75th Edition of the WLHS Newsletter: It's Your Town History - Take the Helm
"In this Michigan lake town, time stands still - and that's the way Midwesterners like it". Travel Leisure 2025
Brief
City Council Meeting: Monday, August 4, at 7:00 PM. Zoom YouTube. The agenda for that meeting can be found here, (when available on City of Harbor Springs website).
Planning Commission: Meets at 5:30 p.m. for a Special Meeting on July 31. Zoom YouTube. The agenda for the PC meeting can be found here (when available on the City of Harbor Springs website).
Focus continues to be on finishing dimensional standards for all districts, and the start of land use discussions. The Planning Commission is hoping to complete all discussion of complete dimensions and uses by Thursday, August 14. See proposed Full Schedule here, page 28. The time to speak up is now.
We continue to receive feedback that it is difficult to attend and follow meetings via Zoom and in person. WLHS reached out to City Council to ask if CC would instruct staff to work with us to solve the audio and visual challenges at City Hall meetings.
The tone of the recent July 17th meeting showed a balancing act: Urgency to complete the code vs. respect for volunteers’ time. This exchange reveals both the pressure to accelerate the process, and people’s realistic time capacity, especially in the summer. Noticeable, was the common complaint one year ago when community members noticed the lack of summer meetings when most property owners are in residence.
To maintain your neighborhood’s character and preserve the undulating two-story heights with corner buildings built with pride, we need property owners in these districts—full-time and part-time residents—to show up at Planning Commission meetings. Your voices matter whether you vote here or not. It’s your town.
If you’d prefer WLHS to speak on your behalf, please email us with your thoughts or concerns. Your stories help shape our advocacy.
TIMELINE: How It Happened — and Why We Acted
Over the past year, we’ve faced real challenges—and to begin with the simplest truth:
We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS) is not against change. We know change comes with time. But change must be thoughtful, guided, and rooted in community values.
Seventeen months ago, in March 2024, We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS) became a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. That move formalized our role as a citizen-led advocacy group.
We don’t tell people how to vote or where to serve—we just work hard to make sure they have the facts.
We have a core team of about 20 volunteers and researchers, supported by 75 active and loyal citizens, with more than 1,000 newsletter subscribers. Through emails, calls, and outreach, we’ve kept people informed.
A Look Back: What Happened First
Not so long ago, families, neighbors, and property owners trusted local leaders. That trust meant most people didn’t feel the need to closely follow decisions made by the City Manager, Planning Commission, or City Council.
Because of research and the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we learned in 2019, that the Planning Commission began pursuing specific zoning goals.
It was in 2023, a zoning subcommittee began meeting privately with staff members Jeff Grimm and Victor Sinadinoski, when able, along with two Planning Commissioners and three rotating members.
In one email, Planning Commission Chair Bill Mulder wrote:
“We’d like to learn a lot more about the key residential zoning trends from our January 2023 seminar.”
Here were the six trends they focused on:
Reducing lot widths
Reducing or eliminating minimum lot sizes
Reducing setbacks
Reducing or eliminating minimum dwelling sizes
Rethinking density
Expanding allowable uses—especially duplexes and quadplexes
From that point forward, zoning in Harbor Springs became density-driven. These six ideas became the backbone of what would later become Zoning Code #439.
Fast Forward to 2024: The Public Wakes Up
In February 2024, residents who attended Planning Commission meetings learned that City Hall was finalizing certification with the Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) program through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
WLHS did our own research. We did not agree with City Hall, the Planning Commission, or the City Council.
Here’s what we learned:
Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) is a MEDC program that helps cities become more "development-ready" for national developers—by streamlining planning and zoning rules.
Once certified, Harbor Springs would be featured on a state-run site and offered Michigan Economic Development Corporation grant money to attract outside development.
Throughout the RRC and MEDC processes, emails from the agencies suggested great amounts of money could be obtained for these “Best Practices”.
Despite residents asking for more time to understand the zoning changes, our concerns were ignored. Eventually the Harbor Light refused to publish letters on the topics. WLHS then mounted a Property Owners’ Protest Petition and gathered almost 900 signatures of property owners in and outside of the 1.3 Square Mile City of Harbor Springs, meeting the quota of 20% of the city property acreage. The clarion call in March and April 2024 was for ‘more time’ to review the zoning code and citizen collaboration.
