PUBLIC HEARING - LAND USE
TA-26-3 – Subdivision Regulations Text Amendment: Consideration of a County-initiated amendment to modify Sec. 4.1 in the Subdivision Regulations to clarify the minor subdivision plat process.
(S. Leif) (MPC: 5-0 [Hall, Nevill absent]. IPC: 5-0 [Nash, Douglass absent].)BACKGROUND
Sec. 4.2.A.4 in the March 11, 2026, draft of the Subdivision Regulations contained language stating that the use of the expedited/minor subdivision process to create new lots was only available for the Mainland. Any new lot creation on St. Simons Island and Sea Island was to go through the full platting process.
See below:
“The division of a tract of land on the Mainland into no more than four lots, all of which shall meet the lot area and width requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, all requirements of these Regulations, and must be served by drainage improvements approved by the Glynn County Engineering Division. Subdivisions eligible for expedited review under this provision shall be limited to land within the following zoning districts, as established in Sec. 2.2 of the Zoning Ordinance: For the avoidance of doubt, the creation of more residential lots on St. Simons Island or Sea Island does not qualify for expedited subdivision review and requires preliminary plat, construction plans (if applicable), and final plat.”
Both the IPC and MPC voted to approve this section of the proposed Subdivision Regulations without any changes at their March 18, 2026, joint meeting.
In preparation for the April 16, 2026, Board of Commissioners meeting, the County Attorney’s Office prepared a document titled “Proposed Amendments (Codified Text Format) Glynn County Subdivision Regulations (TA-25-03).” Recommendation #11 in the document showed amendment language that dealt with consolidating Article 4. This was in correlation to Slide #11 shown to Commissioners during the April 16 meeting.
Commissioners voted to approve Option C on Slide #11 which read: “Change the 3/11 draft by amending Sec. 4.1 & 4.2 into a section titled "Minor Subdivision Plats for All Development Uses,” and removing any redundant and/or contradictory language.”
Recommendation #11 in the County Attorney “Proposed Amendments” document, however, inadvertently omitted the language contained in the March 11 draft regarding the expedited/minor subdivision process only being available for lot creation on the Mainland and lot creation on SSI and Sea Island having to go through the full platting process. It is the opinion of the County Attorney’s Office that the BOC voted for the text in the “Proposed Amendments” document and that the omission error cannot be remedied administratively.
The practical effect of this omission is that the creation of new lots on St. Simons Island and Sea Island can be achieved by expedited/minor subdivision. This was not the intention of the March 11 draft reviewed by the Planning Commissions and Board of Commissioners. This ordinance amendment restores the requirement for the creation of new lots on St. Simons Island and Sea Island to be completed by Major Subdivision procedures.
POSSIBLE ACTIONS
Pursuant to Article 7 of the Glynn County Subdivision Regulations, the Board of Commissioners shall take one of the following formal actions:
(i) Approve the ordinance amendment as presented;
(ii) Approve the ordinance amendment with modifications or conditions;
(iii) Defer action on the ordinance amendment; or
(iv) Deny the ordinance amendment.