LATEST NEWS
Heights in Harbor Springs – A Memo by Aligned Planning Consultant Lynee Wells –
February 2026 Height Memo for Planning Commission 2.2.26 3 Pages - Heights and regulations in CBD and in Residential neighborhoods vary in many ways, many are still confused why we want to review the Heights subject again. So for many of us that are participating in...
3 Real time Examples for PD’s, Height and Administrative Review Committee (ARC)
Dear Readers, We know there are a lot of details to sort out - and through - but to get it right, thats what needs to be paid attention to. Opening Thought: Clear zoning language is not about stopping development. It is about making sure that what gets...
How to Pick a Great City Manager for Harbor Springs? Guidelines by ICMA
The best way to educate on the answer to this question and to give more insight for communities that we have found so far is that most of the State of Michigan communities rely on these International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Guidelines INFO:...
ZONING
The final Planning Commission Meeting of 2025 – a win for the zoning , but not yet quite done
Dear Readers - Hope this is helpful to all who asked...."How did the Meeting go?" December 18, 2025 We took a few pieces of the transcript about the Admin Review Committee to help us clarity our position on the Administrative Review Discussion for the January 5 City...
Dear Planning Commissioners,
Why should the City Council send the proposed zoning back to you? It is far easier to fix these issues now than to live with their consequences later. We hope you'll consider taking the proposed zoning code back into 2026 meetings, and finish what is almost ready to...
Planned Development – Definitions of Subjective and Objective terms – Helping us understand the PD language.
Planned Development - Strong enough for Harbor Springs? In a meeting in early May 2025, when the Planning Commissioners discussed standards and property rights, Mark Rondel spoke regarding a variance request for a garage, noting that while the proposal met technical...
What is Ordinance 50 ? Why does it Matter? Short Terms Rentals Recently Discussed ?
Please read carefully. This is in the January 5 2026 City Council Packet - A report on Short Term Rentals comes next ...
What Does Beckett & Raeder say about the current Zoning Code Issues? Do they work for Harbor Springs?
To READ the eight page Beckett & Raeder reply, please click on this link... BRi Review of Lynee Wells issue with Proposed Zoning Code If City Zoning staff, the City Planner, outside review resources, Planning Commissioners, and community members all acknowledge...
Aligned Planning’s Lynee Wells Letter to the City Council 12.12.25
DOWNLOAD OR PRINT Ordinance Review Final Edits Summary 12.12.25
When can a Zoning Code Put Harbor Springs at Risk – Understandings by Examples or Comparisons
By Karin Reid Offield and team, The proposed zoning code is close to completion, and that progress should be acknowledged. However, zoning is permanent law. When adopted before key weaknesses are resolved, those weaknesses do not remain theoretical—they become...
WLHS BLOG
Stepping up to run for City Council – Thank you!
Thank You for Stepping Up Seeking to Serve Harbor Springs First off—thank you. By choosing to run for City Council, you’re stepping into one of the most important roles in our community. You’re not doing it for recognition or a title—you’re doing it because you want...
Thanks from a True Blue Local
Thoughts From a True Blue Local Harbor Springs is one of the few places left that is so naturally beautiful, so surrounded by abundant natural resources, so, dare we say inherently charming, people are not only drawn to it, they want to make it their own. So people...
Who is WLHS? Short Version
What is We Love Harbor Springs? Please read about us in the ABOUT tab on our Website! We Love Harbor Springs. org was established to ensure the voice of our entire community is heard. Our group is made up of over 1,000 people from all walks of life, including voters,...
Questions & Answers in Harbor Light News of Candidates for City Council
QUESTIONS: FROM THE HARBOR LIGHT Please tell us about yourself and what skills you believe you would bring to the City Council table. What are the biggest challenges you believe the City currently faces? Are there additional long-term concerns you have that need to be...
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...
DDA
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EVENTS
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HISTORY
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NATIONAL & LOCAL PRESS
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LETTERS
12.5.24 Conflict of Interest (COI) : Letter to City Council
From: Ashley O'Reilly <ashleymkor@icloud.com> Date: December 5, 2024 at 5:23:17 PM GMT To: Graham Tom <tom@grahamre.com>, Michael Behrmann <mhbehrmann@gmail.com>, Jamie Melke...
Letters: 8.28.24 Refused at Harbor Light, published here. Mike Kilbourne
28.24Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Please add my attached (and below) letter for publication in the next Letters to the Editor section of the Harbor Light. TURNED DOWN "Is it all about money? The City Council recently enacted a zoning ordinance which will now appear...
6.26.2024 Our Community and Our Voice
Letter To the Editor: ‘Our Community; Our Voice’ What we want, isn’t it a community that Council can depend on; a community of voices, of ideas, of thoughtful contributions, and of deliberate participation, open to all members of the community, that creates and builds...
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...
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