Development on Jekyll Island hinges on defining marshes | PickensProgressOnline.com

By Pam O’Dell, Capitol Reporter

The Jekyll Island Authority has asked the Attorney General’s office to weigh in on a task force’s recommendation that marsh not be considered in determining the island’s land base. The land measurement is significant because it determines, according to state law, the amount of development that can occur on the island.

Hence, the determination on whether or not marsh is counted as land pits environmentalists and citizen activists against those who favor greater development on the island.

The naming of the “65/35 Task Force” alludes to the 1971 law which limits development to 35 percent of the island’s land area. If the amount of total land space is increased, the amount of developable land is also increased. The land count is central to the development of the island’s “Master Plan,” a process which is intended to guide the authority and the public in balancing the recreational and environmental attributes of the island while ensuring that the park be economically self-sufficient and affordable.

According to Eric Garvey, spokesman for the authority: “Because the 65/35 Task Force’s alternate method apparently conflicts with the Jekyll Island Authority’s enabling legislation, the staff has requested a legal review by the Office of the Attorney General. “Pending advice from the Attorney General, no decisions regarding the task force recommendations have been made.”

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