A Good Meeting and A Letter From Carole

I wanted to pass along an update about last evening's public hearing and a related letter from a member of our community.

Last night's public hearing went about as well as it could. Several issues will continue to be examined. There seemed to be genuine agreement that the Planning Commission has done great work so far. There was appreciation for the countless hours put into getting it right. The Commission decided to continue to work on some of the issues raised in the Open Houses and hold another public hearing on October 16th.

Many who came to give or listen to public testimony left before the resolution was agreed to by the Commission. Apparently, they were only told they had to be there for the public comment part. I cannot say who those who left early were there to support. Whichever position they represented-it would have made more sense to stay through the decision making. The room went from packed to half full during the 2.5-hour meeting.

Had folks stuck around they would have heard about a proposal on Planned Developments (PDs) developed by a planning professional in Grand Rapids hired by WLHS. The planner seems well respected, and the proposal was thoughtful. The Commission has asked the city's planner, a planner from a local developer's team, and the GR planner paid for by WLHS to get together and hopefully find a way forward.

Originally, it was proposed by staff that a couple members of WLHS should join the planners in the negotiations. To be clear, no one from WLHS or anyone who worked on the draft asked to be included. That met with questions from the audience. Who are the members of WLHS? Why would they get a seat at the table when other residents don't?

And that brings us to a letter sent our way that asks similar and interesting questions that call into question the organization of WLHS, who is paying for all their activities here, and why that information is being hidden from the people of Harbor Springs:

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹, 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽, 𝗪𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗜𝗻𝗰., 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰.

𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. 𝗕𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘄, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟲𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝟱𝟬𝟭(𝗰)(𝟰) 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝟱𝟬𝟭(𝗰)(𝟰) 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗯𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘄, 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝘅𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 (𝗧𝗜𝗡) 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗢𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦, 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦.

𝗢𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦? 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴?

𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗟𝗛𝗦 𝗮𝗿𝗲 “𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲”. 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲; 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.”

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