We Love
HARBOR SPRINGS
Harbor Springs is Beautiful!
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The town of Harbor Springs repealed Zoning Ordinance #439.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.
Disclosure & Commitment to Open Dialogue
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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Thought we'd come back to this post to share again - add any organizations and we'll include!
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Let’s revisit this post - add any organizations in our area - we will add to the lists!
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Question came to us: What are the normal expectations for a community member that writes a letter to City Council and the letter is ignored?
Here's the skinny: a letter sent to council or board about public business will become a public record, and if staff includes it in the agenda packet it will be distributed to officials and posted with the packet online.
Your name/contact info may appear unless the city has a redaction practice; ask the clerk before submitting if privacy matters.
The letter is usually “correspondence to council/board ” not a guaranteed speaking slot or formal testimony unless the agenda/rules say so.
Council members may read it, but they usually are not required to individually respond.
Keep it concise, factual, civil, and tied to a specific agenda item or requested action.
If the person wants it orally considered, they should also attend/speak during public comment under that city’s rules.
• Grand Rapids: separates agenda-item comment near the beginning from general comment near the end. That helps people know whether their issue is being considered that night or just being placed into the public record. www.grandrapidsmi.gov/government/city-commission/how-the-city-commission-works/
Harbor Springs already has a helpful baseline: "written correspondence may be included in the Citizen Comments section of the council packet before distribution." But the missing piece seems to be feedback/traceability after that. www.cityofharborsprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Rules-for-Public-Comments-12.6.2022-Final.pdf
That would make Harbor Springs’ existing policy feel much less discouraging without forcing council to debate or answer every letter on the spot.
The best fix recommendation for HS may be a “public correspondence log”:
1. confirm receipt of every letter
2. show whether it was included in the packet
3. identify the topic / agenda item
4. show whether it was referred to staff, answered, placed on an agenda, or marked no action
5. explain privacy/redaction rules up front
That last part is the morale piece: even if council disagrees or takes no action, people should not feel like their voice went into a black box.
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