Glynn County approves rezoning amendment for St. Simons Christian School with fence, access conditions

The Glynn County Board of Commissioners voted to approve ZM24‑15, an amendment to the Old Stables planned development that will add about 18,000 square feet to Saint Simons Christian School for a gymnasium and incorporate roughly seven Glen Haven lots for a relocated playground, with conditions requiring an 8‑foot solid privacy fence where adjacent to residences and no parking or construction access from Pine Street.

The hearing drew more than a dozen public commenters, split between neighbors who opposed further encroachment into the Glen Haven subdivision and parents, staff and residents who said the scaled‑back expansion is necessary for the school. Opponents cited the county land‑use plan, buffer removal, potential precedent for future rezoning, and stormwater and noise impacts; supporters said the school reduced an earlier, larger proposal and committed to limiting future uses of the affected tract to school purposes.

Planning staff described the request as an amendment to an existing Planned Development (the Old Stables PD) to add property behind the school at 1060 Coquina Circle and to bring several narrow, 30‑foot historic Glen Haven lots into the PD so the school can move its playground farther from the main campus. Planning and zoning director Stephanie Leaf told commissioners the current request is smaller than a proposal from the prior year and that no new school buildings are planned for the Glen Haven lots — "there would be playgrounds back here," she said. The Islands Planning Commission recommended approval 4‑1 and added conditions including the 8‑foot fence and no Pine Street access during construction.

Neighbors who opposed the rezoning raised multiple concerns. Susan Miller Fogelman of 210 Atlantic Drive warned the county against setting a precedent and asked the board to uphold the 2023 land‑use plan, saying, "It sets a precedent." Jean DeRosa, a nearby resident, said the application would remove a 25‑foot buffer required in the Old Stables PD and that the school’s playground noise already carries into nearby yards. She cited the county noise ordinance and said the playground is "plainly audible" from her house.

Several speakers pressed drainage and stormwater questions. Attorney Brian Derry and resident Jeff Kilgore urged commissioners to require a full stormwater analysis before approval, noting the downstream drainage outfall and changes caused by the nearby Sea Island housing project. Derry said a December 2023 drainage report showed a larger upstream drainage basin routed through two 42‑inch pipes and that the Sea Island work removed about 2.84 acres of detention; he said he wanted additional hydrologic and hydraulic analysis before further site work. County engineering director Jason Hartman responded that a full stormwater and civil plan review is required during the site/civil plan phase and that developers must demonstrate pre‑ versus post‑development flows are acceptable. Hartman said engineers must prove an adequate design for any additional impervious area.

The school’s attorney, Taylor Haley, told the commission the project had been pared back after public comment. "We are voluntarily restricting ourselves to school use only," Haley said, adding that a previously proposed two‑story classroom was withdrawn and that the current plan focuses on a single gym building. School headmaster Mark Hawk described the school’s growth and need for space, calling the project "legacy building" for students and families.

On technical issues, applicants and county staff said: the buffer standard applicable to the PD text and the county standard differs in places (the Old Stables PD text included a 25‑foot buffer; the applicant requested to meet the county standard in some areas), Oak Street within Glen Haven is an unimproved right‑of‑way of roughly 40 feet that provides additional separation, and the applicant committed to an 8‑foot solid privacy fence (wood, masonry or vinyl allowed by the PD text) along residential edges. The applicant also said the proposed site will not include regulation‑size athletic fields and that lighting would be limited to low exterior or motion‑sensing fixtures; no plan for night games was presented.

On utilities, the applicant said the gym would add restrooms that will gravity‑tie to existing sewer on Coquina Circle; Joint Water and Sewer Commission review of the site plan has occurred and, according to the applicant, JWSC approved the plan. The applicant also stated they had analyzed the downstream pipe capacity and that the system sized during the Sea Island project could accommodate the gym’s additional runoff; Hartman said the county would review drainage reports again at civil plan submittal.

After debate, a commissioner moved and the board approved the rezoning amendment with the conditions placed by the Islands Planning Commission: installation of an 8‑foot solid privacy fence where the PD abuts residential property and no parking or construction access from Pine Street during construction. The motion carried and no roll‑call tally with individual named votes was recorded in the public transcript.

Next steps include final civil/site engineering review by county staff and utility agencies before issuance of any building permits. The record shows the Islands Planning Commission’s recommendation, the applicant’s site plan submittal, and multiple public comments on noise, buffers, drainage and precedent will remain part of county review as the project moves to permitting.