Page 4, June 24, 2019, The Islander
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Matthew J. Permar - Publisher
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Letters
June 5, 2019
Mr. Mark Williams, Commissioner
Via US Mail and Email
Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr.
Drive, SE, Suite 1252 - East Tower, At
lanta, GA 30334
SUBJ: Request for Alternative Pub
lic Boat Ramp Access to die DNR/Mus-
grove/Guale Reserve Boat Ramp
Dear Commissioner Williams:
By this letter, on behalf of the resi
dents and property owners of the histor
ic German Village neighborhood known
as Village Bluff on St. Simons Island, I
am formally requesting that the Geor
gia Department of Natural Resources
initiate and grant approval for an access
road across the Musgrove Plantation/
Guale Reserve property to die DNR boat
ramp located in the northeast comer of
the above referenced property. The GA
DNR has the full authority to grant such
access by virtue of long-standing pohcy
and practice, by virtue of the documents
filed with various state and federal agen
cies related to acquisition of portions of
the Musgrove Plantation property, and
under the terms of the conservation
easement apphcable to the property.
As currently proposed by the St. Si
mons Land Trust, supported by actions
of the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources and the Glynn County Com
munity Development Department, Vil
lage Drive is proposed as the sole access
road to the new boat ramp. Should this
decision stand, German Village will for
ever be negatively impacted. This nega
tive impact is totally avoidable.
In all possible scenarios, the access
road to the boat ramp should originate
along the one mile of frontage the Mus
grove Plantation/Guale Reserve proper
ty has on Lawrence Road, and should be
contained entirely within the Musgrove
Plantation/Guale Reserve property and
along its border shared with Village
Bluff subdivision, rather than through
the Village Bluff subdivision via Village
Drive.
As such, the boat ramp access road
can and must totally avoid using Village
Drive, which is a narrow, limited access
residential road that runs through the
heart of die quiet, established neighbor
hood of German Village/Village Bluff.
Within die German Village neighbor
hood, children currently play and ride
their bikes in front of the homes that
front Village Drive. At present, and
for almost a century, the only traffic
concerns by residents, parents and the
children in the neighborhood is the traf
fic generated by local residents and the
occasional driver who is lost and mistak
enly turns on to Village Drive.
As one viable, alternative boat ramp
access route, the German Village resi
dents propose, and I support, that the
DNR and the St. Simons Land Trust
use the existing, platted maintenance
road, which is legally referenced and
acknowledged in die grant application
docmnents and environmental site as
sessment report as a cleared but un
paved road called “Contractors Road.”
The proposed route could then cross the
existing drainage ditch and follow the
northern edge of the Musgrove Planta
tion/Guale Reserve property, terminat
ing at the boat ramp.
It is my understanding that the ex
istence of the residential subdivision to
the north of Musgrove Plantation/Guale
Reserve was not taken into consider
ation or referenced in the grant applica
tions or conditions originally imposed by
the conservation easement into which
the St. Simons Land Trust and DNR
entered. Necessarily, consideration
of the quality of life and safety of this
neighborhood is of utmost importance,
and the actions of the St. Simons Land
Trust in promoting use of its park must
have as little impact on the adjoining
neighborhood as possible.
Currently, the conservation ease
ment permits repair and maintenance
of roads existing at the time of its cre
ation. These facts alone could eliminate
tiie need for access to the boat ramp and
park via Village Drive. Further, the cur
rent negative situation imposed by use
of Village Drive as the only access to
the boat ramp constitutes a change in
condition that permits modification of
the conservation easement to allow the
location and creation of a new road on
Musgrove/Guale Preserve property to
access its boat ramp and other sections
of tiie park.
As a Georgia State Representative,
I stand ready to assist my constituents
and the German Village/Village Bluff
community in accomplishing an alterna
tive access for park visitors to reach the
boat ramp. As you know, Commissioner,
I prefer to work with you for a solution
that best serves all parties, minimizing
tiie obvious negative impact to area resi
dents, without affecting the overall proj
ect. This issue - the alternative route so
lution - is about fairness and reasonable
accommodation for those who citizens
who reside in the area and who desire
minimizing tiie impact tiie Musgrove/
Guale Reserve project will have on their
neighborhood and chosen lifestyle.
Sincerely,
Jeff Jones, R-167
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