Harbor Springs Planning Commission May 19, 2022

Detailed briefing

Harbor Springs Planning Commission — May 19, 2022 ATTENDEES: Rick Tarczynski, Vanessa Warren, Emily Dubay, Bob Thomas, George Peep, Bill Mulder, Al Daika and Max Bass were recorded as present; Mark Bidet was recorded absent. The transcript states that a quorum was present. • The commission approved minutes from its April 21 regular meeting and April 28 special meeting by voice votes. No corrections were recorded before either vote. • The main agenda item was a site-plan review for 294 East Third Street, identified as a condominium unit on the Third Street side of the building containing the Lyric Theater. The application was presented as a proposed first-floor business space with a second-floor residence. • The applicant’s representative said the building had previous uses including automobile-related operations, boat and antique storage, a gallery and private storage. She said it is currently unheated and uninsulated, and that renovation would require heating, cooling and fire-suppression work to allow year-round use. • The proposal includes two parking spaces using an existing curb cut and ramp into the building. A rooftop deck was shown on plans, but the representative said it would require condominium-association approval in addition to any Planning Commission approval. • The applicant’s representative said the owner’s current focus is a professional office on the main floor, with possible art-opening or venue activity. She argued the business is not a home occupation because the business area is larger than the upstairs dwelling and is intended as a primary use. • Staff said the zoning ordinance does not specifically address a “live-work” use. Staff raised concerns that the first-floor use appeared to be a personal office, that the business and residence would share an entry, and that the arrangement could affect long-term expectations for downtown first-floor business frontage. Staff said the commission could approve, table or deny the plan. Worth watching: • The transcript does not record whether the commission reached a decision on the site plan. • The permitted character of the proposed first-floor business use remained unresolved. • Any rooftop deck remains contingent on condominium-association approval. Upcoming: No future meeting date or continued hearing date was announced in the supplied transcript. Why it matters: The review raises a broader question about how Harbor Springs applies CBD rules to combined business-and-residential projects in downtown buildings.

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