The Last Week. Time is running down to the second you open the door at City Hall to vote.
Influencing folks are stating their positions.
Let’s make sure we remember carefully what we were all taught by our teachers and parents as we grew up. “We are all titled to our own opinions, but not to our own set of facts.”
1. 5 council members that were semi knowledgeable about the zoning code voted it into law, and yet did not wait until the summer voters and residents had arrived in town to review the major changes.
Two of the five City Council members had only been on the board for 1.5 months prior to the release of the zoning code in entirety. Asking, were they up to speed?
2. The Certification of Harbor Springs into the RRC Program appears to a certainty that the community may have no say if we agree to it or not. The RRC/MEDC Zoning Program written by planning consultants Beckette & Raeder built the new zoning code. Can any community member tell us that they wanted “BY RIGHT” zoning in the surveys they participated in or placed into the master plan? Or that anywhere in the master planning was a three story downtown desired?
Remember that we were threatened to be thrown out of the meetings if we mentioned the RRC. Until we understand what the RRC can do for Harbor Springs, we say no. Your vote YES will pause the process.
3. Harbor Springs is a small resort town that balances 2nd home owners and full time residents. New full time residents are moving here monthly. We can grow organically without the RRC/MEDC and we do not need to be urbanized and turned over to the State ( keep local local ).
4. Voting YES allows the community to become engaged in building our future instead of amending a zoning code that developers will not allow us to retract or amend without difficulty.
Thinking about this overnight, and characterizations made on the Vote No FB/Web Site we ask you to now consider how this looks.
The builder of the VoteNO campaign has been a paid political communications specialist for a congressman and major city mayor. It appears he is doing similar work for B&M for their clients advocating for development.
If WLHS had hired a political operative to do the work he has done on your platforms, it would have cost $30k-40k in today’s market. So not quite $100 and a website.
You’ve made negative characterizations of WLHS volunteers that are easily refuted. In the last 24 hours several people who observed you engage at the tent would not characterize it in the negative light you have.
Your key theme is “Trust your neighbors”. I think you miss the point that we do.
“We trusted that if we raised concerns, they would be addressed.
We trusted the city would notify us individually by mail about major zoning changes.
We trusted that if we did a referendum and followed the rules, it would be accepted.
We trusted if we showed up in the planning commission and city council, we would not be ejected for mentioning the RRC.
We trusted that if we put up yard signs, the city would not conceive of a new ordinance to restrict yard signs.
We trusted that if we had a grassroots campaign, people would recognize our concerns.
We trusted if we gathered signatures from 348 voters, that someone in City government might say “Lets talk to those voters and be sure we understand their concerns.”
We trusted the City would be concerned not just for voters but also for property owners, who it happens are also our neighbors.
We trusted the City manager would be nonpartisan, rather than citing a court ruling that says he could be.
We trusted if we put our names in to be on city committees, to volunteer, that we would be added despite divergent views.
We trust the voters.
We trust the families that have visited Harbor Springs for 150 years.
We trusted if the signatures were gathered, they would be handled discreetly, not handed over to a candidate for city council for political purposes.
We trusted that if the City thought we should grow, they would be clear about how much.
.
We still trust our neighbors.
We do not trust that MEDC has our interests at heart
We do not trust developers have Harbor Springs interests at heart.”
Suppose you review your website and your posts. Can you see now it might be hard to discern if they were legitimate grassroots concerns or calculated messages from a professional political operative? And harder to understand in your role on the RRC if you are an extension of the effort to sell boiler plate economic development and change for Harbor Springs? A partisan for the MEDC way of thinking?
And that maybe good communication skills should be used to engage the community to get the zoning right. To uncover why people signed the referendum. To shape the MEDC interests and the “preserve” interests to keep the best of Harbor Springs, while shaping the future of Harbor Springs. Because saying “Trust your Neighbor” in light of the above feels more like a divisive political construct. It is not a constructive means to build community.
We trust your objective is to build community.
We have been on this path for 5 years. We need a City Council and City Manager that trusts our neighbors. Tom Graham and Wendy Reeves will get us back on track. Please vote YES.