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Page 4, June 25, 2016, The Islander
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Island, GA 31522.
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Matthew J. Permar - Publisher
Elise J. Permar - Publisher 1972-2003
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Letters
German Village
I am writing as one of many Ger
man Village residents who were not
allowed to speak at the public hearing
in which our Commissioners voted to
overturn the Zoning Board ruling that
would have protected our neighbor
hood from park traffic. I live on Village
Drive with my husband and our three
young children.
At the Zoning Board of Appeals
hearing, County Director of Commu
nity Development Pamela Thompson
tried to compare the situation she is
creating in our neighborhood to that of
residents entering Island Square con
dominiums by driving through Deme-
re Square, a commercial development.
Many question her understanding of
the proposed project, as well as her
familiarity with the Island. Our situ
ation is quite the opposite.
The Board of Zoning Appeals made
their decision to deny the use of Vil
lage Drive by the Land Trust for their
park and motorboat launch entrance
based mainly on the fact that our
neighborhood is zoned R6 residential.
This zoning district covers both sides
of the street. Public use of our street
to access a park for non-residential
and commercial eco-tour use clearly
violates the intent of the ordinance to
protect Glynn County neighborhoods.
It is disappointing that five of our
Commissioners chose to ignore that
fact.
They voted to overturn the Zoning
Board ruling even after admitting it
will not be safe. It was verified that
Village Drive is only 13 feet wide at
several points. Two cars can not pass
in many parts especially where old
oak trees hang down. The school bus
can not even enter. Only two streets
in the entire neighborhood are paved
and both are dead end streets with
no turnaround. The Commissioners
recognized the street is inadequate
for outside traffic. The dirt easement
leading to the park gate is barely wide
enough for a normal SUV to enter,
much less boats being pulled on trail
ers by trucks or eco-tour vans puling
kayak trailers.
While the Commissioners openly
discussed future park traffic and
the boat launch in the hearing, why
was this not included in the permit?
Where is the site plan for the park?
How can the Land Trust advertise the
many features and activities available
for the public in the future for their
park without a plan? They have even
admitted they have opened a 260-acre
park to the public without a manage
ment plan.
I just do not see how anyone can
in good conscience truly stand be
hind the use of Village Drive as the
best and safest access to the park and
boat launch. With the eleven million
dollars used in their purchase of 260
acres of Musgrove, the Land Trust
has other options. I do not under
stand why they would even pursue a
route that has the potential to harm
residents and visitors. I am personally
familiar with the land on Musgrove
and I know there are other roads and
pathways that are not being put out
there or considered.
When the purchase of the first
phase of Musgrove was made, Land
Trust leaders agreed to reroute any
paths, trails, roads on the portion they
bought away from the Reynolds heirs’
family compound, so that the privacy
of the family and their guests and cus
tomers was protected. While I can un
derstand the family’s request, I would
like the same option to protect my
family. The Reynolds heirs not only
sold their land for a nice price, but
were allowed to give away our neigh
borhood’s safety and well-being in the
process. How did they get that right?
They and their guests even have un
restricted use of new park amenities
such as the docks and boat launch.
They sell the land for millions, get to
make demands that keep park traffic
off what they sold, and then get to use
all of the new amenities. Now they get
to market their conference and retreat
center as a private estate surrounded
by a peaceful wildlife preserve. What
a deal!
Meanwhile, German Village gets
the bad end of a deal that was made
without our knowledge. Our families
will be put in danger and our neigh
borhood disrupted because of promis
es made in secret. Our Commissioners
even discussed the future need to cut
our beautiful oaks along our street to
widen it for park traffic. They knew
the park traffic will increase on our
little street but overturned the Zon
ing Board ruling anyway. That is a
shame. To add insult, our tax dollars
will be used to pave our yards and cut
our trees.
I ask Glynn County residents to
encourage the Land Trust to find
another route to access their water
front park other than Village Drive.
We need your support to protect the
safety of German Village and all
neighborhoods.
Caroline Carter
St. Simons Island
Jekyll Island
“Buyer Beware” if the proposed
48-unit condo project called “The
Moorings” comes to fruition on Jekyll
Island!
Why? The project site, adjacent to
the Jekyll Harbor Marina, has been
designated by the National Flood In
surance Program as a “special flood
hazard area, considered to be at high
risk of flooding,”
No wonder the Jekyll Island Au
thority committee that conducted
an environmental assessment of the
project said the site “would be more
exposed to risk of near term coastal
flooding impacts and long term sea-
level rise impacts than any other res
idential property on Jekyll Island.”
Why the developer, Carolina Hold
ings, LLC, would build on such a
high-risk site and place buyers in
harm’s way is a no brainer: money.
Why the JIA, continues to give
this high-risk project consideration is
a good question still awaiting a good
answer.
As the appointed stewards of Je
kyll Island State Park and the land
lord of the prospective buyers at “The
Moorings,” one would hope the JIA
would give more weight to the public
interest than to the wish list of the
developer, who will reap the profits
from the project and then walk away
once the condos are sold.
The 2018 Jekyll Island Capac
ity Study urged restraint regarding
further development of the island. If
ever there was a development project
on Jekyll Island deserving of the rec
ommended restraint, it’s “The Moor
ings.” Plain and simple, building on
such a fragile site is a bad idea de
serving rejection.
Mindy Egan
Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island
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