Georgia’s highest court waded into a fight between Black landowners and local officials on Wednesday, who have weakened long-standing protections for one of the South’s last Gullah-Geechee communities founded by freed slaves.
Residents of largely unspoiled Sapelo Island have been trying to roll back zoning changes imposed by McIntosh County officials that doubled the size of homes allowed in a tiny enclave called Hogg Hummock. Homeowners fear the change will bring unaffordable tax increases, threatening one of America’s most historically and culturally unique Black communities.
The Georgia Supreme Court heard legal arguments Wednesday on whether residents can attempt to repeal the 2023 zoning amendments by forcing a special election.
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