The Brief
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Planning Commission meeting Thursday, February 6, at 5:30 p.m. Zoom YouTube
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Details
A skiing friend said, “What about Michigan towns that have opted out of the Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) process?” Our City Manager has repeatedly said it is the community’s choice to stay involved with the RRC, to decide to become an “essential or certified community’ or stay on our own course of ‘doing what we have been doing’ so well in the past. It was truly the RRC/Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) processes’ that led us into the 2024 Repealed Zoning. Now, we have the chance to start over and we believe the Planning Commission may agree to question and then recommend City Council end steps to RRC certify. The RRC does not need to live in Harbor Springs. As one of our canvassers writes below:
History of Communities - Dexter
By The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Last updated May 11, 2016
THE MICHIGAN ECONOMIC Development Corporation (MEDC) has a program for Michigan cities called Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC). It is a voluntary certification offered at no cost to the communities that elect to participate. According to the MEDC’s Community Development and Assistance website, “The RRC certification is a formal recognition that a community has a vision for the future and the fundamental practices in place to get there.”
The program requires cities to adopt a variety of best practices which include delegating final say so concerning proposed redevelopment and development decisions to a city’s planning commission—to appointed rather than elected officials.
The city of Dexter and that town’s elected officials were on the way toward becoming a Redevelopment Ready Community, at the urging of officials from Ann Arbor SPARK. On Mar. 26, 2014 Dexter’s Manager Donna Dettling announced that her community had been selected to participate in the program. The Treasurer of Dexter’s DDA called the RRC certification a “wonderful opportunity.”
Twelve months later, Dexter’s City Council voted down RRC certification and participation. The reason was simple: state officials who crafted the RRC program require communities to abolish their two-step zoning requirements. A two-step zoning process is predicated on a planning commission approving a site plan and then sending that recommendation to the city’s governing body for final approval. State officials told Dexter Council members RRC certification must place final approval in the hands of a city’s planning commission.
This is ostensibly an effort to streamline the development and redevelopment processes in order to benefit developers. However, as Ann Arbor residents have experienced with the appointed members of the Downtown Development Authority, there is the danger of creating a powerful entity which is allowed to control public policy, but whose members are not answerable to the voters. This has resulted in bitter disagreements between City Council and the DDA Board and even willful disregard for the city’s Charter and state law by the DDA.
DDA officials still refuse to provide required financial statements to the public and Council members relying on the excuse that other DDAs in Michigan do not provide the financial statements….
Ann Arbor City Council, like Dexter’s, should opt not to participate in the MEDC’s RRC program. It requires cities to place far far too much power in the hands of political appointees.
About Dexter without the RRC:
Written in 2023, 7 years later, after turning down RRC participation…an article here about Dexter, Michigan. Link
Please let us know if any of the links, and this Medium link above are not operational for you. Thank you.
A Shallow Dive into City Planner Beckett & Raeder
Beckett & Raeder Incorporated has an office in Petoskey and represents 30 unique communities in the Northwest sector of Upper Michigan. We are imagining that it is most cost effective to recycle the same planning processes among each of those communities.
We also argue 30 unique communities deserve 30 unique solutions.
If each community pays $35,000 per year • 30 communities, Harbor Springs City Planner Beckett & Raeders’ carries a $1.2M number annually based on reputation for getting the job done. Beckett & Raeder hopes for business development and future development projects to design and plan - and the development requirements of the State MEDC grant process ‘RRC’ fits the template. It fits perfectly with the 2019 City Council RRC/MEDC resolution, our City Manager’s mandate, with Beckett & Raeder’s expertise.
Align the community with a redevelopment scheme that requires development (in return for the possibility of grants)
Create a zoning reform that eases development
Create public sentiment that sees the need for development in answering these emotional questions:
Where will our families live?
Where will our downtown employees live?
Where will our safety officials live?
Cutting through all the noise; we all still need to participate - to inform - to push documents - to lodge complaints with civility - to steward and to steer our community by example.
Letter to the Planning Commission
Here’s a letter that went out that was answered by the City Manager.
Thu, Jan 9, 4:32 PM
To Bill Mulder, We Love Harbor Springs and John Iacoangeli (Beckett & Raeder Inc.),
Afternoon John, Hope the email finds you well after the holiday. We’d like to set up a meeting with Beckett & Raeder and Bill Mulder, Chair of the Planning Commission.
Subject #1: Found on flyers and the City's website(s) is that 80 percent of the old code was integrated into the new code, leaving around 20 percent that was actually changed.
We are requesting the Planning Commission to identify and clarify for our full understanding this 80:20 split. If this 80:20 statement is actually true, this will give us all a starting point, at future meetings. By knowing the vast majority of the code is virtually intact and that 80% does not need a lot of attention.
