We are not waiting to become cool. We are cool. Always have been. You don’t have to invent culture where it’s already humming.
Take a walk through Harbor Springs any time of year—and you’ll feel it. There’s a rhythm, an elegance, a kind of future-facing nostalgia that’s not about stuck-in-the-past thinking, but about knowing where we’ve been so we don’t get side-lined by where someone thinks we should go. The truth is, this place figured out “fashion-forward” decades ago, from its porch-wrapped homes to its neighborly rhythm and its unshakable respect for natural rhythms and local production.
Remember that population question everyone keeps posing? We’ve faced it. Squarely. And frankly, infill as a broad zoning concept got turned down for a reason. Not because we fear growth, but because we’ve seen what organic need looks like.
SLU – special land use – teaches us that every time our neighbors needs are put forward to our Planning Commission. Our local advocates and voice because they too have lived the Harbor Springs narrative. We know what it means to evolve with intent—not to retrofit someone else’s template.
Let’s also talk architecture—not imported, not imposed, but lived and reimagined. Preservation49740 is asking the right questions, and they’re teaming with people who understand the soul of this place. We’re not interested in shipping in “California mid-century modern” like it’s some miracle trend. We’re way past that. Earl Mead’s Midwestern Resort Style? Now that is worth honoring and reinterpreting. Wide porches for conversation and breeze. Homes that breathe instead of hum with AC. Form following function in the most elegant, place-rooted way.
Agriculture: And speaking of place—tree-lined Arbor Street didn’t get its name by accident. There’s a reason we cherish Bluff Gardens and its city acres. It’s not just green space—it’s ground truth. Local farming is not a lifestyle accessory; it’s the root system of a healthy community. Microgreens, eggs, bees, and yes—maple syrup. That’s not quaint. That’s currency. It’s what makes our farmers market real. Produce shouldn’t arrive on a truck from five states away—it should come from a neighbor, not a distributor.
We don’t need backwards-facing ideas utilized in other growth minded cities. We need forward movement that respects the intelligence of where we already are. And no, that’s not tourism. That’s stewardship. That’s skill. That’s choosing sustainability over short-term showmanship.
So let’s talk future rather from ‘waiting to arrive’. We’ve been here. The rest of the world is just catching up. We set the pace, we seek the solutions, we set our own trends.