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LATEST NEWS
Update: Karin Offield on the Proposed Zoning Code – 11.17.25 PC Meet and the Suggested Changes by City Planner Lynee Wells, Aligned Planning
Zoning Update - Rust to Judgement Nov 20, 2025 “My joy comes from knowing that, instead of reverting to the entirety of the repealed #439 Zoning Code, since last years election, the Planning Commission genuinely listened. They took to heart the community comments...
Carter Williams City Council Letter regarding the Hire of a new City Manager
From: Williams, Carter <carter@oiventures.com> Sent: To: Monday, November 10, 2025 8:23 PM Tom Graham; Reeve 4 HS Council; Jamielynnmelke@gmail.com; kathy.motschall@yahoo.com; Jeanne Benjamin, Cc: Victor Sinadinoski Subject: City Manager Search Process Dear...
Election Matters & Candidates for November 4th Election
An Open Invitation to Residents, Candidates, and City Leaders “Vision without action is just a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. But action with vision can change the world.” — Nelson Mandela John Wooden: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”...
ZONING
Proposed Zoning Code Public Meetings and Public Hearing "The Planning Commission has wrapped up their review of the zoning code and will be holding a public meeting on Thursday, September 18, 2025 @ 5:30 PM at City Hall to receive public comment on the proposed zoning...
Update Letter 8.26.25 Following the Recent PC Meetings
Your letters speak for you, please show up at the Public Hearings now scheduled - See below Date: August 26, 2025 at 5:16:24 PM EDT To: Bill Mulder <wmulder1@gmail.com>, Tom Graham <tom@grahamre.com>, jamielynnmelke@gmail.com, kathy.motschall@yahoo.com,...
We believe Harbor Springs cannot build its way out of the national employee housing problem.
Our Position Harbor Springs is the heart of a larger region. With improved connectivity, short distances, and shared resources, we believe in a regional approach to housing — where surrounding townships have more space and flexibility. Ours is a resort community...
“Districts” From the WLHS Newsletter – Sign up today….Help Us Keep Harbor Springs Informed
Help Us Keep Harbor Springs Informed, Connected, and Protected We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS) is here for the long haul—and we’d love to work with you in real time. Thanks to your past generosity, we’ve come this far. Our deep research, clear communication, and public...
Why Parcel Owners Must be Included in Zoning Changes
Letter Letter about the Law Subject: Why Parcel Owners Must Be Included Early in Zoning Reform Dear Community Members, (or Members of City Council / Mayor) As an organization dedicated to informing and empowering residents on local land use issues, we want to bring...
Addendum about ‘housing choices’ to our Newsletter on 7.14.25
Some Commissioners and our City Planner consultant have pointed to housing choice tools like ADUs (accessory dwelling units) and duplexes everywhere as ways to address these challenges. But as we saw with the repeal of Ordinance #439, many in the community are loudly...
Is this the reason to add a third story to our downtown buildings?
If you ask the question, this is one answer: Michigan towns are seeing a shift towards allowing taller buildings, often moving from a two-story maximum to potentially three or more stories, primarily driven by a desire to increase housing density and revitalize...
WLHS BLOG
More about We Love Harbor Springs.org
Questions have been raised about our IRS filings. Here are the facts: We Love Harbor Springs is a registered 501(c)(4). We requested and received a standard IRS filing extension for our Form 990. That makes our new filing deadline November 15, 2025. Until that date,...
Why we should be extra careful of Planned Developments in Harbor Springs
We write to the community to express our deep concern regarding the proposed changes to the Planned Development (PD) provisions within the zoning ordinance, especially in light of recent developments such as Cottage Company’s projects on Zoll Street and Main Street....
Old Sidewalks – Let’s Fix Them
Big ticket item at the Downtown Development Authority meeting this month. In Michigan, a sidewalk is considered unsafe, and a municipality may be liable for injuries resulting from a fall, if a vertical discontinuity defect is 2 inches or more, or if there is a...
What Do You Love Most About Your Neighborhood?
After last night’s Planning Commissioner meeting, I left with a lot on my mind — and maybe you did too. It got me thinking: What do I love most about my neighborhood? About our downtown?Is it the undulating rooflines, the mix of buildings that still carry hints of the...
Going it Alone
Let’s take a moment and imagine Harbor Springs without second homes, and second home owners. No grand turn-of-the-century cottages. No yachts in the bay. No Irish’s, no Walstrom’s, no ferry. No bustling art fairs, no car shows, no boutique-lined streets. Just a quiet...
