Further, you can't have it both ways. You can't both demand that more people get involved, but also make every single meeting miserable for anyone who shows up.

Councilman Buckner said in the Harbor Light today that 1,700 hours of public work has been put in by volunteers to get the code to this point. That is a lot. Anyone was welcome to join in those hours of discussion.

What is perhaps more telling than the effort to flood the commission with identical form letters is the make up of the people who sent them.

By my rough count of the 67 form letters sent in opposition to the new code:

22 were voters in Harbor Springs (30%)

12 were homeowners in Harbor Springs (but not voters) (20%)

33 were neither voters or homeowners in Harbor Springs (50%)

This Thursday, 5:30pm, at City Hall, there is a formal public hearing on the draft of the new zoning code for Harbor Springs. This draft comes after nearly a year of work conducted in full view of the public. It has included the proper scrutiny the process is intended to provide.

Dozens and dozens of meetings have been held ---open to all. Countless hours of testimony and discussion have contributed to this draft document.

If this hearing is anything like the five most recent open houses held by the Planning Commission, it will be unpleasant.

This summer the implications and accusations of wrongdoing and incompetence returned. I attended the five recent planning commission open houses. (I’m not crazy, just troubled by the discord in our community.) By the way, I agree with WLHS that our community includes all in the 49740 zip code. That said, only the five members of the Harbor Springs City Council make decisions for the city.

The open houses were well attended, a couple had standing room only. At times, there was a palpable undercurrent of distrust and anger. Our planning commission and city staff don’t deserve that.

Linda Rachwitz has asked me to post the following letter. There are few more dedicated to a bright future for Harbor Springs than Linda. There are fewer still with the patience to and generosity to spend so much time trying to bridge our divisions. Her words should matter to all of us:

"𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱.

There is a piece of wisdom that both appears in the gospel of Luke and in the first edition of Stan Lee's Spiderman comic. In Luke it is phrased, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded." In Spiderman is reads, "With great power there also must come great responsibility."

I've been thinking a lot about those sentiments lately. At its core, the message told to us by both Luke and Lee is that we are all held accountable for helping others in need. We must do our part.

It has been a week of meetings, particularly about the zoning code. Well attended by both folks from Harbor Springs and Mystic, Connecticut.

There were good questions. Some thoughtful concerns. There were some things learned. And, as it seems there always is, some who just were three to throw sand in the gears. Several of them do not have a Harbor Springs address...

But then again, neither does "We Love Harbor Springs." For all the love for this town, none of their paperwork as an organization has a Harbor Springs address anywhere to be found.

On a lighter (but telling) note---The photo used by on this postcard urging Harbor Springs to "Wake Up" is NOT a photo of Harbor Springs.

That is a picture of Mystic, Connecticut. I have no idea how the people of Mystic feel about our zoning code. Looks like a pretty place and as the home of "Mystic Pizza" (Julia's Roberts' first big Rom Com) it is a cinematic and culinary classic! We need a movie about Turkey's!

All the big things the small group of "repeal" leaders demanded have happened. But, again, it doesn't seem to matter.

Now they have made a public call to raise nearly 4x the amount spent last fall ($75,000!) in dark money, to grab a majority on the Council, fire hard-working staff, and run residents off Boards. And get this, they want to hire a planner from Grand Rapids to take over advising the zoning process.

We Love Harbor Springs is registered in Toledo, Ohio. The political consulting firm they used to win last fall is located in Lansing. The planner they want to take over the zoning code is from Grand Rapids.

The timing of public input early in a project is so all can be heard when they can have the largest impact on the plans. Way before ground is turned---not the week the backhoes show up.

Wake up, Harbor Springs. City Council elections are November 4th and there are many who want to override our residents and replace process with constant grievance. If you think it can't happen here---look around. It already is.

It's up to us, Harbor Springs.

Let's be honest, very few residents of Harbor Springs are closely following what is happening at City Hall or with the Planning Commission. It's been summer and we are busy. But fall is coming and it is time. We need our neighbors to start paying attention.

Rather than giving up, we need to wake up.

We have City Council elections coming on November 4th. We can continue the chaos and grievance that mirrors our national politics. Or we can choose a different path.

It’s up to us, Harbor Springs.

Harbor Springs, you should be very proud of your Planning Commission. They have been genuinely true to their word and continue to make good progress on a new zoning code.

