By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The Alabaster Planning and Zoning Commission gave its approval during a June 26 meeting on a plan to rezone about 14.4 acres in Alabaster’s Oakwood subdivision to allow for a new five-home estate development off Oakwood Drive.

The decision will now move on to the Alabaster City Council for final approval. The council likely will hold a public hearing on the matter during its Aug. 13 meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. at Alabaster City Hall.

The property currently is zoned as municipal reserve, which was attached to the property when the city annexed it along with much of the land surrounding Saddle Lake Farms in 2015, and the developer is seeking estate zoning, which would allow for no more than one home per acre.

A developer is looking to construct five estate-sized homes on the property, which is between Massey Road and Oakwood Lane in eastern Alabaster.

Plans submitted to the city call for four 3-acre lots in the development and one 1.7-acre lot. Two pair of new homes will share a common driveway, while one will have its own driveway. Before the project can move forward, the city must approve a subdivision plat, and the county must sign off on the shared driveways.

A paved cul-de-sac road – Oakwood Circle – was added on the property in the past for a planned residential development in the area, but the development never materialized. The cul-de-sac road will be removed if the proposed five-home development moves forward.

Planning and Zoning Commission members said the five estate-sized homes will match what is currently in the area, and said all necessary utilities except city sewer are available in the area.