Chelsea

City of Chelsea
Incorporated	1996
Population	16,193
Mayor	Tony Picklesimer
School district	Shelby County Schools
Government	Chelsea City Council City of Chelsea Fire & Rescue Shelby County Sheriff's Office
Web site	cityofchelsea.com
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Chelsea is a 10.1 square-mile city of 16,193 in northern Shelby County. It was incorporated on March 1, 1996 with a population of 906.

History

Chelsea residents began the move to incorporate in 1995 in order to ward off potential annexation of the area by the city of Pelham, which had planned a new fire station near Chelsea High School. Chuck Lewis, a member of the incorporation committee, later compiled notes about the process.

The population of Chelsea is rapidly increasing due to new home construction in the area. The largest of these newly-developed neighborhoods is Chelsea Park, a joint venture between Eddleman Properties and Thornton Homes, which will comprise about 3,000 new homes when completed. The Chelsea Crossings shopping center opened in Spring 2007, across from a recently completed Wal-Mart Supercenter.

In 2005 Chelsea went through the process of developing a comprehensive plan with assistance from the Regional Planning Commission, the Shelby County Planning Commission, and 4-Site, Inc. consulting engineers. In 2021 the city hired Criterion Consulting to report on the feasibility of Chelsea forming its own school system, and potentially annexing areas of The Narrows, Highland Lakes, Dunnavant Valley, and potentially Westover.

Chelsea has held an annual Christmas parade since 2001. The Cahaba Girl Scout Council's Kanawahala Program Center is located just outside Chelsea.

Government

Chelsea's municipal government is headed by Mayor Tony Picklesimer and City Council members Tiffany Bittner, Chris Grace, Casey Morris, Cody Sumners, and Scott Weygand.

Chelsea operates it's own City of Chelsea Fire & Rescue service. Police protection is provided by the Shelby County Sheriff's Department assisted by a city-wide neighborhood watch program known as the Citizen Observer Patrol. The Chelsea Park is located alongside Chelsea Middle School and offers athletic fields, a playground and a senior lodge. The Chelsea Public Library, part of the Harrison Regional Libraries System for Shelby County, is located inside Chelsea City Hall.

Chelsea currently has four schools in the Shelby County School system. These include Chelsea Park Elementary School, Chelsea Intermediate School, Chelsea Middle School, and Chelsea High School. In 2022 the city held a referendum on establishing a new property tax to fund a separate school system. The proposal failed by a margin of 87% to 13%.

Subdivisions

As of 2007, the City of Chelsea includes 46 named residential subdivisions. These are: Archer Lakes subdivision, Autumn Crest subdivision, Bolivar Creek subdivision, Brittny Ridge subdivision, Brookchase Estates subdivision, Brynleight Estates subdivision, Carriage Creek subdivision, Cedar Hill subdivision, Chelsea Acres subdivision, Chelsea Estates subdivision, Chelsea Park subdivision, Chelsea Ridge Estates subdivision, Chelsea Station subdivision, Chelsea Village subdivision, Chelsea Plantation subdivision, Countryside subdivision, Covington Place subdivision, Crossbrook Farms subdivision, Emerald Parc subdivision, Flagstone subdivision, Foothills of Chelsea subdivision, Forest Lakes subdivision, Forest Park subdivision, Glenstone Cottages subdivision, Greenbriar Place subdivision, High Chaparral subdivision, Hunter Hills subdivision, Lakewood subdivision, Liberty Cove subdivision, Lime Creek subdivision, The Narrows subdivision, O'Hara subdivision, Pink Dogwood Estates subdivision, Polo Crossings subdivision, Royal Forest subdivision, Shelby Forest Estates subdivision, Shire Valley Farms subdivision, Sunset Lakes subdivision, Sydney's Place subdivision, Tara subdivision, The Arbor subdivision, Twin Oaks subdivision, Windstone subdivision, Willow Branch subdivision, Yellowleaf Estates subdivision, and Yellowleaf Plateau subdivision.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,949 people, 1,022 households, and 849 families residing in the town. The population density was 293.6/mi². There were 1,091 housing units at an average density of 108.6/mi². The racial makeup of the town was 97% White.

There were 1,022 households out of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.9% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $67,083, and the median income for a family was $72,206. Males had a median income of $46,071 versus $28,403 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,717. About 5.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Charlie Bradberry, NASCAR driver
• Gary Bradberry, NASCAR driver

References

• "Chelsea, Alabama" (April 14, 2007) Wikipedia - accessed April 24, 2007
• Lewis, Chuck, ed. (2011) “Incorporation History of Chelsea, Alabama. Chelsea City Council (on deposit at the Chelsea Public Library)
• Boatwright, Christine (January 20, 2012) "Chelsea museum to contain history, relics." Shelby County Reporter
• Rebman, Stephanie (June 21, 2021) "Chelsea considering adding school system, annexations." Birmingham Business Journal
• Denham, Hannah & Ramsey Archibald (May 29, 2023) "Birmingham’s largest suburbs are shrinking, but this city is growing. Here’s how." AL.com

External links

• City of Chelsea official website