About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2019)
Page 16, July 29, 2019, The Islander Is it a public road or is it... a public road? On Thursday, July 18 the Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC) told the Zoning Board of Ap peals (ZBA), a board they appointed themselves, that the ZBA did not have the authority to prohibit the St. Si mons Land Trust from using Village Dr. to access their new park. In a case that turned into some thing of a 4-ring circus, the ZBA and the residents of German Village were told the Land Trust could use Village Dr., the only road into the German vil lage neighborhood, because it was “a public road.” In defense of their position that the Land Trust should not use Village Dr., the ZBA cited sections of the Glynn County Zoning Ordinance supporting that position. In response to the ZBA denying the use of Village Dr., the ‘public road de fense’ was the only defense the Land Trust representatives and attorney of fered on their behalf - and 5 of 7 BOC members agreed. Ironically, almost the exact same Glynn County Board of Commission ers took a 180 degree, diametrically opposed stance on Thursday, Septem ber 20, 2018 when they told Stewart Tate that he could NOT use a public road - Harry Driggers Blvd. - to access his client’s property. Tate was the agent representing RLF Kingsland Properties, LLC, a de veloper who was denied use of a public road. To be more specific, RLF was grant ed temporary use of Driggers Blvd. for his dump trucks, but not permanent use. RLF plans to develop a tract of land in the northwest quadrant of Driggers Blvd. and Hwy. 17 as a residential subdivision. He wants to dig a lake on the prop erty, but he doesn’t need the dirt, so he intends to sell it. So, in all our government’s infinite bureaucratic wisdom, the sale of the dirt requires a permit. No permit is re quired to dig the lake, just to sell the dirt. So RLF applied for a permit, it’s called an LDA (Land Disturbing Activ ity permit), from the Georgia Dept, of Natural Resources and got it. The next step was to come to the Glynn County BOC to ask for an amendment to the Planned Develop ment (PD) Zoning Text that applies to the property where he wants to build houses. Now let’s keep in mind that Harry Driggers Blvd. is a major road con necting Hwy. 17 on the east end to the Glynco Parkway near Canal Rd. on the west end. There are currently a half dozen or more neighborhoods off of Driggers Blvd. whose residents drive on it every day. There are also two schools and a huge Glynn County Publisher The Islander editorial recreational park with multiple ball- fields off of Driggers Blvd. When Stewart Tate applied for the PD text amendment, on behalf of RLF, the approval came with a list of 12 conditions, many of which related to the company being allowed temporary use of a public road to haul dirt off the property. A group of people attended the meet ing to oppose the use of Driggers Blvd. by the dmnp trucks. Not as many as turned out to oppose the use of Village Dr. by the Land Trust, but a few. When the BOC told Tate his client’s dump trucks couldn’t use Driggers Blvd., Tate told the BOC the access road to Driggers Blvd. was the only way in and out of his client’s proper ty - just like Village Dr. is to German Village. In response the BOC said, “Okay. Well, he’ll just have to build a new road and connect it to Hwy. 17.” To which Tate said, “To do that he’ll have to build the road through juris dictional wetlands.” Now hold on, here’s the real shock er... the Glynn County Commission said, “In that case, RLF will have to go back to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and to the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and to the Georgia Department of Transporta tion to get the three permits needed to build the new road across wetlands and connect it to Hwy. 17.” And we haven’t even touched on the cost of building this new road. Not to mention the cost of the permitting pro cess for three separate state and feder al agencies, nor the time it would take to go through that process. I promise you the Army Corps and the DOT are not in any hurry. Also, the DNR’s LDA permit is not a ‘forever permit,’ it’s has an expiration date, along with a hefty price tag. The St. Simons Land Trust owns hundreds of acres adjacent to German Village complete with a road that could be restored and used to access their new park. But they say there are wet lands involved and it can’t be restored. Why didn’t the BOC tell the Land Trust the same thing they told Stew art Tate and RLF Kingsland Proper ties, “Go to the DNR and get a permit and fix the road.” I find it interesting that the County Commission busted the chops of a de veloper who wants to build homes in a wide open, rural area of the county, which would add greatly to their tax base, and yet turned their back on a property tax paying neighborhood in favor of a special interest organization that actually takes property off the tax rolls. So... is it a public road, or is it a pub lic road? I guess it depends on who you are. Ill HU 91 Georgia’s Premier Life Plan Community MARSH’S EDGE ON ST. SIMONS ISLAND Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Care • Skilled Nursing • Rehab 136 Marsh’s Edge Lane • St. Simons Island, GA 31522 (912)324-3028 • Marshs-Edge.com