Slippery When Wet: A Reflection on Jakob’s Ladder and the Path Forward
There was a time when Jakob’s Ladder wasn’t just a staircase—it was a lifeline. Kids scampered up and down its weather-worn steps, backpacks swinging and laughter echoing down the bluff. It was a necessary connection, a vital piece of everyday life. But times change,...
Financial Priorities – A Community Conversation – Opinions & Help requested.
Subject: Revisiting Our Financial Priorities—A Community Conversation I'm not a financial planner or an accountant, but like many of us, I’ve been paying attention to how our city talks about money, growth, and the future. Five years ago, we were told that Harbor...
DDA
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EVENTS
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NATIONAL & LOCAL PRESS
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LETTERS
4.30.24 Letter to the City of HS – from Wendy Reeve
I have attended all 3 zoning commission meetings held within the last 3 weeks. An investment of 9 hours to familiarize myself with this many pronged octopus the Planning Commission is proposing. Two days ago I read thru the RRC Best Practices Handbook. The...
Letter: 4.30.24 To the Editor: Re: Nancy Rondell & Hope by James Kenney
Dear Editor: In an October 2020 interview with the Harbor Light, while running for city council, Councilwoman Nancy Rondell highlighted the importance of local government in Harbor Springs, encouraging input from all residents. She insisted, “It is so important that...
Letter: 4.30.24 Silence Speaks Volumes by Patrick Kenney
Letter to the Editor: In May 2019, having lived in Harbor Springs for less than one month, the newly appointed city manager, Victor Sinadinoski, for some reason, felt he had a thorough understanding of Harbor Springs and that our quaint town needed to become an RRC....
Letter: “Affordable Housing has left the station”: by Maureen Kenney
Dear Editor: I write not as a “character assassin,” a term carelessly thrown around by a Planning Commission Member, but rather as a concerned citizen intent on holding elected and appointed city leaders accountable for their words and actions. This letter serves the...
To the Community – Now 4.24- 8.11.24
To members of the City Council; This paragraph is in reference to the delicate and important balance principle homeowners and most importantly second homeowners play in the economic balance of Harbor Springs – a resort town. In a business sense our second homeowners...
Letter: 4.3.24 Please Mr. Mayor let’s hold a Town Hall about the Zoning
From: Karin Offield Subject: Letter from Karin Offield about a Town Hall scheduling Date: April 3, 2024 at 5:09:59 PM EDT To: Matt Bugera <mjBugera@gmail.com>, Jamielynnmelke@gmail.com, kathy.motschall@yahoo.com Cc: mbehrmann@cityofharborsprings.com,...
SURVEYS
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CORRECTIONS
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RRC – ARCHIVED
9.22.24 Five Reasons to end the MEDC – Research Report #2 of 2
Did Harbor Springs City Manager do the homework before signing up for the MEDC/RRC process? This article is from January 25, 2019. https://www.mackinac.org/five-reasons-to-end-the-michigan-economic-development-corporation The Michigan Economic Development...
5.4.24 Response to RRC Best Practices by City Manager
Recently, City Manager Victor Sinadinoski released a list of the RRC’s 30 “best practices” on the city website. This list covers many basic aspects of good governance. However, the purpose of releasing this list is confusing because it doesn’t necessitate...
10.31.24 Harbor Springs has been engaged with the RRC for years…. are we educated enough to know what’s next?
MEDC/RRC What's in it for Harbor Springs? Helpful learning from our seemingly really remote and quiet neighbors to the North. Towns in the Upper Peninsula like Marquette .... towns smaller like Negaunee also become well-positioned for private investment and improved...
3.18.24 City Council Meeting Reply – RRC
Members of City Council; We would like to offer a correction in the spirit of transparency around a comment delivered tonight (March 18, 2024) at the City Council meeting. Although correct; during the process of the zoning update, the RRC was not specifically...
3.18.24 City Council Meeting – Zoning Approvals Postponed until May 20
Mayor Matt Bugera and City Council members Micheal Behrmann, Jaime Melke, Kathy Motschall and Nancy Rondel vote - unanimously - to postpone the approval of the zoning reform proposal put forward by Planning Commissioner Chair Bill Mulder until May 6 2024.
3.8.24 Planning Commission Meeting -Zoning Questions & Answers
City of Harbor Springs Zoning Code Update Project Questions and Answers March 8, 2024 https://www.cityofharborsprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/City-of-HS-Zoning-Questions-and-Answers-March-8th-2024-Official.pdf
2.15.24 Planning Commission Meeting-Summary of Changes to Zoning Code
https://www.cityofharborsprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Zoning-Code-Update-2024-Summary-of-Key-Topics-V.2.pdf