Dear Editor,

To Mayor Niven and Chelsea City Council Members:

My husband and I live at 6720 Chelsea Road, across Highwy 47 from the former Bentley property that is currently up for rezoning. We purchased our property from Leroy Bentley in 1997 and operate an American Saddlebred show horse stable.

We were attracted to the Chelsea area because of the good school system, low crime rate and rural atmosphere. A great deal about the community has changed in 10 years, but we feel that it is still a wonderful place to live and to raise our family. However, we are very concerned with the proposed rezoning request currently before the board. This property was zoned for 3-acre lots when purchased by the developer and we believe that it should remain that way.

To decrease the lot size and add additional houses will cause undesirable changes and problems for our neighborhood:

1.

Increased traffic on an already overcrowded and dangerous Hwy 47

2.

Overpopulation of Chelsea schools

3.

Negative environmental impact and serious watershed problems due to erosion

4.

Drinking water supply and quality will decrease

5.

Property values will decrease and Chelsea will become just another Shelby County city with average housing developments, an overpopulated and undesirable school system and bumper-to-bumper traffic.

While growth is good, unbridled and irresponsible growth is not.

As the elected officers, it is your duty and responsibility to this community to make educated and wise decisions that will benefit everyone &8212; not just a select few.

On one hand, our business stands to benefit from more houses with more families with children who might like to take horseback riding lessons. But on the other hand, all of those houses with families with children will crowd our schools and our roads, tax our water supply and destroy our rural environment.

If WE are willing to make the right choice for our community, even though it is a choice that will take potential income out of our pocket, we certainly feel that our city leaders should also do the right thing.

In conclusion, we do not feel that the City of Chelsea has taken adequate steps to insure that this zoning change will not adversely affect our neighborhood. This is not a decision that should be taken lightly as it will create problems that will ultimately be YOUR PROBLEMS to solve.

Please choose wisely.

James and Jackie Hale,Columbian