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Speakers at McIntosh County hearing urge protections for Gullah Geechee community on Sapelo
Summary
Residents, descendants and students told the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners the county should restore a 1995 low-density policy, favor smaller house sizes and center community voices to prevent displacement of Sapelo’s Gullah Geechee community.
Multiple speakers told the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 20, 2026, that zoning and permitting decisions threaten the continuity of the Gullah Geechee community on Sapelo Island and urged the board to center long-term residents in planning. Ryan McNeely asked the board to "allow the Gullah Geechee community to continue to survive by putting back the 1995 policy that established a low density residential district on Sapelo."
Student speakers also addressed the board. Sophia Hondroulis asked commissioners to put culture before profit: "What do you really think is best for the island and for its people, not for profit, but the culture that is still important?" Linda Katherine Hernandez, a Howard School sophomore, urged officials to consider smaller, 1,300-square-foot homes rather than larger 3,000-square-foot houses to reduce the risk of gentrification: "Please consider the Gullah Geechie voices because we're all human, and we all bleed red."
