Judge grants injunction in Sapelo Island rezoning battle

SAPELO ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - A judge has ruled to stop decisions around a controversial rezoning ordinance in McIntosh County until the case works its way through the Georgia Supreme Court.

This all stems from the ongoing battle over a September 2023 zoning ordinance that allowed homes to more than double in size in Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock community, one of the last in-tact Gullah Geechee communities in coastal Georgia.

Judge Gary McCorvey granted the injunction on Monday.

It effectively keeps the maximum size of homes at the prior size of 1,400 square feet until an appeal is decided. The new zoning ordinance would have allowed homes up to 3,000 square feet.

The ordinance had become the topic of a referendum vote in McIntosh County this fall.

Judge McCorvey ruled to cancel that election after early voting began.

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