The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission voted unanimously and without discussion on Aug. 4 to recommend a major amendment to the long-stalled Savannah Harbor Planned Development on Hutchinson Island. The amendment would allow up to 1,280 residential units, plus hotels, restaurants, retail and other commercial uses, on roughly 100 acres across four parcels, with buildings up to six stories or 85 feet.
The plan splits the site into a higher-density resort-oriented area and a lower-density residential zone along the Back River. It updates a master plan first approved in 2004, and MPC staff have flagged water, sewer, drainage and public-safety capacity as the island's biggest constraints as it grows. Savannah City Council holds final approval and has not yet voted.
Why it matters
This would roughly double what is allowed on one of downtown Savannah's last large undeveloped stretches, 20 years after the island's original master plan was approved and mostly unbuilt.
Sources and documents4 sources
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