By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The city of Alabaster got slightly larger on Dec. 7, as the City Council voted unanimously to welcome several new properties into the city.

Following public hearings on four annexation requests – during which nobody spoke in favor of or against the annexations – the council agreed to annex the homes into Alabaster.

The public hearings came about a month after the council received information about the four sets of annexation requests – Most of which came as a result of residents wishing for their children to remain zoned for Alabaster schools.

Through a separation agreement between the Shelby County School System and the Alabaster City School System, students zoned for Alabaster schools who do not live in the city limits are being phased out of Alabaster schools over the next few years.

As a result of the Dec. 7 annexations, children in the newly annexed homes will be able to continue to attend schools in the Alabaster City School System.

During the meeting, the council agreed to annex the following properties:

– Four parcels of land along Mellow Lane, which is off U.S. 31 near the Alabaster-Calera line.

-Two lots containing two homes along Crosscut Road, which is near the recently annexed subdivision surrounding Fogle Lake in the Camp Branch community.

– One piece of property surrounding Fogle Lake not included in the original annexations surrounding the lake. The property contains one home.

-A property off Shelby County 12 near the entrance to the Scottsdale subdivision. As the lot currently stands, it is in compliance with Alabaster zoning codes, as it contains two houses on a single lot. The lot’s annexation into the city will not take effect until the lot is divided into multiple parcels to bring it into compliance with the city’s zoning regulations.