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LATEST NEWS
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...
Part 2: More about We Love Harbor Springs.org What is the cost? Tell us about yourselves!
There have been some questions raised about our community group, We Love Harbor Springs (WLHS). On the off chance some of you aren’t familiar with us, I wanted to take the time to fill you in on why I personally got involved, and why we formed WLHS: To Preserve and...
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,...
ZONING
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...
Forming Opinions – Community Driven
What we like to do is research, research...and then write papers or reports and share them. Delivering information to readers, helping add to the conversations and delivering transparency when often a subject is so dense - understanding it is at a minimum. Building a...
A Planning Promise for Harbor Springs
6.14.25 Harbor Springs is a small town with a big heart—defined not by size or scale, but by community, character, and care. As we look to the future, our planning choices must reflect the values that have made this place loved for generations. We recognize that...
So here’s the first question we need to ask: What is the right-sized home for a medium-sized lot?
May 18, 2025 Who Wants More? At a recent Planning Commission meeting, a public comment described Harbor Springs as a "ghost town" for nine months of the year and questioned the current fear of increased density. The speaker highlighted the historic charm of the...
Lands West of Bluff Gardens may soon be sold.
You may or may not know that we are a proponent of protecting and preserving the Agricultural District. As you drive around our area, before the leaves are opened, it is easy to see the increase in building and development. The above LINK is to the Emmet County Master Plan, 2021-2025 with much of it written during the previous years. It’s extremely important to know what our neighbors know, and to either choose to follow in THEIR footsteps, or go on our own. Deciding what is best for Harbor Springs.
May 15th Districts PC Meeting “Homework”
Homework Planning Commissioner Kenny Stewart at the May 1, 2025 Planning Commission meeting suggested that prior to the May 17th meeting that the community read through the Article 4 - Overlay Districts for homework. Here is his quote,"...in my preparation for...
WLHS BLOG
My Two Cents
Dear Planning Commissioners, Housing in Harbor Springs isn’t a political problem—it’s a math problem. Just 1.3 square miles, nestled between a bay and a bluff, with demand sky-high and supply naturally limited. That’s not ideology. That’s geography. Yes, I’ve never...
Honoring Privilege Through Service: A Message for the Harbor Springs Community
In a town as unique as Harbor Springs, where lake breezes carry stories of generations past and where scenic overlooks, trains, plaques, and fountains stand not just as ornaments but as living memorials—privilege takes on a special meaning. It is not merely a matter...
Updated: Who Has the Right to Influence Our Community?
Subject: Who Has the Right to Influence Our Community? One concern centers around who should have the right to vote on issues that affect the property they own or the city they consider home—even if only part of the year. Let’s take a closer look at the reality in our...
5.15.25 Robert Hall, Planning Commission Meeting
Dear WLHS, Can you post this for others to read? Thank you. RH We are at a critical moment in the history — and future — of our town. Over the last five years, dedicated Planning Commission committees made up of community volunteers have worked hard to make...
City Council spot is open – Are you a Volunteer?
City Council Member Michael Behrmann’s Home Hits the Market – A New Chapter Begins! City Council Member Michael Behrmann, a dedicated and passionate voice for our community, has officially listed his home for sale—and with it, he’ll soon be closing this chapter and...
UPDATED 5.28.25: The Garden Club, Flag Pole, Lower Zorn Park includes Newspaper & Letters
Added: Petoskey News Report . We respectfully urge you to vote to preserve Harbor Springs’ precious green space, reject this proposal, and return it to the Garden Club with instructions to identify a more appropriate and welcomed location. This is an opportunity to reaffirm the city’s century-long tradition of preservation, protection, and responsible stewardship.
WAS DECISION TO EXIT RRC A MISPERCEPTION? WE THINK NOT.
From the 2/22/25 WLHS Newsletter Let’s set the record straight “I just want to add that if we allow misperceptions to guide what we do, then I don’t know it will bode well in the long run for other things we do in the city.” Victor Sinadinoski, Harbor Springs City...
DDA
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EVENTS
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NATIONAL & LOCAL PRESS
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LETTERS
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