This also would also indicate to us that 80% of the 2005 code is searchable and rearranged. Also modern and up-to-date, and as Jeff Grimm hopes it will be, and has said so as the zoning administrator.
The City Manager Answers: Your request to better understand the “80/20” breakdown, this should be up to the Planning Commission. If they would like to spend City resources directing the City’s consultant to spend time delineating this breakdown, it should be a PC discussion. I recommend submitting public comment to the PC.
Second, we’d like to understand further what the status quo is for Harbor Springs and the RRC. Now, rather than later. The City of Harbor Springs April 2023 contract included language that B&R would “develop the Zoning Ordinance Update to ensure that the following areas follow the RRC expectations: Alignment with Master Plan; Accessibility & User-friendliness; Concentrated Development; Housing Diversity; Parking Flexibility; Defined Processes; Approval Authority."
In other words, asking why did B&R ensure any compliance with the RRC before those issues had been publicly brought up and discussed in the community-at-large? Is this a normal community step that was taken? As of today, we have been told, and we are under the impression that no zoning and RRC involvement will be discussed with the community, once again.
So I am reaching out to make sure we are not traveling down the same road, once again, that we did one year ago.
Response from City Manager: Second, your suggestion that B&R ensured “compliance with the RRC before those issues had been publicly brought up and discussed in the community-at-large” is untrue. Please see the attached timeline with supporting documents that shows the PC discussed, and the City Council heard a presentation on, zoning changes before we entered into the contract with BRI. (The City Hall time line will be submitted in a future newsletter.)
Letters to the Editor
January 2025
Hello Council Members,
I have been (somewhat!) quietly observing the last 2024 service year of boards, Council and Planning and would like to both, welcome recent new volunteer membership on City Council and send some observations as it pertains to Council - much of it positive and all of it helpful to those who depend on you to protect and preserve our historic and quiet community.First, I welcome Mayor Graham. With his vast experience in personal life and his professional background we will be well served by him, as citizens. Starting with his long lineage of family members who have called Harbor Springs - home for four generations and his robust, healthy respect for the historical culture of Harbor Springs (deep within his DNA), he will be a great fit to guide us and the board under him. Our new mayor's relationship with the community through his long time, widely recognized business - an anchor in town for over a half of a century - proves to be a dependable steward to protect and preserve our town. Also, his wide experience within the community which many of us could recite by heart proves that he is a sincere natural predictor & navigator of all things to be cherished & respected (- not only the moody winds of the "big lake" and in our very own 'protected' bay!) BUT as it turns out, a good predictor and navigator of human behavior across many spectrums.
I observe this mayor as a measured good listener and as a person who get's letting process happen. He does not run from conflict - he understands the importance of letting people release the valve and say what is on their mind, even if their voice shakes. Emerson teaches us to, "Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience". Mayor Graham seems to understand this, recognizing and respecting the process of growth and change, which should be gradual and too, requires patience.
All this equates to a concept I call wisdom. This will be a welcomed, cherished addition for the citizens of Harbor who crave good stewardship and protection of their place of refuge. I have also noticed in particular, two members on council who are consistently measured and thoughtful- they model a helpful and healthy leadership to others and to the community. These two are inquisitive, asking sincere probing questions that help citizens understand financial, logistical and procedural particulars of running a small town (recent questions about budget, and parliamentary procedures are examples). Both members of council are balanced & thoughtful, both regularly practicing listening more than speaking. I am struck by their healthy abilities to respectfully follow procedural order (Robert's Rules) as they honor and do not interrupt the Mayor or others. They use care and show restraint, model self control and embody emotional regulation-understanding that sitting on council should be business, not personal and they are above all, in seats of leadership.
It feels good to watch and listen to these two, as if we all can function and be thoughtful and we all are on the same game page with the goal of 'doing business'
These two members understand the healthy, mature necessity to use discipline, practice self awareness and strive for a non-reactive responsiveness- so important! for a healthy balance of governing. It also is a great fit for what we crave to recharge and restore ourselves. All in all, these two ARE effective leadership: exhibiting restraint, maintaining emotional self-regulation, doing your homework and coming prepared. These two speak clearly, and precisely, and they restrict their time at the microphone for business only, resulting in the audience becoming interested and leaving calmly and safely informed.Thank you councilpersons Motschall and Melke! And thank you Mayor Graham for your calm presence and willingness to listen - until every person has spoken; you are patient and you are respectful. And, you all together are examples of what is referred to in our city charter as "balanced representation" part and parcel- I believe. Let's protect that pursuit!
J.R. Elliot, City of Harbor Springs