The City of Chelsea recently published its proposed Master Plan Update, that outlines goals and objectives for 2025-2030. The “Extended Future Land Use Boundary” map (see below) illustrates where the city is planning future land uses within Sylvan Township, thereby raising the specter of the city attempting to take these areas from the township.
This kind of predatory planning creates an environment of contentious borders and undermines regional collaboration.
In the update, the city plan covers most of Sylvan’s water and sewer district, where township residents have spent millions of dollars on utility infrastructure. The only area in Sylvan’s utility district the city excludes is the mobile home community – which is interesting in the face of the city’s proclamation that they need affordable housing.
Residents in Sylvan Township pay lower taxes than city residents. A median home with the same State Equalized Value and residency exemption in the city pays thousands of dollars more in taxes than Sylvan residents due to the city’s higher millage rate.
The city is facing a shortage of water. Last year, Sylvan and the city pursued an initiative to consider interconnecting the two water systems and the possibility of the city buying water from Sylvan.
The engineer that was contracted to study the two systems and interconnection stated that it would cost the city over 6 million dollars to increase the water plant infrastructure for the proposed growth identified in that study – which did not include additional land now being proposed in the Extended Future Land Use Boundary. City residents will bear the costs of those utility upgrades.
We strongly oppose this aggressive Master Plan proposal by the current city administration. Sylvan Township is not a land bank for the city, nor is it the remedy for poor historical city land management.
The city will hold a public hearing regarding the 2025 Master Plan on Oct. 21, 2025, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held in the City Municipal Building (Council Chambers) located at 311 S. Main Street in Chelsea.
Sylvan Township Board of Trustees
Sylvan Township Planning Commission
