City of Harbor Springs's Dec. 1st Planning Commission Special Meeting

Detailed briefing

City of Harbor Springs Planning Commission Special Meeting — Dec. 1, 2022 ATTENDEES: Rick Tarczynski, Vanessa Warren, Emily Dubay, Bob Thoma, Bill Mulder, Mark Boudet, Barry Lusgarten and Nancy Rondell; George Peet was absent. • The commission met solely to begin reviewing draft zoning-code Articles 2 and 3. Consultants said Article 2 will cover zoning districts, their purposes and eventually the zoning map; Article 3 reorganizes current use and dimensional rules into tables intended to be easier to read and navigate online. • Members broadly supported the simplified table format, but stressed that the substantive policy work is still ahead. They discussed whether Harbor Springs could reduce or consolidate zoning districts, especially where districts differ mainly by lot size, setbacks, or a small number of uses. • The commission began reviewing the use table and flagged numerous items for follow-up: boarding/rooming houses; cluster housing; condominium development; guest quarters and accessory dwelling units; home occupations; manufactured versus mobile homes; residential units connected to offices; two dwelling units on one lot; charitable institutions; and unclear commercial/manufacturing categories. • Consultants said condominium development is a form of ownership or development process, not a land use, and recommended removing it from the use table. Members also discussed defining cluster housing, modernizing home-occupation rules for remote work, and reviewing whether mobile-home terminology and permitted locations should be changed. • Accessory dwelling units and duplexes were identified as significant unresolved housing-policy issues. Members discussed whether ADUs could provide additional housing without broadly allowing duplexes in single-family districts, but made no decision. The existing category for two dwelling units on one lot may be reconsidered depending on future ADU rules. • A public commenter raised concerns that portions of the draft may not fully match the existing ordinance, particularly in districts he reviewed. Staff and consultants agreed a completeness check is needed. The commenter also agreed to draft suggested updated language for marina operations in the waterfront district. Worth watching: • Staff and consultants are to compare the draft table with the current zoning code and prepare a tracked revision showing additions and deletions. • The commission must decide how to address ADUs, duplexes, district consolidation, and modernized use definitions. • Waterfront and marina rules need review to ensure current boat-service, storage, sales and related activities are clearly addressed. Upcoming: The commission scheduled a special zoning-code meeting for Jan. 5, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.; its Dec. 15 regular meeting was expected to address short-term-rental ideas from City Council. Why it matters: The rewrite could determine what housing, businesses and development patterns are allowed across Harbor Springs for years to come.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.