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LATEST NEWS
Harbor Springs – 10.10.2025 Sixty Issues the Community has raised.
To the readers: We have left intact in the document below several of the issues that were discussed by the Planning Commissioners during the September 18th. The list represents conversations, emails, meetings that have taken place before and during the Open Houses in...
Stepping up to run for City Council – Thank you!
Thank You for Stepping Up Seeking to Serve Harbor Springs First off—thank you. By choosing to run for City Council, you’re stepping into one of the most important roles in our community. You’re not doing it for recognition or a title—you’re doing it because you want...
Thank you to the Planning Commissioners for Listening.
Thoughts From a True Blue Local Harbor Springs is one of the few places left that is so naturally beautiful, so surrounded by abundant natural resources, so, dare we say inherently charming, people are not only drawn to it, they want to make it their own. So people...
ZONING
Harbor Springs – 10.10.2025 Sixty Issues the Community has raised.
To the readers: We have left intact in the document below several of the issues that were discussed by the Planning Commissioners during the September 18th. The list represents conversations, emails, meetings that have taken place before and during the Open Houses in...
Thank you to the Planning Commissioners for Listening.
Thoughts From a True Blue Local Harbor Springs is one of the few places left that is so naturally beautiful, so surrounded by abundant natural resources, so, dare we say inherently charming, people are not only drawn to it, they want to make it their own. So people...
September 15th 2025 Open House feedback with Planning Commission recommendations
Jeff's Recomendations PDF
Planning Commission OPEN House – Questions, Comments and Issues Raised
Actual Notes from the Open Houses September 3-11, 2025 OPEN HOUSE # 1. Questions / Public Comment Wednesday 9.3.25 Zoning Open House including both public voices and statements from the Planning Chair and Assessor Attendees: Bill Mulder, Jeff Grimm, Chip Everest, Bob...
General Themes from the Open Houses September 2024
We have built a strong list of about questions provided by the community that still need discussion and answers so the community will be able to understand the deeper consequences of certain zoning changes the Planning Commission's have made. Here are some of the...
Key Takeaways Across All Planning Commission Open Houses September 2025
• Density denial vs. perception: Residents consistently reject the PC’s claim of “not increasing density.” ADUs, PDs, and cluster housing are seen as density boosters regardless of PC framing. • Trust deficit: Most comments circle back to distrust of the PC — process...
Why we should be extra careful of Planned Developments in Harbor Springs
We write to the community to express our deep concern regarding the proposed changes to the Planned Development (PD) provisions within the zoning ordinance, especially in light of recent developments such as Cottage Company’s projects on Zoll Street and Main Street....
WLHS BLOG
Stepping up to run for City Council – Thank you!
Thank You for Stepping Up Seeking to Serve Harbor Springs First off—thank you. By choosing to run for City Council, you’re stepping into one of the most important roles in our community. You’re not doing it for recognition or a title—you’re doing it because you want...
Thank you to the Planning Commissioners for Listening.
Thoughts From a True Blue Local Harbor Springs is one of the few places left that is so naturally beautiful, so surrounded by abundant natural resources, so, dare we say inherently charming, people are not only drawn to it, they want to make it their own. So people...
Who is WLHS?
What is We Love Harbor Springs? We Love Harbor Springs. org was established to ensure the voice of our entire community is heard. Our group is made up of over 1,000 people from all walks of life, including voters, full-time and part-time residents, multi-generational...
Questions & Answers in Harbor Light News of Candidates for City Council
QUESTIONS: FROM THE HARBOR LIGHT Please tell us about yourself and what skills you believe you would bring to the City Council table. What are the biggest challenges you believe the City currently faces? Are there additional long-term concerns you have that need to be...
Part 2: More about We Love Harbor Springs.org What is the cost? Tell us about yourselves!
There have been some questions raised about our community group, We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS). On the off chance some of you aren’t familiar with us, I wanted to take the time to fill you in on why I personally got involved, and why we formed WLHS: To Preserve and...
More about We Love Harbor Springs.org
Questions have been raised about our IRS filings. Here are the facts: We Love Harbor Springs is a registered 501(c)(4). We requested and received a standard IRS filing extension for our Form 990. That makes our new filing deadline November 15, 2025. Until that date,...
Why we should be extra careful of Planned Developments in Harbor Springs
We write to the community to express our deep concern regarding the proposed changes to the Planned Development (PD) provisions within the zoning ordinance, especially in light of recent developments such as Cottage Company’s projects on Zoll Street and Main Street....
DDA
Old Sidewalks – Let’s Fix Them
Big ticket item at the Downtown Development Authority meeting this month. In Michigan, a sidewalk is considered unsafe, and a municipality may be liable for injuries resulting from a fall, if a vertical discontinuity defect is 2 inches or more, or if there is a...
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
Inclusion means something in a community
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Let’s take a moment to imagine Harbor Springs without second homes and second-home owners. No grand turn-of-the-century cottages. No yachts in the bay. No Irish’s, no Walstrom’s, no ferry. No bustling art fairs, no car shows, no...
A Question from the Audience
Dear WLHS, Given the defeat of Ordinance 439 and its focus on creating density in our 1.3 square mile town, and the petitions signed by homeowners to reject duplexes, triplexes, or re-zoning of existing family residential areas to Residential Multiple by SLU or any...
Update Letter 8.26.25 Following the Recent PC Meetings
Your letters speak for you, please show up at the Public Hearings now scheduled - See below Date: August 26, 2025 at 5:16:24 PM EDT To: Bill Mulder <wmulder1@gmail.com>, Tom Graham <tom@grahamre.com>, jamielynnmelke@gmail.com, kathy.motschall@yahoo.com,...
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...
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
MEDC/RRC Two recent stories
June 18, 2025 New News about the MEDC. https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-ag-executes-search-warrant-state-economic-development-offices Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office served a search warrant Wednesday at the Michigan Economic...
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