McIntosh County voters overturn Sapelo Island zoning ordinance in Gullah Geechee referendum

McIntosh County voters on Tuesday repealed a controversial zoning ordinance affecting Sapelo Island, marking a major victory for the island’s Gullah Geechee residents after a prolonged fight to preserve their community and culture. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the referendum overturns a 2023 decision by the McIntosh County Commission that allowed significantly larger homes to be built in the historic Hogg Hummock community.

The special election capped more than two years of legal challenges, protests and organizing by residents and their supporters. AJC reports nearly 85% of voters backed the repeal, with turnout approaching a quarter of the county’s registered voters.

The repealed ordinance had opened the door for two-story homes of up to 3,000 square feet on Sapelo Island. Many Gullah Geechee residents live in homes of about 1,400 square feet or less and warned that larger vacation homes would accelerate outside development, drive up property values and taxes, and threaten the survival of one of Georgia’s last intact Gullah Geechee communities, AJC reports.

Sapelo Island’s Hogg Hummock community is home to descendants of formerly enslaved Africans who settled the island after the Civil War. Residents argued the zoning change would erode a way of life that has endured for generations.

Supporters of the referendum relied on a rarely used provision of the Georgia Constitution that allows voters to overturn local government actions through petition. Organizers collected more than 2,300 signatures, though the effort faced multiple legal challenges before the Georgia Supreme Court allowed the vote to proceed, AJC reports.

“I am definitely encouraged and grateful and proud of not only our community on Sapelo but the voters of McIntosh,” Josiah “Jazz” Watts, a Gullah Geechee descendant, said in an interview with AJC, calling the result a clear sign of countywide support for protecting the island’s heritage.

Despite the decisive vote, uncertainty remains about what zoning rules now apply. Attorneys for the Gullah Geechee community argue the referendum repealed the county commission’s action but did not eliminate previous development restrictions, according to the report.

McIntosh County Commission Chairwoman Kate Pontello Karwacki has taken a different position, saying the repeal leaves no zoning restrictions in place for Hogg Hummock. County leaders have scheduled a special meeting to determine next steps.

A court injunction already blocks permits for homes larger than 1,400 square feet on the island, and the referendum does not change that order. AJC reports county officials have spent more than $500,000 on legal defenses and election costs tied to the zoning dispute.