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The town of Harbor Springs repealed Zoning Ordinance #439. This gave our town the
right to Decide for ourselves as a community, our future within the city.
WELCOME TO WE LOVE HARBOR SPRINGS
A COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH, STEWARDSHIP, AND STRONG PUBLIC PROCESS
Harbor Springs is shaped by many decisions—large and small—that affect how we live, work, gather, and care for this place over time. Zoning is one part of that picture, but so are parks, trees, open space, public infrastructure, historic resources, and the way our local boards, commissions, and City Council engage with the community. At We Love Harbor Springs, our commitment is to strong research, clearly explained ideas, thoughtful review, and public processes that invite participation and build trust.
You can follow our ongoing work under the NEWS tab, we share research, updates, letters, corrections, press coverage, and analysis related to community decisions and governance.
Community input—through surveys, town halls, public meetings, and individual engagement—has been invaluable. These perspectives help ensure that decisions reflect lived experience and shared values, not just technical compliance.
In February 2025, the City Council chose to step away from the Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) certification and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) program. This decision marked an opportunity to reaffirm local priorities and reaffirm the importance of community-driven decision-making.
There are more decisions like that to still be made to Preserve and Protect.
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We Love Harbor Springs is committed to fairness, transparency, and careful research. The information shared on this site is offered in good faith to support informed public discussion. Facts, interpretations, and conclusions presented here are always open to challenge, correction, or clarification. We welcome additional information, differing viewpoints, and evidence-based feedback at any time, recognizing that strong communities are built through accuracy, openness, and respectful dialogue. Contact us at weloveharborsprings@gmail.com with details.
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The question was asked of City Council on Monday whether the City of Harbor Springs should send a letter to Lansing expressing non-support for the proposed state zoning preemption bills.
Council chose to postpone any decision until more research could be done.
But Harbor Springs community has already spoken once on the importance of local zoning control.
The vote to repeal State Zoning Ordinance #439 can be viewed as one of the first clear community signals that zoning decisions should remain grounded in local discussion, local planning, and the voice of the people who live and invest.
Michigan municipalities, mayors, township officials, and regional organizations have either signed joint opposition letters or publicly spoken against the recent Michigan House zoning preemption bills (HB 5529–5531 and HB 5581–5585), which would limit local zoning authority on issues like duplexes, ADUs, lot sizes, parking, setbacks, and dwelling sizes.
Some of the communities and officials publicly identified as opposing the bills include:
Lansing — Mayor Andy Schor spoke publicly against state zoning preemption
Rochester Hills — Mayor Bryan Barnett publicly opposed the bills
Oxford Charter Township
Genoa Charter Township
Oakland Township
Macomb Township
Orion Charter Township
Canton Charter Township
Washington Charter Township
In addition, these organizations coordinated or supported formal opposition letters and sign-on campaigns:
Michigan Municipal League
Michigan Townships Association
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG)
The joint opposition language generally argued that the bills would: override local master plans and zoning work,
remove community participation from land-use decisions,
impose “one-size-fits-all” standards,
weaken infrastructure and environmental review,
and shift decision-making from local communities to Lansing.
The Michigan Townships Association stated that more than 1,600 local leaders had signed onto opposition efforts as of spring 2026.
Look for news on the City Website where to contact your local representatives.
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Help City Hall get the signage news to the community for input. For more about this story go to our website post under NEW NEWS... weloveharborsprings.org/zoning/new-signage-needed-for-harbor-springs-why/
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Food pantries are a vital resource for individuals and families who find themselves unable to buy enough groceries each month. They provide those in need with canned goods, powdered milk, fresh produce, and, yes, plenty of ramen packets, but no two pantry hauls are alike. Here’s a quick snapshot into what food pantry users come away with after a visit – though the amount and quality of groceries can also vary from visit to visit.
Now, with the floods - Monday mornings will be telling. Please help.
One client shared that this winter she had to choose between buying food and having her driveway plowed. And not having her driveway plowed exacerbated the challenge of getting food.
These are choices most of us would never imagine. Speaking to and hearing from the recipients of the Food Bank is the most telling reason of all to help.
