Harbor Springs is not for sale, Vote Yes on 439 to repeal the zoning so we can get it right.
Getting the zoning right means limiting the City’s effort to increase density and development.
The VoteYES439 campaign distributed 150 signs. Vote Wendy did the same. Tom Graham’s are going up this weekend.
While at the farmers market this Saturday, stop by the tent in Zorn Park to get yard signs and talk to the candidates.
Yard Sign Placement: If you have no sidewalk, be sure signs are on your property 8ft from the side of the road. If you have a sidewalk, be sure yard signs are on your property side of the sidewalk. Leave enough room if a car needs to pull off the road.
The Planning Commission, on Thursday, plans a closed session to discuss the Zoning Referendum. During the public portion, they will discuss routing East Bluff. We hope the discussion following the closed session will be transparent. (View Agenda to attend in person or zoom 5:30 PM EST)
Meet the Candidate Ice Cream Social
September 19th, Thursday, 4:00PM to 6:30PM Colonial Inn
The First Meet the Candidate Ice Cream Social is this Thursday, September 19th from 4:00 to 6:30 at The Colonial Inn. Since I already know all of you, I am asking if you can forward this invitation on to at least 1 person or bring a guest so I to make the acquaintance of….….preferably a registered voter guest, but we’re not saying no to meeting anyone. Ice Cream, cookies, ice tea and lemonade, 80 degrees , the Colonial Inn porch and no rain. Sounds like a party 🎈😎Looking forward to seeing all of you and all those new friends.
Volunteerism is admirable and the community heralds all those who participate and yet so are outside voices important. The voices that provide balance and pace for one-direction thinking, especially for the decisions that affect us now and for many generations to come.
This is why new candidates are so important, to add a balance to the Harbor Springs centric view. Tom Graham long-time city resident has a desire to give back to his community by offering to serve - a community he and his late wife dearly love and appreciate for all the opportunities, the community spirit, it’s natural beauty and thriving economy it has provided. Wendy Reeve feels the same. Harbor Springs has now created an opportunity where her business acumen and a head for budgets could be useful on our City Council. Those who have served - Thank-you! The community is forever grateful.
With changing times, passing the torch is necessary in order to continue creating a vitality that comes from new perspectives that will keep Harbor Springs the ‘best’!
Volunteer to help on the referendum or election: weloveharborsprings@gmail.com
The First Amendment
The City raised concerns about Yard Sign placement and will be transmitting clarification on their interpretation of rules. City Code 40.010 appears to be the controlling element of sign placement. It requires property owners be notified before removal.
Yard Signs are protected political speech. City of Ladue v. Gilleo was a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court in 1994. The court ruled in favor of the property owner. While 40.010 of the City Code obliquely addresses signage, the Ladue ruling set the standards for interpretation.
Do be sure Yard signs are on your property, and 8 feet back from the road if you have no sidewalk. Leave enough room if a car needs to pull off the road. If the City takes your signs, remind them of the Ladue ruling and let us know if a problem remains: weloveharborsprings@gmail.com
The zoning is not the only thing out of date. As we learned with the Referendum, the City Code has an ambiguous provision on what petitions the City will accept. A reminder from the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The right to “petition the government” is our referendum. If we had taken the City to court on their rejection of the Referendum, the court would likely rule the City Code restricts our right of redress. We decided to address this later rather than fight it out now.
The broader lesson is Citizens have the right to speak, in policial campaigns and zoning. Government has a responsibility to assure it is listening to the people, and to not act on something like the zoning unless it has heard from the people.
Quite clearly, as 350+ signatures on the referendum represent, the people are not finished speaking on getting the zoning right.
No one wants to fight City Hall or frustrate volunteers who are willing to sit on the Planning Commission or other committees. And so voters demur on the zoning issue out of deference.
Then we hear from people on the fence….
“I don’t think developers will build much in Harbor Springs”
“I don’t think it will happen in Harbor Springs”
While Harbor Springs is not overdeveloped like Vail yet, past performance does not predict the future. Harbor Springs is featured each Christmas on Halmark’s website. And was recently picked as America’s Best Small Lake Town in Travel and Leisure magazine.
A July 3rd post on X sarcastically pushed to repel people from the area. Instead, it got 6.6M views in less than 24 hours.
The world is changing. Northern Michigan is a destination spot with ever-increasing global demand to develop seasonal housing for wealthy people looking for a second home. Millions of people with more money want to summer or retire in Northern Michigan.
We are all for improving the zoning so that current voters and property owners can improve their property and maintain the charm of Harbor Springs. But we resist the effort in the new zoning to increase population and housing density. Our area is not constrained like New York City. There is more than enough land in the immediate area to develop new property without increasing density, noise, and frustration within the City of Harbor Springs.
