbent Roger Lotson.
Resident Andy Desmond advocated for 1,400 square feet, too, noting that was the maximum size when zoning was instituted in 1995. He pointed a practical environmental reason, as well.
“We had a hurricane here in 2017,” he said. “Hurricane Irma covered the entire island with a foot of water. What happened with all of that sea water? It got into septic tanks. … So raising the square foot limit is, frankly, environmental insanity, and from that standpoint alone, this commission should say, ‘heck, no’.”
Resident E.L. Dunn spoke first and focused on the minimum allowed size of homes, noting others would address the maximum.
“Tiny homes are a growing trend,” he said. “I know there are two Katrina cottages on Sapelo provided by the government after the storm that are 420 square feet, and they seem perfectly adequate to me.”
Carolyn Rader, a professional planner who grew up on the island because of her father directed the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo, suggested the process needed a facilitator.
“This seems very formal, which seems a little bit intimidating,” said Rader, who lives in Atlanta but owns a small house on Sapelo.
Four of the five commissioners attended the meeting, with only Commissioner Chris Jarriel absent.
Josiah “Jazz” Watts, a Gullah-Geechee descendant and community leader who also works on environmental justice issues for One Hundred Miles, asked commissioners to reach out directly to residents to hear their opinions.
“Just because we’re having these listening sessions doesn’t mean that everyone that you should hear from feels comfortable to be in this room, or feels comfortable to have a camera recording them or in front of them,” he said. “That can be a challenging thing.”
Watts also noted the toll the continued controversy has taken on the local Gullah-Geechee people, the descendants of West Africans enslaved on Sapelo.
“We’ve been fighting for so long that we haven’t had the opportunity to really live and to thrive,” he said. “And ideally, what should be happening is that the county, state and the federal government should be supporting this unique and historic community. It is so important what is going to happen here, because it will serve as a framework for every place else.”
Karwacki outlined the remaining steps to create a new zoning regulation for Hogg Hummock. She said the county will compile information from the three listening sessions plus emails and other input from residents, property owners and stakeholders. The planning board will also have input.
“So that will all be compiled,” she said. “At that point, there’ll be a draft version put forward. There’ll be public hearings associated with the draft version.”
The last scheduled listening session will be 6 p.m. March 25, at the McIntosh County Recreation Department Gymnasium, 402 Pack St., Darien.
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