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LATEST NEWS
Slippery When Wet: A Reflection on Jakob’s Ladder and the Path Forward
There was a time when Jakob’s Ladder wasn’t just a staircase—it was a lifeline. Kids scampered up and down its weather-worn steps, backpacks swinging and laughter echoing down the bluff. It was a necessary connection, a vital piece of everyday life. But times change,...
Is this the reason to add a third story to our downtown buildings?
If you ask the question, this is one answer: Michigan towns are seeing a shift towards allowing taller buildings, often moving from a two-story maximum to potentially three or more stories, primarily driven by a desire to increase housing density and revitalize...
Financial Priorities – A Community Conversation – Opinions & Help requested.
Subject: Revisiting Our Financial Priorities—A Community Conversation I'm not a financial planner or an accountant, but like many of us, I’ve been paying attention to how our city talks about money, growth, and the future. Five years ago, we were told that Harbor...
ZONING
Is this the reason to add a third story to our downtown buildings?
If you ask the question, this is one answer: Michigan towns are seeing a shift towards allowing taller buildings, often moving from a two-story maximum to potentially three or more stories, primarily driven by a desire to increase housing density and revitalize...
Forming Opinions – Community Driven
What we like to do is research, research...and then write papers or reports and share them. Delivering information to readers, helping add to the conversations and delivering transparency when often a subject is so dense - understanding it is at a minimum. Building a...
A Planning Promise for Harbor Springs
6.14.25 Harbor Springs is a small town with a big heart—defined not by size or scale, but by community, character, and care. As we look to the future, our planning choices must reflect the values that have made this place loved for generations. We recognize that...
So here’s the first question we need to ask: What is the right-sized home for a medium-sized lot?
May 18, 2025 Who Wants More? At a recent Planning Commission meeting, a public comment described Harbor Springs as a "ghost town" for nine months of the year and questioned the current fear of increased density. The speaker highlighted the historic charm of the...
Lands West of Bluff Gardens may soon be sold.
You may or may not know that we are a proponent of protecting and preserving the Agricultural District. As you drive around our area, before the leaves are opened, it is easy to see the increase in building and development. The above LINK is to the Emmet County Master Plan, 2021-2025 with much of it written during the previous years. It’s extremely important to know what our neighbors know, and to either choose to follow in THEIR footsteps, or go on our own. Deciding what is best for Harbor Springs.
May 15th Districts PC Meeting “Homework”
Homework Planning Commissioner Kenny Stewart at the May 1, 2025 Planning Commission meeting suggested that prior to the May 17th meeting that the community read through the Article 4 - Overlay Districts for homework. Here is his quote,"...in my preparation for...
May 15th Districts – Details from our WLHS News Letter….
Brief ZONING; Planning Commission meets Thursday, May 15, at 5:30 p.m. ZoomYouTube First Review of Article 2 “Zoning Districts” Details We know you are busy. Yet, if you own property in Harbor Springs you should attend the next meeting. The important details of zoning...
WLHS BLOG
Slippery When Wet: A Reflection on Jakob’s Ladder and the Path Forward
There was a time when Jakob’s Ladder wasn’t just a staircase—it was a lifeline. Kids scampered up and down its weather-worn steps, backpacks swinging and laughter echoing down the bluff. It was a necessary connection, a vital piece of everyday life. But times change,...
Financial Priorities – A Community Conversation – Opinions & Help requested.
Subject: Revisiting Our Financial Priorities—A Community Conversation I'm not a financial planner or an accountant, but like many of us, I’ve been paying attention to how our city talks about money, growth, and the future. Five years ago, we were told that Harbor...
Forming Opinions – Community Driven
What we like to do is research, research...and then write papers or reports and share them. Delivering information to readers, helping add to the conversations and delivering transparency when often a subject is so dense - understanding it is at a minimum. Building a...
Father’s Day – Thank you to our Harbor Springs’ fathers: Already There: On Style, Soul, and Staying Power
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...
My Two Cents
Dear Planning Commissioners, Housing in Harbor Springs isn’t a political problem—it’s a math problem. Just 1.3 square miles, nestled between a bay and a bluff, with demand sky-high and supply naturally limited. That’s not ideology. That’s geography. Yes, I’ve never...
Honoring Privilege Through Service: A Message for the Harbor Springs Community
In a town as unique as Harbor Springs, where lake breezes carry stories of generations past and where scenic overlooks, trains, plaques, and fountains stand not just as ornaments but as living memorials—privilege takes on a special meaning. It is not merely a matter...
