Q: I was recently on Jekyll Island. I noticed that there was a lot of building of new homes and townhouses. I was under the impression that this island had been granted as a state park and no building was allowed on the island except to replace a footprint of a previous existing building. Could you clear this up?
—Barbara Viggiano, Atlanta
A: In 1947, the state bought and established Jekyll Island as a state park, later creating the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA), a self-supporting state agency, to manage it.
A 1971 state law limited development of Jekyll Island to 35 percent of the land that lies above water at mean high tide. That law was amended in 2013 as part of a new master plan for the state park, David Egan, co-director of the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island State Park, told Q&A on the News. The new plan limits development to a fixed number of acres, rather than a percentage of the land. In 2014, the legislature fixed that number at no more than 1,675 of the 5,529 acres above estimated mean high tide.
Currently, the JIA says 1,609 acres are classified as “developed,” leaving 66 additional acres that could still be developed.
“Projects that have taken place since 2013 or are in the planning stage are within the footprint of previously developed land,” Egan wrote.
Those include the Jekyll Island Convention Center, Beach Village retail center, a hotel and townhomes.
“While the island has seen some significant and much-needed revitalization … not a single acre of undeveloped land has been touched,” a JIA spokesperson told Q&A on the News.
Commercial/residential development of the remaining land is restricted to only 20 acres. However, Egan expressed concern that large tracts of already-developed land could be repurposed for commercial or residential uses and alter the island’s character.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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