WLHS: Redevelopment Ready Community
We Cut the Red Tape so you can cut the Red Ribbon
From time to time we will be publishing background pieces on issues related to Harbor Springs. These do take a bit of effort to construct. We do them to help educate. We do not always get them right, so please add your comments to help us clarify the information.
Introduction
Many people have reached out asking for more information about Harbor Springs becoming a Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) and how the zoning may have been a requirement for this initiative. Because of the complexity of this issue, today’s edition will provide a broad overview of what the RRC is and the timeline of Harbor Springs involvement with subsequent editions dedicated to the RRC’s impact on the zoning code.
Background
The Redevelopment Ready Communities program is an initiative designed to help Michigan communities become development-ready and competitive in attracting investment. Created in 2002 by Michigan’s Land Use Leadership Council, an organization dedicated to studying and addressing urban sprawl, the program transitioned to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in 2013 following a successful pilot. The MEDC, a public-private partnership agency focused on promoting economic growth in Michigan, supports businesses and municipalities by providing technical and financial assistance to streamline development processes, enhance planning and zoning practices, and adopt best practices for economic development. This assistance helps communities become more attractive and competitive for redevelopment and investment.
The RRC program accomplishes this by promoting a “tool kit” consisting of best practices. These best practices focus on creating a clear, predictable, and efficient development environment. The key best practices include:
Community Plans and Engagement - Develop comprehensive plans, such as master plans and capital improvement plans, with robust public engagement to ensure community visions and goals are reflected.
Zoning Regulations - Update zoning ordinances to align with current planning documents, support mixed-use development, and remove barriers to redevelopment.
Development Review Process - Streamline and simplify the development review process to make it predictable and transparent, including clear timelines and criteria for approvals.
Development Ready Sites - Identify and market priority redevelopment sites, ensuring they are pre-qualified with relevant information to attract developers.
Boards and Commissions - Provide continuous education and training for local officials, staff, and board members on planning and development practices.
Economic Development - Implement strategies that support economic prosperity, such as promoting walkability, mixed-use development, and vibrant public spaces.
To become a Redevelopment Ready Community, a city must follow a structured process outlined by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), which often provides financial assistance to help cities navigate and complete the steps. The process begins with the city submitting an application to the MEDC and completing a self-evaluation checklist to assess its current practices against RRC standards. MEDC staff then conduct an on-site visit to review the city’s planning, zoning, and development processes, which is used to create a baseline report identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. The city collaborates with the MEDC to develop a customized action plan addressing the report’s recommendations in order to adopt the best practices. The MEDC regularly reviews the city's progress and provides feedback throughout the process. Once the city has successfully implemented the required best practice, it receives RRC certification.
Once certified, municipalities then have access to additional technical assistance and opportunities to market their community to potential developers. The RRC-certified communities receive the benefit of having MEDC market three of their available redevelopment sites to investors. State agencies also prioritize these communities for various state funding and grants in addition to investment opportunities.
As a no-cost program the RRC has been successful in other communities throughout the State. Over 70 cities in Michigan are already RRC certified. These include Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Boyne City. In many ways, the RRC program is a good initiative; it promotes transparency, engagement, and economic development in an effort to ultimately foster sustainable economic growth and improved quality of life for residents.
However, it is not without criticism. The MEDC commissioned a report in 2019 in order to review its public-private sector sponsored offerings. It hired an external consulting firm which compared Michigan’s economic development to 10 other neighboring states, such as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Interviews within the report show criticism of the MEDC, especially related to rural communities and cookie cutter planning. As one individual cited in the report, “There is a lot of frustration in Northern Michigan that many of the MEDC’s programs are catered to urban communities. One size does not fit all and many rural communities struggle to fit into MEDC’s incentive parameters.”
Whether this “one size fits all” program is right for Harbor Springs should be a topic of community discussion. However, Mayor Matt Bugera, the City Council, and the City Manager are pushing for RRC certification, with zoning changes being a necessary step in this process (see below). While the Mayor has stated that the process can be stopped at any time, his lack of action suggests his continued support for the program.