Updated: Who Has the Right to Influence Our Community?
Subject: Who Has the Right to Influence Our Community? One concern centers around who should have the right to vote on issues that affect the property they own or the city they consider home—even if only part of the year. Let’s take a closer look at the reality in our...
DDA
What is the DDA? What does it do?
The DDA is integral to the MEDC's (Michigan Economic Development Corporation's) plan/process across the State of Michigan. Small towns, large towns are all being swept into either certification or engagement of Harbor Springs by the RRC (Redevelopment Ready...
11.11.24 Traverse City Problem Solving with DDA
This thread is "under construction"
EVENTS
WLHS Town Hall Meeting Dates May 2 & 4, 2024
The “We Love Harbor Springs” team is hosting two Town Hall meetings via Zoom, dedicated to discussing the proposed zoning changes that will shape the future of our beloved community. These sessions are designed to educate residents on the proposed changes and provide...
NATIONAL & LOCAL PRESS
UPDATED 5.28.25: The Garden Club, Flag Pole, Lower Zorn Park includes Newspaper & Letters
Added: Petoskey News Report . We respectfully urge you to vote to preserve Harbor Springs’ precious green space, reject this proposal, and return it to the Garden Club with instructions to identify a more appropriate and welcomed location. This is an opportunity to reaffirm the city’s century-long tradition of preservation, protection, and responsible stewardship.
1.15.25 Harbor Light
Planning commission considers options for expanding public participation in zoning code revision By Kate Spaulding | Harbor Light Newspaper | on January 15, 2025 The Harbor Springs Planning Commission began discussion of a public engagement plan related to the zoning...
9.5.24 National News About Harbor Springs & the referendum explanation
In 1873, as a result of the Homestead Act, my great-great-great grandfather, of French-Canadian descent, was awarded 160 acres of land in Leelanau County, Michigan for military service in the Civil War. Since then, Northern Michigan has been special to my family, and...
9.4.24 Petoskey News Review Story
Wed Sep 4 2024 HARBOR SPRINGS City shares official wording for ballot item Karly Graham The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY NETWORK HARBOR SPRINGS — The City of Harbor Springs recently shared the formal language of a ballot item for the Nov. 5 election that asks...
8.7.24 Petoskey News Review – Harbor Springs declares referendum petition ‘defective,’ puts issue on the ballot anyway.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham atkgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at@KarlyGrahamJRN. HARBOR SPRINGS — The City of Harbor Springs deemed a petition to put a referendum on the November ballot defective, despite having more than the necessary number of...
FRONT PAGE NEWS Petoskey 7.19.24
Harbor Springs passed a new zoning code. Residents are working on a referendum to pause it The Petoskey News-Review— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. HARBOR SPRINGS — More than two years ago, the...
National News 9.26.24 Cultural Steamroller Heads for Harbor Springs
http://Enjoyer Brochure Steamroller Harbor Springs.pdf O.W. Root is a writer based in Northern Michigan, with a focus on nature, food, style, and culture. Follow him on X @NecktieSalvage. The idea that Harbor Springs—a town of 1,274 with no stoplight, a town so quiet...
Resort Town or a Year Round Livable Historic Town? The Best Lake Town
The writer of this wonderful story uses the word “historic” about 25 times and every positive note is conveyed due to its utter lack of ugly commercial development. Harbor Springs is special because of its natural beauty and gorgeously kept historic houses and...
HARBOR SPRINGS IN THE NATIONAL NEWS
It’s no secret that America is confronting a crushing housing shortage; pundits on the left and right point out that high housing prices exacerbate the birth crisis, keeping Millennials and Gen Z from forming families and flourishing. But policies ostensibly designed to create more housing come in many forms, not all of them good. Top-down attempts to fundamentally re-engineer communities in the name of “housing justice” are particularly dangerous. Devolution and localism are important principles …
6.4. 24 Housing in Boyne City NPR
“The urbanization of Boyne City, characterized by the construction of massive four storey buildings threatens to undermine the small town charm and unique character that residents and visitors have long cherished,” Roland said. Boyne City commission turns down housing...
LETTERS
Storm Follow-Up – Follow-Up Preparedness
June 21, 2025 Storm Preparedness Bing Howenstein delivered 4.21.25 TO: Mayor, City Council, City Manager and Community Written by Bing Howenstein DATE: April 20, 2025 SUBJECT: Recommendations for Enhanced Community Emergency Preparedness Introduction The recent...