A year ago in November, the Planning Commission was asked to return to its work revising the zoning code. If you remember, the postcards we received urging us to repeal the code said:

"A Yes vote will return the zoning code to the old zoning code and allow for a new code to be written with community input."

That was what was promised. Those were the words that were used to convince voters. And it is exactly what the Planning Commission has undertaken.

Today, we all should be very proud and thankful here in Harbor Springs. The City Council has appointed Bob Buckner to replace Michael Behrmann as our new Councilperson.

The Council made an exceptional choice. Bob was appointed to the Planning Commission and has brought a kind, prepared and thoughtful approach to his work. Bob facilitated many of the public listening sessions this winter and spring. Anyone who has seen him working to find common ground will be thrilled with his appointment

When we arrived at summer on the calendar, the weather did not mess around. Whew.

Still, I’d rather this than be without power and shoveling that's for sure. As we approach the Fourth of July and things get crazy, I wanted to send you an update.

First, I have been a bit quiet here on purpose. Things are going well at City Hall. People seem to be coming together. At most of the Planning Commission meetings, it is hard to tell who was for the old zooming repeal and who was against it.

Both this site, and the folks over at WLHS, received a request from the Chair of the Planning Commission to post a letter seeking your ideas! Thank you for taking the time to read Bill's request and give some thought to the Commission's questions:

"From: Bill Mulder, Chair – City of Harbor Springs Planning Commission

Subject: Ideas Requested

The Harbor Springs Planning Commission continued its hard work last week. First, I want to recognize and applaud the way in which these conversations are taking place. The members of the Commission are thoughtful, courteous, and open to suggestions.

Last week's meeting was a perfect example of what happens when you are willing to say out loud, "Maybe there are some things we could do better."

The meeting was the start of a conversation about the actual zoning districts. The group walked through each of the 17 current zones and asked if it was needed.

THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT, FRIENDS. PLEASE READ AND GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT. (Thank you!)

In 2024, there were 36 new Harbor Springs voters who attested they live most the year in Harbor Springs for purposes of voting but did not claim their address here as their primary residence for taxes.

Twenty-seven of our new voters are known renters. They are eligible to vote but not to claim any tax benefit on their residence.

The remaining 48 new registered voters took the Primary Resident Exemption (PRE). Those voters swore under penalty of perjury on both their voting and tax forms that they were Harbor Springs residents a greater part of the year.

Some of you might be asking: "Why is Nubbins digging up all this voting stuff now? Things seem to be calm and going well! Why stir things up?" If you are asking that question, trust me, so am I.

My answer is, I don't trust that we won't slip back into the contention and acrimony we experienced last year as folks come back for the summer.

Despite our best efforts to be inclusive and listen to the concerns of residents, property owners and neighbors from the Townships, there may be some who will disregard the thoughtful process we have engaged in and demand we start over again. Rather than respect the common ground we have found, some will repeat the idea that they were not directly consulted despite multiple invitations to engage.

The 2024 presidential race brought new voters to the rolls. Last fall’s zoning issue also brought new voters who changed their registration from elsewhere to Harbor Springs. As I have said, I am not sure there is anything definitely illegal about that, but it is hard to deny it shifted some of the local election dynamics.

The question I have been asking is, “was it right” to attest you were a “resident” of Harbor Springs a majority of the year for voting purposes, but also say you were a resident somewhere else for most of the year for tax purposes.

The front page of yesterday's Harbor Light Newspaper pointed out another place where "gaming" the voter registration system could impact our community.

We are all entitled by our Constitution to request a trial by a jury of our peers (should we ever find ourselves accused of a crime). Juries are summoned from among the pool of registered voters of a community. It is how the judge seats a jury that reflects a defendant's peers.

Buckle up-if you've been waiting for a fiery post, here it is! When I am about to post something confrontational, I run it by Sara for advice. She read the draft of this post and told me I was pulling my punches and I should say what I mean clearly.

She's right. So, here it goes (This Ole Ram is about to get lots of hate mail):

Last year Harbor Springs saw a 10% increase in registered voters. In a town of 1241, that is a lot.

All of those new voters had to certify they were residents of Harbor Springs. The state of Michigan (Act 116 of 1954) says your "residence" for voting is: "the place at which the person resides the greater part of the time."