Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island
ACTION ALERT 2:
 
'Shore Destruction' Bill Moves to the Rules Committee and Senate Floor   
 
Please Help Protect Jekyll Island!  
If you want to help preserve Jekyll Island's beach and prevent commercial/residential development of the island's pristine oceanfront land, then read on....
HB 445, aka The 'Shore Destruction Bill' - Current Status:
House Bill 445 a bill which guts the jurisdiction of the state's long-standing Shore Protection Act (SPA), was approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on March 21st by a margin of just one vote!  The bill now goes to the Rules Committee and from there to the Senate floor for a final vote. 
   
What does this attack on the SPA mean?  
HB 445  reduces the jurisdiction of the SPA to a mere 25 feet from ordinary high water, weakening protection of the dunes and sand-sharing system, and allowing development dangerously close to the ocean.
 
Fortunately, an amendment to HB 445 exempting Sea Island from the SPA was removed because of widespread opposition.
Click here to read the blockbuster Brunswick News story, "Sea Island asked for, got special treatment for HB 445," about the origin of the Sea Island exemption.   
 
How does HB 445 affect Jekyll Island?
HB 445 removes from the SPA's jurisdiction the vast majority of Jekyll's iconic section of wide-open beachfront land between Shell Road and the beachfront park just south of the Holiday Inn. Currently, the SPA's jurisdictional line in that area runs along Beachview Drive. HB 445 would place the line at just 25 feet from the landward-most dunes.
 
How can you help?

Call or email your State Senator's office and simply tell them that HB 445 is bad for Georgia's coast and should be voted down.
 
(Click here to find the email address of your state senator. Note: Type in your zip code in the 'search by address bar.' If you know your senator's name, the email addresses for senators are first name followed by a dot last [email protected]. For example, [email protected])  
 
Please consider also calling the following Rules Committee members:
Jeff Mullis - Chair 404-656-0057  [email protected] 
Jack Hill - Vice-chair 404-656-5038   [email protected]  
Bill Cowsert 404-463-1365 [email protected] 
Steve Henson 404-656-0085   [email protected]  
Renee Unterman 404-463-1368 [email protected]
 
When calling, you will reach an aide who will note your objection to HB 445 but will most li kely not pass along your reasons for opposing the bill. However, if you want to state your objections, you might consider saying:
  • The bill decreases protection of the sand-sharing system at a time when rising sea levels and powerful coastal storms are showing that protection should be increased.
  • By reducing the SPA's landward jurisdiction to a mere 25 feet from ordinary high water, the bill would facilitate development of increasingly fragile oceanfront land threatened by storm events and sea level rise. 
   
Call now to help protect Georgia's Coast 
If you would like to have more information about HB 445 and the SPA issue, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or phone 912-635-2167 home/ 912-577-4655 cell.
Thanks, folks, for fighting for the coast and Jekyll Island once again!
David and Mindy Egan, Co-Directors
Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island State Park
Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island | 912-635-2167 home, 912-577-4655 cell | [email protected] | http://www.savejekyllisland.org
308 Old Plantation Rd.
Jekyll Island, GA 31527

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