Hog Island Private Luxury Island

HOG ISLAND - PRIVATE ISLAND LUXURY LIVING

March 2024 David Pepper pled his case before the county's commissioners for rezoning his private island to Residential Estate.

Below is a summary of the county's records of what the vision is for Pepper's island on the south border of Putnam county. 

The purpose of the requested Zoning Map Amendment is to rezone all 224 acres (+/-) of Hog Island from Planned Unit Development (PUD - Ordinance 1997-04) and Agriculture (AG) to Residential Estate (RE). This change would allow for the development of a private luxury residential community, which would be reviewed and processed as a platted subdivision, contingent on the approval of the rezoning request.

Based on the supplied conceptual plan, the community could comprise a total of 22 single-family waterfront lots, with lot sizes ranging from approximately 5.9 to 14.6 acres. Final lot sizes may change during the Development Review Committee (DRC) plat review process. Each home site will be serviced by a private septic system and well.

Utility infrastructure includes service by Clay Electric through a new submarine cable installed in 2023, capable of supporting up to 100 homes. Phone and Internet services are also available via a submarine cable with similar capacity. Residential trash service will be provided regularly, with waste transported by boat to a dumpster at 121 Georgetown Road, a location owned by the applicant.

The island will be accessed primarily by private boat, with residents having docking facilities either through a communal marina or private docks. A ferry service may be introduced depending on residents' needs. For transportation of oversized items, a barge landing on the island will be utilized. Additionally, the island has an existing heliport available for resident and emergency use.

The developer plans to implement recorded deed restrictions on each lot, notifying buyers that fire and rescue services may not be readily available. If internal roads are constructed, they will not be maintained by the county.

Emergency Services 

Fire: Developers will work with the Putnam County Fire Marshall to ensure sufficient 
resources are available for fire fighting on the island. 

Police: Developers will work with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office to ensure sufficient 
resources are available for policing the island. PCSO does have a Marine Unit with 
multiple vessels. 

Medical: Developers will work with Putnam County Fire Rescue to ensure sufficient 
resources are available for emergency life saving capability on the island. The island 
has a heliport, and the closest Level 1 Trauma Center with helicopter evacuation is UF 
Health Shands in Gainesville. 

Timeline 
If the rezoning of Hog Island is successful, the developers intend to apply for an Exempt 
Subdivision lot line modification within 3 months. Application for rezoning of 121 
Georgetown Landing Road should occur within 6 months. Development could begin in 
12 months, pending all federal, state, and county approvals.

Personal Note- This Hog Island Private Luxury community being pushed forward only further supports how the River's future will bring in money. 

BassPro owning thousands of acres just 15 minutes north, they are in the works of a 14 acre recreational stock pond, the future resort is shaping up.

I personally think there's A LOT of infastructure needed first from roadways, septic and sewer. We will see that occuring before any large structures or special use permits IMO.

We also have Impact fee's coming into effect soon- I think this is a great way to sustain growth while also filtering out the people or businesses who arent commited to a long term relationship with the county.

Can you imagine seeing a bunch of failed ventures or half built homes scattered through out the county because they werent commited or didnt have the resources to be succesfull here..

PUTNAM IMPACT FEES

This meeting for the Hog Island rezoning was May of 2024, it is now July 2025 and in 2 months Impact Fees will come into effect.

Impact fees are relevant to Hog Island because there a many wanting to build in the county not just the island, by paying these fees we can improve our county's general quality of life "In house" while paying for EMS, Police, Fire and Infastructure.

This means any persons building in Putnam county has to pay a fee to help the sustainability of the county before you are permited to build, a newly built home will cost just  $7,711 before permited to build, Mobile home $4,394.

Impact fees are used to improve the community- new roads, streetlights , sidewalks, parks and playgrounds; the list goes on.

BUT impact fees cannot be used for wages or maintenance of existing projects.

Residential and Commercial, see below for chart with breakdown.