Langford: Plan will enhance access to Jekyll
Sen. Jeff Chapman is calling the people of Georgia to adopt his resolution to “preserve public access” to the beach at Jekyll Island. He claims that a proposed revitalization of a small portion of the island “threatens to severely diminish direct access to virtually all of the park’s main public beach.”
To be kind, this claim is completely off the mark.
Under the proposed plan, every current public access point will continue to exist and the beach will be as open as ever to all visitors. In addition, changing facilities and restrooms will be upgraded to further accommodate everyone, particularly day visitors.
The revitalization is designed to bring more Georgians back to Jekyll, where visitation has declined more than 47 percent since 1990, due in part to aging facilities and infrastructure.
Sen. Chapman claims that the beach “would be blocked” by the proposal’s town center. In fact, the existing convention center currently blocks much of the view, and it will be moved further inland under the plan.
It is also important to note that, of the nine miles of Jekyll beaches, the beach village site will border only about 4,000 feet, less than 8 percent of the total beachfront area. And every inch of this beach will continue to be just as available to the public as it is today.
Sen. Chapman quotes from the 1996 Jekyll Island Master Plan, which states that the island’s “principal attraction is the accessibility it provides to an unspoiled microcosm of the coastal environment. It is this unique opportunity upon which all future plans for the island’s viability should be based.” However, his resolution claims that accessibility requires maintaining nearly five acres of 1960s-era asphalt parking lots that abut the beach and sand dunes. Stormwater runoff from these lots can cause erosion and pollute the waterways.
Under the revitalization plan, these unsightly and environmentally unfriendly lots will be replaced with over 2,000 parking spaces on porous surfaces bordered by trees. These porous surfaces will ensure that nearly 100 percent of rainwater is captured and reused in an appropriate way that protects the natural environment.
In addition to the environmental improvements, parking will be spread throughout the town center and a short walk from the beach and other amenities. More than 700 of these spaces will be within a three-minute minute walk of the beach. Detailed maps of existing and proposed parking areas are available in the maps section of the website, www.rediscoverjekyll.com.
The essence of the plan is to enhance access to Jekyll while adhering to environmentally sensitive design and construction. Linger Longer Communities, which is partnering with the Jekyll Island Authority on the revitalization, proposes one of the first Earthcraft Coastal Communities on the East Coast. This designation requires adherence to a rigorous scoring system, created by the Southface Energy Institute, that awards points for water management, landscape and habitat preservation, green building standards and provisions for pedestrians and cyclists.
Rather than utilize the town center area exclusively for development, Linger Longer considered how to establish a viable commercial hub for the island while enhancing the available green space in the area. The result is a net increase in the island’s green space, with nearly 24 acres of new parks and natural areas. In some cases, developed areas are being repurposed as green space and wetlands.
We offer Georgians a resolution in response to Sen. Chapman’s: “Be it resolved, in view of the aging infrastructure and of declining visitation to Jekyll Island, that just 1 percent of the island’s acreage, including land adjacent to less than 8 percent of the island’s total beachfront, shall be revitalized to the quality standards that Georgians deserve, without reducing public parking or beach access points, and with adherence to extensive and rigorous environmental guidelines to create one of the most accessible and eco-friendly communities on the east coast.”
Vote “yes” on this proposed resolution by visiting www.rediscoverjekyll.com. Let Sen. Chapman know how much Georgians really care about Jekyll Island.
Jim Langford is project executive for the Linger Longer Communities.
Tags: jekyll island, jekyll island redevelopment, jekyll island revitalization, linger longer
January 24th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I absolutely support Senator Chapman’s response to the proposed Linger Longer development. The issue goes beyond “4 parking lots.” It’s about the type, scope, affordability and accessibility of the proposed plan. Chapman is right on the mark.
Jekyll Island is a state park, not a resort. The island must generate enough money to be self-sustaining. As a state park, it was never intended to be a huge money-making machine, much to the chagrin of politicians and developers. Its purpose is to be an affordable park for the average citizen. To put condos and hotels on the main stretch of public beach is just wrong.
January 24th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Please remember that the submitted plan is still being revised, and that is what this time of public input is for. Also, the current convention center is on the beach, there are other hotels on the beach, and the new plan has a bike path running along the beach just like we have now. The new convention center will not be on the beach (in the current plan). As far as the parking lots go, even in peak season, are 3/4 EMPTY all summer long now. They are big, black parking lots that are not environmentally friendly that could be replaced by areas that have trees, and allow for environmentally friendly parking spaces to be built. I invite you to imagine what the future could bring with technologically advanced building materials. Could the people who are complaining that the parking might be 3 whole minutes from the beach sacrifice a little for good of the enviroment, and buy a cart or cooler with wheels?
January 24th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
“…good for the enviroment”?
How is the Linger Longer communities proposal good for the environment? How is yet another over-populated,over-developed beach “good for the environment”? That is a JOKE…what makes Jekyll so special IS the fact that it is so undeveloped. We need to preserve one of the last unique and unspoiled areas in Georgia.
To quote Melissa Johnson: “Most people who visit the island agree that some sort of development should be done to revitalize the area. A grassroots group of citizens and visitors, savejekyllisland.org, did a survey and found that a majority of the people surveyed want development to take place within existing footprints of current or former buildings, protecting the public’s beachfront access from development. I mean after all, it IS a state park owned by… the public.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Obviously, some people are not going to change their minds no matter how many facts we point out, but we thought we needed to make sure the facts were presented as a counterpoint to inaccuracies that are being posted elsewhere. If those of you who do want all the facts will visit http://www.rediscoverjekyll.com,and read about the structures they plan to build, you’ll understand that new building technologies are better for the environemnt. Such as:
How are you building in an environmentally-friendly fashion?
Our plans call for close adherence to newly developed Earthcraft Community Coastal Guidelines so that all site planning, development and construction will follow state-of-the-art sustainable building practices (find out more at http://www.earthcrafthouse.com/communities/coastal.htm). All commercial buildings will also meet or exceed LEED Silver Standards, and all flat-roofed buildings will be “green roofs” (visit http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/ for more information on LEED). All ground surfaces within the Village, including all new roads and sidewalks, will be pervious surfaces, and the Village will have comprehensive rain and water runoff capture systems.
The area that is there now is developed area. We are not touching the 65% of the island that is to remain undeveloped.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Jekyll Island is neat, but I won’t be coming back until some improvements are made. What’s wrong with a nice place overlooking the beach? It is better than the nothing that is there now.
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
There are already hotels that overlook the beach.