Dear Friends, So I asked around and spoke with several writers and asked If we strip away all the specifics we have written about Harbor Springs—zoning tables, ARC thresholds, parking ratios, PDs, consultants, memos, timelines—what have you hear is the one question underneath everything, it’s this:
OUR CORE BELIEF: WHO DECIDES THE FUTURE OF HARBOR SPRINGS
When we ask, “Who decides the future of Harbor Springs?” the answer should not be narrow or exclusionary.
Harbor Springs has never belonged to a single category of people. It is shaped by everyone who is meaningfully connected to it.
That includes people who were born here and those who moved away and return. It includes multi-generational families whose lives span six or more generations. It includes year-round residents, seasonal residents, summer visitors, winter regulars, workers, caretakers, and people who invest their time, energy, and resources into this community. It includes those who stay all winter and those who travel, just as many do. It includes people who show up consistently and people who step forward when an issue finally affects them.
Belonging is not a checkbox.
Belonging is demonstrated through engagement.
People contribute to Harbor Springs in different ways and at different times in their lives. None of those paths disqualify someone from caring about the future of this place.
What matters is a willingness to participate thoughtfully, to learn, to listen, and to engage when decisions with permanent consequences are being made.
Decisions about land use, scale, development, and community character are irreversible. They affect not only today’s residents, but future generations, returning families, workers, visitors, and the long-term vitality of the town itself.
Limiting who gets to participate does not protect Harbor Springs. It narrows perspective and concentrates power. A community is strongest when its decision-making reflects the full range of people who care about it.
The real dividing line is not residency status.
It is engagement.
Anyone willing to invest the time to understand the issues and participate respectfully should have a seat at the table. That does not weaken governance. It strengthens trust, legitimacy, and long-term stewardship.
Harbor Springs endures because many people, across many seasons and generations, have cared enough to shape it.
A town shaped by many hands lasts longer than one shaped by a few.
So when we ask who should decide the future of Harbor Springs, the answer is simple:
Everyone who cares enough to be involved.
HOW THIS QUESTION SHOWS UP ACROSS KEY ISSUES
ZONING AND ARC
ARC is not simply about a 5,000 square foot threshold.
It is about whether Planning Commission review remains the standard or whether it can be bypassed through administrative discretion.
The deeper issue is who decides what qualifies as “minor” and when that determination is made.
PARKING
Parking is not really about cars.
It is about whether past obligations still matter and whether changes to long-standing requirements are communicated clearly and early to those affected.
The deeper issue is who bears the cost of change and who is given notice in time to participate meaningfully.
CONSULTANTS AND PROCESS
This is not an objection to expertise.
It is a concern about expertise substituting for accountability.
The deeper issue is who authors public policy and who ultimately owns those decisions once they are adopted.
PUBLIC COMMENT AND MEETING CONDUCT
This is not about three minutes.
It is about whether residents are treated as participants in the process or as interruptions to be managed.
The deeper issue is whether civic engagement is genuinely welcomed or merely accommodated.
CHARACTER AND SCALE
“Human-scaled” is not nostalgia.
It is a recognition that certain changes are irreversible.
The deeper issue is who decides what becomes permanent aand what remains negotiable?
and what remains negotiable?