Letter about building a bridge
June 19, 2025 Dear Harbor Springs, It’s been 496 days since the February 8, 2024 meeting—when I first heard the Weque wetlands might be disturbed. That moment pulled me into city politics. And let me be clear: my concern was never with the people or the City Hall...
UPDATED 5.28.25: The Garden Club, Flag Pole, Lower Zorn Park includes Newspaper & Letters
Added: Petoskey News Report . We respectfully urge you to vote to preserve Harbor Springs’ precious green space, reject this proposal, and return it to the Garden Club with instructions to identify a more appropriate and welcomed location. This is an opportunity to reaffirm the city’s century-long tradition of preservation, protection, and responsible stewardship.
Letter to Editor – M.Kilbourn About the RRC
LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE HARBOR LIGHT January 9, 2025 Please accept this letter for publication in the Letters to the Editor: The City Council enacted a zoning ordinance which the voters evaluated and rejected via a ballot referendum last November. Since then, the...
12.13.24 Letter to Harbor Springs City Council by JR Elliot
12.5.24 Conflict of Interest (COI) : Letter to City Council
From: Ashley O'Reilly <ashleymkor@icloud.com> Date: December 5, 2024 at 5:23:17 PM GMT To: Graham Tom <tom@grahamre.com>, Michael Behrmann <mhbehrmann@gmail.com>, Jamie Melke...
Letters: 8.28.24 Refused at Harbor Light, published here. Mike Kilbourne
28.24Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Please add my attached (and below) letter for publication in the next Letters to the Editor section of the Harbor Light. TURNED DOWN "Is it all about money? The City Council recently enacted a zoning ordinance which will now appear...
SURVEYS
SURVEYS: 80 People filled out recent Economic Survey. 13 pages of great answers for & against.
https://www.cityofharborsprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-Survey-Results-ECON.pdf The Economic Survey was produced in November 2024. The answers are telling, rewarding the attempts to build Harbor Springs into a full time year round town, and answers that are...
9.11.24 RRC ? Now ? Later ? Learn from this Survey
HISTORY: Anyone who supports the Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC) its' long long views, their rules and lots of regulations may have missed a valuable story of how Harbor Springs became a ‘best’ lake city here in northwest Michigan. (just this month voted by...
CORRECTIONS
ZONING: Correction made: What’s Happening to the Mobile Home Park? 5.06.2014
UPDATE & Correction. WLHS researched and found the ownership of the trailer park had changed, but only within the family - not as a new buyer/seller situation. The changes in fees being charged were explained to be "updates" for years old inconsistencies in the...
Corrections: 7.24.24 Bluff Gardens Apology
7.23.24 In the past, from February 8th to recently, the property to the west of Bluff Gardens - Harbor Springs iconic store with large cutting gardens was referred by the City Council and everyone that referred to it, as the place where the "agricultural" zoning...
RRC – ARCHIVED
Zoning: Dexter, Michigan 6 years after leaving the RRC
Discovering the Allure of Small Town Living in Dexter, Michigan Dexter, Michigan, is a prime example of a fast-growing community that seamlessly combines a rich historical tapestry with a welcoming atmosphere, drawing in residents and visitors alike. Situated in close...
Zoning A reminder on how the MEDC/RRC Status can be involved -What to watch for – 6 slides
For zoning, and learning how our zoning is affected by the involvement of the MEDC/RRC. As an update, we now have various zoning parties and leaders suggesting that Harbor Springs does not go further into RRC Essentials or Certification status at this time. Please put...
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS 2.18.25 ON THE RRC
Update: 2.18.25 It is important that the trajectory of the RRC/MEDC involvement be understood. At last nights meeting, the RRC was abandoned to strong push back from audience citizens and City Manager. The Mayor’s comment that in 6 years no one had told him what was...
RRC Video’s by MEDC – Everything needed to see about the RRC Trends
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsigyS4eGucEll48ko0yd8Q/videos
2021 RRC MEDC Slide Show details
Please review this document. We are look for a more recent version. https://www.miplace.org/4a73de/globalassets/documents/rrc/rrc-2.0-info-sessions-presentation_2.1.2021.pdf
2018 RRC MEDC Document for Review
Should we further Certify Harbor Springs as a RRC town?
At this time, we believe Harbor Springs is an "engaged" member of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Here is the full document that slide by slide shows the steps a town needs to become "Essential" or "Certified". ...