Building a Community Together

Alert: Property Owners Need to Engage in the Open Houses

The Brief

• At City Hall, the Planning Commission has been holding Open House and Listening Sessions to discuss individual zoning district concerns and your participation is necessary. The schedule has been extended!

• Harbor Springs Schools Superintendent Brad Plackemeier will be at the next Planning Commission meeting Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 5:30 pm to discuss zoning, school enrollment and the community. A neighbor Ashley O’Reilly had been in contact with him when the idea of having a tourist parking lot in the residential neighborhood, up by the high school, with a trolly into town. Another citizen spoke on Zoom at a PC meeting regarding the schools and sports. Please attend.

• Sign up for City Emails: Link

• The City has improved the microphones for Zoom, with more improvements hopefully in the future.

• Commit to attending a City Meeting by Zoom in February to protect your property rights.

• The City Council next meets on Monday February 3rd at 7 p.m. Zoom YouTube

• Planning Commission meeting Thursday, February 6, at 5:30 p.m. Zoom YouTube

• View our website or provide comments on our facebook page

Details

• The City is slowing down the timeline for updating the zoning because of your letters and phone calls. YOU DID IT! We will let the Planning Commission explain the reasons for updating and repairing the 2005 Zoning Code. Those who have attended the recent meetings agree the 2005 Zoning needs to be incrementally renovated, not overhauled.

The Zoning Planning Schedule has been extended!

Calendar for Planning Commission Events Jan – April 2025. [Published 1/25/2025]
All meetings which are broadcast and recorded use this Zoom link BELOW

https://zoom.us/j/7770202234?pwd=bTNUUnNYWFYxYkU0Zm5wOXlNSncxdz09

---

Letter to the Editor

January 26, 2025

For many of us reading the We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS) Newsletters, what stands out most in the newsletters are the opinions. The opinions are from a few of us, and from many of us - we collaborate. We receive emails, calls, texts, meet-ups - the community is talking, and writing. We will sit down with anyone who wants to go point by point of facts. We research, we source the issues, and at the moments in discussions we don't know or need research, we ask. And we will speak up for those of you that are too busy.

We have attended every (except two DDA meetings) Planning Commission, City Council, Downtown Directory Authority (DDA), and Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) meeting since February 8, 2024. We are learning and watching how the city is growing and operating. Our ask is that the entire community of all age groups all need to get together. NOW.

Last year local voters and residents spent months, “Getting people’s attention,”; “Using photographs and pictures for illustrations to achieve engagement, “; “Asking people to go to certain websites, sign their names and give their property addresses”; “Going from home to home like a postman does every day while we asked for your support and got to know our neighbors, and they got to know us.”

Voters and residents canvassed. We educated some individuals and families and finally, at the ballot box, all the hard work showed up. November 7, 2024.

The crux of the matter is and was: In the early months of 2024, the majority of our community saw a zoning code that was NOT fit for Harbor Springs, a code not in the best interests of preserving and protecting the town. The community is saying NO to Density and Development. The community will be keeping a finger on the pulse indefinitely to ensure long-term Preservation and Protection of their small, unique community. Ultimately, the May 2024 zoning code was repealed by a majority of voters on November 7, 2024. Two new council ( including our new Mayor) seats were also replaced. That was not the end of the story.

Since November 7th, the Planning Commission has collectively decided to renovate the current zoning code. The meetings are calm. The Planning Commissioners are listening to the community and agree with the City Planner, Beckett, and Raeder’s John Iacoangeli that ALL of the stakeholders in a community, not just voters, must participate. So, they extended the schedule.

Now, we can fraternally discuss all the Articles of a Zoning Code and engage with property owners in all districts—find out what is good, what is bad, what is necessary, and what can be built into a zoning code that is satisfactory.

No RRC involvement, no certification requirements - just talk of authentic solutions to authentic problems. Help build Harbor Springs into its best version of itself.

Sincerely, WLHS Preserve and Protect

Fact-Checking Our Articles

WLHS takes accuracy seriously. We’re not fans of ‘alternative’ facts. Please find reference links for our educational and informational articles both here and on our website. We encourage readers to go directly to the original sources, if listed or to contact us for further clarifications. We encourage deeper dives into the topics. As always, we welcome your comments and Letters to the Editors.