Planning Commission 8.18.2022

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs Planning Commission — August 18, 2022 ATTENDEES: Rick Tarczynski, Vanessa Warren, Bob Thoma, Bill Mulder, Mark Perday, and Al Dyka were recorded present. • The commission approved the previous meeting’s minutes. No one spoke during the regular public-comment period for topics not on the agenda. • Commissioners opened a policy discussion on guest quarters. Current rules, as described in the meeting, limit use to friends and relatives, restrict stays to 21 consecutive days, require a month before reoccupancy, prohibit rentals, and require special land-use approval in some districts. Members questioned whether those rules still fit local housing needs. • The discussion moved toward a possible accessory dwelling unit (ADU) approach for long-term occupancy or rentals. Issues raised included sewer capacity, parking, setbacks, building safety, inspections, design compatibility, and whether detached units should be treated differently from attached second dwelling units. Staff reported roughly two guest-quarter special-land-use requests per year since 2015, with about 14 approved over seven years. • The commission reached consensus to have staff prepare draft guest-quarter/ADU language for review at the September meeting. Members also wanted City Council informed early, rather than waiting until the full ordinance process is complete. • Staff presented a proposed system for limiting short-term rental licenses in single-family districts. The concept would rank applicants using a 100-point matrix and require at least 75 points, considering such factors as whether the owner lives nearby, complaint and enforcement history, and annual safety verification. Staff said the city had 81 short-term rentals at the time of its report; the chair said an outside review suggested 53 to 58 may be in the single-family districts being considered for a cap. • No final short-term-rental action was taken. Commissioners and speakers differed on whether rentals should be barred from residential areas, capped, phased down as properties sell or licenses lapse, or permitted with stronger owner-occupancy and enforcement standards. Staff will ask City Attorney Jim Raymer to assess legality, enforceability, and transition options. • The commission began its zoning-code rewrite review. Draft sections addressed site-plan review, Zoning Board of Appeals procedures, administration and enforcement, and ordinance amendments. Members generally supported an optional administrative review path for qualifying by-right site plans, while discussing Planning Commission review thresholds for larger projects. Worth watching: • Whether draft ADU language addresses long-term rental, occupancy, safety, parking, utility capacity, setbacks, and neighborhood design. • The city attorney’s advice on a legally defensible short-term-rental cap and transition for existing license holders. • Future zoning-code language on storage containers and accessory-structure design. Upcoming: Staff is expected to bring draft guest-quarter/ADU language to the September 15 Planning Commission meeting; the next zoning-code review package is expected in November. Why it matters: The commission’s follow-up could affect housing options, neighborhood form, and the regulation of visitor rentals in Harbor Springs.

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