JEKYLL ISLAND | The protracted battle over future development of this state-owned island may soon be over.
The latest draft of the island’s proposed master plan was presented to the island’s legislative oversight committee Tuesday, and the updated plan includes a shift away from a 1971 mandate restricting the portion of the 5,530-acre island that can be developed to 35 percent.
The new proposal fixes the acreage open for development at 1,675 acres, of which 1,609 acres already are developed.
Of the remaining 66 developable acres, 46 would be reserved for health, public safety and public recreational facilities, community planner Langford Holbrook of the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Center told committee members. The remaining 20 acres could be developed for commercial or other purposes as determined by the island’s governing board, the Jekyll Island Authority, subject to legislative approval.
“I think this is a step forward,” David Egan of the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island said following the hourlong meeting.
Egan’s and other environmental groups had expressed concern that the 1971 method of determining developable acreage was flawed and inaccurate because of discrepancies in how marshland was defined and, therefore, how much land could be developed.
via Plan to set firm acreage limit on Jekyll Island development gains wide approval | jacksonville.com.
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