"That's the kind of town I want to live in!"

Notifying your neighbor - it's the right thing to do.

The Brief

• Harbor Springs Needs You! Planning Commission meeting, Thursday, January 9 , at 5:30 p.m. Zoom YouTube

• Redevelopment Ready Committee (RRC) meeting Friday, January 10, at 10 a.m. Your attendance is always helpful! Zoom

• Downtown Development Authority meeting, Wednesday, January 15, at 8 a.m. Zoom YouTube

• The City Calendar with meeting dates, agenda’s and more: Link

• View our website or provide comments on our facebook page

The Details

It’s time to be bold, study up, and get ready for the New Year! We hope We Love Harbor Springs, Inc., through our newsletters and website, provides the community with further education, deeper reasons to understand the consequences of the complicated zoning process, and a path forward in understanding how our town operates and what it needs.

The 2005 Zoning Code has stood the test of time, yet deserves some updates and revisions as we move into 2025. We encourage our readers to submit your concerns, tell us what changes are needed from the 2005 code, and what changes the Ann Arbor-based city planning and consulting firm Beckett & Raeder made in the repealed code that now must be identified and reviewed.

We, the actual locals, both city officials and all the stakeholders, can now jointly review these changes and decide which are appropriate for Harbor Springs, and more importantly, which are not. The illustrations included in this newsletter explain how notifying your neighbor works in the 2005 zoning process.

During a recent meeting, someone asked, “Do I have to ‘notify my neighbor’?” “Yes,” came the answer, “Well, then that’s the kind of town I want to live in!” Our hope is that Harbor Springs remains this kind of town.

What is unquestionable is that the city faces big decisions that will impact both the culture and future of Harbor Springs. It is harder and harder for city leaders to engage with the breadth of the community and gather input across the board. In many cases, for various reasons, people have been left out. It’s not apathy their voices were not heard.

After a hard year of meetings, studies and conversation, we are encouraged to see people coming together to build our community. Let’s be the example proving a diverse group can work together.

The community of registered voters has participated in our democracy and responded to the largest turnout in Harbor Springs voting records back until 2007. With 1240 registered voters and 882 votes cast, 75% of the voting community democratically expressed a greater desire to return to the 2005 Zoning Code than not, by an 8% margin.

We have no agenda beyond transparency and engagement. We focus on ideas. We only care that the people of Harbor Springs, no matter how often they are here, have access to the best information on the matters that impact Harbor Springs. Through that process, we can strengthen the character of Harbor Springs.

Yours Sincerely,

We Love Harbor Springs Inc – An organization to support people communicating with the City of Harbor Springs.

Gifting on Social Media Campaign Christmas Week 2024

Please consider the ‘WLHS Ask for Donations’ in 2024 as an insurance policy of sorts. Your help, be it $20.00 or $2000.00 will help us communicate the aspects of a situation that involves the ‘actual doing’ rather than theories or ideas.

Please consider donating to our 501 (c)(4).

Or send a check to WLHS Box 2, Harbor Springs, Michigan 49740

The Education

Next Steps: How the 2005 Zoning Code Operates - No need for expansive ‘by right’ zoning.

Here are four examples of how the 2005 Zoning Code dealt with

1. Adding a bedroom

2. Aging in place

3. Preserving backyards and trees

4. Home enlargements and setbacks

“ ‘Notifying your Neighbors’ is the kind of town we want to live in!”

Will ‘infill’ and ‘Smart Growth’ be a benefit to the community of Harbor Springs?

Which parcels and what zoning requests have been denied within our Zoning process choice in the last 50 years?

In urban planning, ‘infill’ is the redevelopment of land within a built-up area, usually open-space (but could also be a tear-down) to new construction. Infill has been promoted as an economical use of existing infrastructure and a remedy for urban sprawl. Detractors view increased infill as urban density overloading urban services, increased traffic and pollution, and decreasing urban green-space. Many also dislike it for social and historical reasons, partly due to its unproven effects and its similarity with gentrification. (McConnell and Wiley)Read the full article: Link

Smart growth development projects are compact and walkable, offer a mix of uses, and create a sense of place. Such projects on infill sites have environmental benefits because they can reduce development pressure on outlying areas, helping to safeguard lands. Trends point to a sustained increase in demand for infill development becoming a market opportunity for developers. Read the full article: Link

Ponder this: The priority on zoning should be

1. We support changes only for any new state laws that require certain choices.

2. We support changes to zoning districts that need revision due to prior complaints and to solve prior issues that need fixing. We don’t see a need to address reducing the number of zoning districts until the more pressing and authentic problems are fixed.

3. We support changes to a subset of priorities identified in the Master Plan that the City Council believes should be addressed, but only after a public discussion.

4. All other changes are off the table until the three points above are first addressed.

A final note

It is the purpose of We Love Harbor Springs to bring facts to the community so that the community can weigh the consequences of:

1. Added Density

2. Added Development

The community will again be asked to Decide, and for whose benefit are we making changes to the 2005 Zoning Code? Preserve and Protect Harbor Springs! Thank you to everyone who has offered to help spread the word. Happy New Year!