Lima Township Responds to Chelsea’s New Master Plan

Lima Township said it’s all for partnerships and collaborations, but it’s worried about its neighbor thinking about annexing some township land.

As part of the updating of its Master Plan, the city of Chelsea has given copies of its plan to neighboring communities for review and response. Lima Township and its Board of Trustees and Planning Commission recently issued their response.

At one point in the response, Lima Township says, “While it is no secret that the City wishes to find more land for housing, we were surprised to find over 400 acres of Lima Township in the City of Chelsea’s Extended Future Land Use Map! This is concerning for several reasons.”

Lima Township said Chelsea’s plan mentions partnerships with nearby communities several times. Citing the introduction, Lima said it states, “The City seeks to create and support partnerships with these adjacent communities to further benefit long term community goals.”

The township cites a passage on page 48, “Chelsea has the opportunity to work with neighboring communities to help facilitate new development that can be mutually beneficial to communities and the broader region. As there is limited space for new development within Chelsea’s existing boundaries, planning and cooperation with neighboring jurisdictions may be the most effective way to facilitate new growth.”

However, Lima Township said there are other parts of the plan that concern them.

“We agree with these statements. Ideally, communities cooperate with each other. However, in this draft Future Land Use Map the City unilaterally identifies land it plans to annex, including it within the City’s future boundary. This is not demonstrating ‘partnership’ and ‘cooperation’; it only serves to create an adversarial relationship between communities,” Lima said in response.

Here is Lima’s entire response:

“The Lima Township Board of Trustees and Planning Commission provide the following written comments to the Chelsea City Council and Planning Commission regarding the City of Chelsea Master Plan update draft from September, 2025. The Township’s comments are directed specifically in regard to the Extended Future Land Use Map shown on pages 16 and 47.

While it is no secret that the City wishes to find more land for housing, we were surprised to find over 400 acres of Lima Township in the City of Chelsea’s Extended Future Land Use Map! This is concerning for several reasons.

The plan mentions partnerships with nearby communities several times. For example, in the introduction it states, “The City seeks to create and support partnerships with these adjacent communities to further benefit long term community goals.” And on page 48, “Chelsea has the opportunity to work with neighboring communities to help facilitate new development that can be mutually beneficial to communities and the broader region. As there is limited space for new development within Chelsea’s existing boundaries, planning and cooperation with neighboring jurisdictions may be the most effective way to facilitate new growth.”

We agree with these statements. Ideally, communities cooperate with each other. However, in this draft Future Land Use Map the City unilaterally identifies land it plans to annex, including it within the City’s future boundary. This is not demonstrating “partnership” and “cooperation”; it only serves to create an adversarial relationship between communities.

The Plan acknowledges on page 71 that “between 2010 and 2024, the City gained 257 net total housing units, with several hundred more housing units approved to be developed within the next 5 years.” The development by M/I Homes on Dexter-Chelsea Road will have 231 homes when complete, the land to the east of Freer Road (acquired through 425 agreement with Lima Township in 2024) was planned for 172 residences, the Manchester Crossing site plan for 92 units was just approved by the City, and the Rockwell Building has the potential for 50 apartment units.

The four developments just mentioned will result in over 500 new homes in Chelsea, which will increase the City’s population by at least 20%. With traffic already being a major issue for the City, managing the additional traffic these homes will generate needs to be addressed before any thought of obtaining more land for more development. The current Master Plan discusses the traffic problem but does not provide any discussion of what is or will be done to address those issues. This is a concern that affects the surrounding communities as well.

Finally, several of the areas that Chelsea shows within its future boundaries are already developed as large rural residential single-family homes on lots 3 acres and larger. Annexing this land would not further the city’s goal of high residential development. No rationale has been provided for annexing these properties, or explanation as to how they would be served by city services.

We encourage the City of Chelsea to remove this Extended Future Land Use Map from their 2025 Master Plan and, in the spirit of cooperation and partnership, hold discussions with Lima Township on future projects which are beneficial to both communities.”