Planning Commission Meeting 6.16.2022

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs Planning Commission — June 16, 2022 ATTENDEES: Al Daika, Barry Lustgarten, Bill Mulder, George Peet, Bob Thoma, Emily Dubay, Vanessa Warren, Rick Tarczynski; Mark Boudet was absent. New planning consultant John Iacoangeli was introduced. • The commission approved the May 19 regular-meeting minutes and June 7 special-meeting minutes. No corrections were identified in the discussion. • Commissioners approved the site plan for 294 E. Third St., a former car-dealership building proposed for first-floor business use with residential space above. The applicant described plans to preserve and renovate the building while using it as a live-work space. • Consultant John Iacoangeli said the current CBD ordinance allows nonresidential use on the first floor and residential use above, and he viewed the proposal as a permitted live-work use rather than a special land use. However, he said the ordinance does not address separation between uses or define live-work units. • Approval was conditioned on city staff and the property owner developing a recorded development agreement. Discussion indicated the agreement should address preventing residential use on the first floor and require separation if the building is later divided between different occupants. Commissioners also discussed including a sunset provision if future zoning-code amendments establish live-work standards. Staff said it would work with the consultant and city attorney on the document. • Staff reported 73 active short-term-rental licenses, with five applications still to process. Sixteen of the 73 were new this year. Staff was also reviewing roughly nine unlicensed listings and requested links or documentation for eight additional listings identified by a resident. Staff estimated the total number of short-term-rental properties could be about 95, while the resident said online listings suggested a higher total. • The commission agreed to begin work this summer on whether short-term rentals should be limited in particular districts and, if limits are pursued, what a fair application process would be. Members noted licensing changes would need to proceed through the city code and City Council. • The commission started planning a comprehensive zoning-code review. Iacoangeli said a full reorganization and revision could take about nine months and offered to bring a proposed roadmap to the next meeting. Worth watching: • Whether the 294 E. Third St. development agreement is finalized, recorded, and includes the discussed sunset provision. • Whether the commission recommends short-term-rental caps, district restrictions, or revised licensing procedures. • The scope and schedule of the zoning-code rewrite, including live-work standards. Upcoming: The next regular meeting was identified as July 21, with short-term rentals and zoning-code priorities expected to be discussed. Why it matters: The commission advanced a downtown preservation project while beginning policy work that could shape housing, visitor rentals, and future development rules.

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