A simple country life is what many residents of Chelsea&8217;s 12 Oaks subdivision cherish about their neighborhood.

Most people in the community live on seven to eight acre lots, and they say a simple backyard view of greenery is all they want to see.

However, that may all soon change with the Chelsea Planning Commission&8217;s recommendation that the city council rezone 140 acres so a new 149-lot subdivision can be built off nearby Highway 47.

Robert E. Bearden has been a resident of south Chelsea since 1969. He says the quiet atmosphere of rural living is what has kept him and his family in Shelby County to this day.

Bearden is part of a committee that opposes the rezoning for the new subdivision. He lives on a 10-acre lot that borders 12 Oaks. Bearden said if this annex is allowed then homes will be built on lots that are less than an acre in size, and if the rezoning goes into effect, some homes might have half-acre lots.

&8220;This destroys our country home setting. It will increase traffic especially at the intersection of County Road 47 and County Road 39, and the county and city know this is a problem,&8221; said Bearden.

County Commissioner Robbie Hayes said he wasn&8217;t familiar enough with the topic to comment on the issue. However, he did say traffic lanes would need to be widened to accommodate the population increase, a change that would be left up to the city.

Homeowners acknowledge that the the new subdivision would not affect the property value, at least monetary-wise, of homes in existence, but Bearden and other concerned residents said this would lower the value to them.

Any concerned citizens are welcome to attend a public hearing regarding the matter on Tuesday Jan. 2, 2007.