Timeline of Harbor Springs Involvement in RRC
Source: City Manager Presentation to City Council on March 4, 2024
May 6, 2019: DDA Director Rachel Smolinski suggests the City should consider the Redevelopment Ready Community program because of a Michigan Economic Development Corporation requirement to receive MEDC grant funding.
May 20, 2019: CM Sinadinoski and DDA Director Smolinski present at City Council meeting information about the RRC attributes and grant access. City Council members Matt Bugera, John Cupps, John Lio, Cece Johnson, Mike Naturkas, by resolution give the City Manager permission to participate in the RRC.
March 2020: City pauses the RRC process due to pandemic.
December 2021: City resumes the RRC process.
January 2022: MEDC staff completes RRC baseline report for Harbor Springs. Highlights include (as noted on page 8):
“Communities who incorporate housing diversity into their zoning ordinances will be more competitive in attracting business development deals and the residents who come with them.”
“This criterion looks to see that the ordinance clearly allows at least three types of diverse housing by-right.”
“City of Harbor Springs currently allows for townhouses and mixed-use building. There should be at least one additional housing use permitted by-right in the city to meet this expectation, examples include: triplexes, accessory dwelling units, and tiny houses.”
Caption: Zoning recommendations from the RRC Baseline Report done by the MEDC for the City of Harbor Springs.
February 2022: City Council recommits the City to obtaining RRC certification after reviewing the baseline report.
March 2022: Per the RRC recommendations and best practices, City Council approves the Public Participation Plan, which limits public comments to 3 minutes at meetings.
June 2022: Per the RRC recommendations and best practices, City Council adopts rules of order.
February 2023: Per the RRC recommendations and best practices, Council approves Boards & Commissions Handbook.
April 2023: As part of the RRC recommendations and best practices, Council approves boards recruitment and expectations policy.
May 2023: City Council accepts $25,000 grant from the MEDC for updating the Zoning Code, which is used to engage consultants/urban planners Beckett & Raeder.
Correspondence
Many of you have written or called us about former Councilman John Lio’s Letter to the Editor in a recent Harbor Light. We're glad that his letter sparked a lively discussion, which is exactly what we aim for with "We Love Harbor Springs." One of our goals is to create a transparent space that fosters collaboration and open dialogue. While we don’t agree with everything in his letter, we reached out to Mr. Lio to meet and discuss his concerns further. We have not yet heard back.
Take Action
If you care about Harbor Springs, then you need to take the following action this week:
If you are a Harbor Springs voter, sign the citizen-led referendum so you have the right to vote on zoning in the fall election. The last day to sign is July 26.
Volunteers to collect signatures will be at the We Love Harbor Springs table, just outside of the west end of the Farmers Market.
Have the petition come to you at your convenience. Send on your request to: signthereferendum@gmail.com
Donate to We Love Harbor Springs to fund the fall campaign to win the open Mayor and two City council seats.
If you are interested, attend the city meetings.
In Closing
A well-intentioned community that asks to be involved in the process of zoning are the citizens leading this referendum in Harbor Springs. They have been left out of the normal process of democracy. The mayor didn’t care when we were asking for more time to understand the zoning so the citizen-led referendum is the only way to gain more time to review.
City Council didn’t want to wait for all of the townspeople to get up to speed on these zoning decisions this summer - they didn’t think it was necessary to hold summer-time town hall meetings to talk through the proposed changes, to find and reveal unintended consequences. So now the only step available to the community is pulling together 300 signatures for a referendum. It will pause the zoning and allow the community to participate in the changes they want to see in the city boundaries, in the neighborhoods, and in the downtown area.
We are now asking for more context to these subjects. This includes how the RRC impacted the zoning changes. Our hope is that We Love Harbor Springs will help provide a positive and deeper understanding of each subject for readers. It is our goal to promote transparency and let the voters decide.