HHarbor Springs Food PantryCOMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY
2025 Year In Review/2026 Year Ahead
In early March, the Harbor Springs Community Food Pantry was asked to participate on the panel at the Chamber’s State Of The Community luncheon. The assignment was to reflect on 2025 and share challenges ahead in 2026.
While facts and figures are important it would be remiss to not acknowledge the two huge crises our community and clients faced last year.
First, the Ice Storm. Those of us who were here a year ago will never forget the Ice Storm of 2025. In the early morning hours following the onset of the storm the Pantry was contacted by Chief Knight who was organizing the warming shelter at Shay. The shelter needed a jump start on food, and Chief Knight was aware that there were 5 commercial cooling units at the Pantry filled with food that would spoil. Quick coordination saw volunteers working with headlamps to empty our cooling units and transport all contents to Shay for volunteers to begin preparing meals for community members. We also made available our entire inventory of shelf stable food for the effort. In response, the community started opening their pocketbooks and we came back from that.
Then, in the fall there was the government shutdown, during which SNAP benefits were abruptly stopped. Our numbers doubled in one week, and that continued through the end of the year. Once again, our community came through, and we were able to continue to offer our neighbors in need the same amount of food, even increasing the quantity of fruits, vegetables, fresh dairy and protein than typically offered to ease the burden during that challenging stretch.
There is significant hardship in our community.
The number of individuals served by the Pantry went up 14% in 2025 for a 2 year running increase of 26%. Pantry clients are an overlooked population who struggle to make ends meet on a regular basis in some cases, or in other cases seasonally or between jobs or because of an unexpected event, or because they just moved to the area, or because they are temporarily homeless, or…. This vulnerable group is often invisible to the general population throughout the year, but especially during the summer months when abundant wealth appears to be the norm. Emmet County has an approximate poverty rate of 9.5%, with an additional 25% of our neighbors who are considered working poor, struggling to make ends meet despite being employed. That’s 35% of our community who regularly make choices between rent, utilities, gas, health care, and food, all of which are essential to quality of life.
Food expenditures in 2025 increased by 60%. This significant increase was driven in part by the growing number of individuals served, the continued increase in food costs experienced nationwide, and the impact of the government shut down, during which SNAP benefits were temporarily discontinued. Although SNAP benefits were ultimately restored, much uncertainty remains regarding potential, long-term legislative changes that could impact many human services agencies. We anticipate and are planning for 20% increases in food costs for the current year.
In spite of preparing a list of statistics for the State Of The Community presentation, Julie Collie, Pantry Chair woke up that Monday realizing the best source of information about current challenges is Pantry clients. So we interviewed our clients one-on-one. We asked 2 questions. What are your biggest challenges RIGHT NOW, and how does access to the Pantry affect you and your life.
Our Pantry atmosphere is always upbeat. It’s a friendly, warm, inviting environment during food distribution, but that Monday tears started flowing. The resounding answer to the question about challenges was money. Money to cover monthly bills. Money to cover rent, rising food costs, gas, skyrocketing heating bills, unexpected car repairs, daycare, medical expenses. One client shared that this winter she has had to choose between buying food and having her driveway plowed. And not having her drive plowed exacerbated the challenge of getting food. These are choices most of us would never imagine.
In terms of the second question about how access to supplemental food affect your life? Following are a sampling of responses:
“Getting food from the Pantry helps tremendously in stretching our dollars.”
“The Pantry is a godsend. I don’t know what we’d do without it.”
“The fresh produce you offer is a lifesaver. I love the Pantry.”
“I feel cared for every time I come to the Pantry.”
“The Pantry helps me put nutritious food on my table. It helps me keep my family healthy.”
“Having access to pet food when the Humane Society comes has been so helpful.”
“I have money for my medications because of the Pantry.”
“My kids are able to play sports because of the money I save on groceries when I come to the Pantry.”
First, last years Ice Storm, then the Government Shutdown, and now the floods, and with some destruction of our roadways and municipal agencies being overloaded - the Harbor Springs Food Bank needs us more than ever.
Harbor Springs Community Food Pantry
PO Box 23
Harbor Springs MI. 49740 For US Mail
201 West 3d Street, Harbor Springs, MI, United States, 49740
To Visit on Monday 9-11:30 and Deliveries of Food
+1 231-526-2017. hscfoodpantry@gmail.com
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