May 6, 2024 City Council continues to discuss the proposed new zoning. Opposition was loud.
May 20, 2024 The five City Council members approved Zoning Code #439.
What Code #439 Approved:
Duplexes “by right” across most of Harbor Springs
An expanded downtown footprint
Three-story, straight-line commercial buildings allowed “by right” on Bay Street, Main Street, and Third Street
And the worst—for many of us—the Agricultural/Residential District was rezoned and replaced by a “Residential Neighborhood with an added Agricultural Overlay.”
This change would allow the open farm lands west of Bluff Gardens area to have smaller lots, with less setbacks—essentially allowing a more urban dense subdivision.
Oddly enough, the City’s own planning consultant, Beckett & Raeder, had advised early in 2024 that City Council approval of Zoning Code #439 should happen in October or December 2024, five months later. Even the City Planners knew and recognized that residents needed more time to be on board, and included.
But the Planning Commission ignored their own planner’s advice.
“Just Trust Us” Wasn’t Enough
From May 2024 - through the summer, the message we kept hearing was:
“Trust your City officials to know what’s best for Harbor Springs.” “They are our neighbors”.
But the deeper we dug, the more it became clear—this wasn’t a conversation. It was a done deal.
That’s when WLHS acted.
How We Responded
Because Michigan is a Ballot Initiative State, we launched a Protest Petition, followed by a citizen-led referendum. We:
Knocked on doors
Sent mailers
Planted YES to Repeal signs
Spoke at meetings—often with 35+ residents raising thoughtful concerns
What Happened Next
November 2024 — Zoning Code #439 was repealed by voters
We elected a new mayor, Tom Graham, whose respectful, balanced leadership offered a welcome change. A new Councilwoman joined, bringing budget and business insight
Planning Commission meetings changed — with new appointees, more public engagement, and a noticeable shift in transparency and tone
February 2025 — WLHS organized a letter-writing campaign that led to a unanimous 5–0 vote by City Council to withdraw from the RRC program. Even Planning Chair Bill Mulder supported the move
We’ve submitted letters, research, and feedback to City Hall—always respectful, always prepared
We’ve published 75 newsletters in 17 months. If you’re not subscribed yet, please sign up. It’s free—though donations help
Our new website is live, and you can now follow us even if you don’t use social media
What This All Proves
WLHS is a local, grassroots movement powered by people like you. You don’t have to vote here, you don’t have to live here all year round. We work through facts, persistence, and honest conversation.
Today, we’re here to say:
Preservation isn’t about resisting change.
It’s about shaping it, carefully, precisely, and with deep love for this town.
Let’s stop outsourcing our government. Let’s take the helm, and move Harbor Springs forward—together.
Why Take the Helm Now ?
Northern Michigan has serious challenges ahead. Times are different. From being on Hallmark Channel for our Christmas lighting, the Pure Michigan Campaigns, the Mackinac Island recognition, the beauty of the Tunnel of Trees, the fact that Petoskey, Charlevoix, Boyne City, and Traverse City are all RRC Communities - powered by the MEDC, there will be more development in the region in the next 10 years than the last 100.
In Petoskey, traffic is backed up, making it difficult to drive on M-119 to get places. Emmet County is beginning to reassess its traffic routing strategies as Petoskey approaches its capacity limits. There are many new competing interests. Many who have no idea about Harbor Springs’ unique characteristics.
They will run us over without realizing the consequences. As we have been vigilant for the last 100 years, we need to be more vigilant as a community to help preserve and protect Harbor Springs best qualities.
"In this Michigan lake town, time stands still - and that's the way Midwesterners like it". Travel Leisure 2025
Why Engagement Matters
This past year has proven something powerful, when residents get involved, good things happen. Our shared actions didn’t just pause reckless development; they reminded Harbor Springs of who we are. Thoughtful. Protective. United. This isn’t just about zoning or ordinances. It’s about the future we’re shaping, street by street, vote by vote.
Staying informed, speaking up, and working together make our town stronger. When we listen to each other, we reduce division. When we show up, we protect what matters most. Harbor Springs is special not because it avoids change, but because we insist that change respects what makes this place beloved.
Let’s keep showing up, for our neighbors, our town, and the generations to come.