Planning Commission Regular Meeting

Detailed briefing

PLANNING COMMISSION — November 20, 2025 ATTENDEES: Bill Moulder, Barry Leard, Bob Buckner, Genie Benjamin, Vanessa Warren, Kenny Stewart and Mark Bud were recorded present at roll call. Tony Johnson was absent; Chip Everest later participated remotely. • The commission approved the October 16 and October 21 meeting minutes after several spelling, capitalization and wording corrections. No opposition was recorded. • Owners of the property identified as 655 Pine Street discussed removing their parcel from an existing condominium plan and returning it to a metes-and-bounds legal description. No decision was made. Commissioners asked that a future formal submission include the amended master deed materials, a copy of the utility easement and a drawing locating that easement on the property. • The commission recommended the city’s six-year capital improvement plan to City Council. The plan lists 73 projects or purchases totaling an estimated $19.34 million. About half of the projected cost is assigned to the electric fund, largely because of an estimated $6.5 million for substation and transmission-line work. Inclusion in the plan does not authorize a purchase; projects still require budget and contracting approvals. • Capital-plan discussion highlighted a potential 2027 conflict between replacing a marine patrol boat and an older electric bucket truck. Members did not establish a commission-wide preference. One member favored the patrol boat because of its rescue role, while staff noted that both pieces of equipment are important. • Commissioners asked staff to examine Center Street conditions and drainage following the high school construction. A member reported that runoff travels from the school area down Center Street and onto Pine Street property, and argued that chip-and-seal work would not address the drainage problem. The city manager said he would discuss the issue with the public works director. • The commission agreed to send City Council the zoning code version it had already recommended, without adding recently submitted revisions. Members said grammatical corrections, administrative-review thresholds, historic-preservation ideas and other possible changes should receive fuller review rather than being added at the end of the current process. The commission intends to consider a housekeeping package after the code has been used for several months. • Bob Buckner agreed to give City Council a high-level presentation connecting the zoning update to the master plan. City Manager Victor announced that December 15 will be his final day with the city. Worth watching: 1. Whether Center Street receives a drainage and reconstruction review rather than only surface treatment. 2. How the city resolves the 2027 patrol-boat and bucket-truck funding conflict. 3. Which zoning amendments return to the Planning Commission in early 2026. Upcoming: The capital plan and zoning introduction are expected at City Council on December 1; a zoning public hearing was tentatively planned for December 15. Why it matters: The meeting advanced long-range infrastructure and zoning work while leaving major spending, drainage and code details for further public review.

Agenda items

• 5A · Condominium Subdivision Amendment - 655 Pine St.discussed
• 5B · Review - Harbor Springs Capital Improvements Plandiscussed
• 5C · Beckett & Raeder Analysis on Additional Changes to Updated Zoning Codediscussed

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

Related issues

• Zoning / Land Usediscussed