I have attended all 3 zoning commission meetings held within the last 3 weeks. An investment of 9 hours to familiarize myself with this many pronged octopus the Planning Commission is proposing. Two days ago I read thru the RRC Best Practices Handbook.

The Redevelopment Ready Community is aptly named. In the 32 pages this document comprises, develop, development and redevelopment is mentioned 183 times. Zoning and rezoning can be found 41 times and has its own Chapter.

* Page 2 “RRC Certification signals that a community has clear development policies and procedures, a COMMUNITY SUPPORTED vision, a predictable review process and compelling sites for DEVELOPERS to locate their latest projects”.

*Page 6 “A Redevelopment Ready Community has a clear vision for the future, established through collaborative community planning, and understands the actions and tools necessary to achieve that vision. It WELCOMES PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT to support that vision via a customer service approach to development that is proactive and predictable”.

*Page 7 “Zoning:Best Practice 2 evaluates a community’s zoning ordinance and how it meets community goals, enables the form and type of DEVELOPMENT the community is seeking and includes modern approaches to zoning. ZONING IS A KEY TOOL FOR PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. Obsolete zoning regulations can discourage development and investment”.

*Page 11 CERTIFIED EXPECTATIONS: “the community has evaluated the master plan’s recommendations to determine if changes to the zoning map or ordinance are needed” and next “the community has made updates to the zoning ordinance to align with the goals and zoning recommendations from the master plan”.

*Page 12 Housing Diversity Certified Expectations (we MUST have at least 3): Accessory Dwelling Units, Townhouses, Triplexes, Quadplexes, 6-plexes, Commercial, Stacked flats, 1st floor residential with commercial, Residential above commercial, Micro units, Cottage housing, tiny houses.” (No where does it mention what we have the most of and what we all enjoy: SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. These take up too much space for the RRC and do not require a developer).

*Page 24 Post RRC Certified Expectations from Michigan Economic Development Corp.
1. “the Community identifies and prioritizes redevelopment sites” (for 6 years)
2. “the Community maintains an updated list of at least 3 priority sites” (every year)
3. “the Community gathers and makes online accessible vital redevelopment site info for at least 3 sites”
4. “the Community has a development vision for at least 3 sites”

After reading the RRC Handbook it is shocking that Planning Commission Chair William Mulder said at the third Planning Commission meeting that “ he regrets that the RRC is going on at the same time as the rezoning process because one has nothing to do with the other”. (Reread page 7 and page 11 again).

None of the RRC sounds like the Harbor Springs we all cherish. What has been stated consistently by every single person (pretty politely) is that we like it just the way it is and the proposed zoning updates place too much risk on the loss of that character with an undesirable gain.

What becomes apparent is that The City Council, the City Manager and The Planning Commission are intent upon marketing Harbor Springs as open for development to the entire State and beyond. They have become Real Estate Agents when we thought that we elected City Council people to keep the bills paid and represent the interests of those of us who are here providing the funds to pay those bills. We thought Planning Commissions write zoning regulations that protect US from cheek by jowl commercial growth infringing on our homes and lifestyle. That has proven to be an outdated concept. We left downstate to get away from exactly what they are trying to give us.

The best news is that WE, the Home Owners who have financially invested in our charming town that WE do not wish to see overdeveloped into a seething mass of gun toting road rage shopping Stepfordites do not have to do anything……except communicate clearly that desire to the 5 people we elected to represent US by the 7:00pm Monday March 18, 2024 City of Harbor Springs Council meeting. It’s on them to follow our express wishes. We don’t HAVE to understand why, we just have to say NO to the Planning Commissions entire proposal NOW and NO FOREVER to the RRC. Once the RRC has been slain, any changes the Planning Commission proposes to zoning will be for US, not to check off an RRC requirement and can take place at a more leisurely pace.
Woe on them if they take the attitude that has already been expressed by one City Councilperson that “we are erroneous, misinformed and don’t understand what we need”.
I genuinely hope that at least 3 of the 5 are listening and have the courage to stand up for those of us they agreed to represent. If not………….we do have options ?
Wendy Reeve