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By EMILY SPARACINO | Staff Writer 

MONTEVALLO – The Montevallo City Council approved an amended master plan for the third phase of the Ammersee Lakes subdivision located off Alabama 119 on Monday, Oct. 11.

Property owner Tom Bagley with Bagley Properties submitted a request for the approval of the amended master plan, which reflects a reduction in the number of proposed residential lots and modification of the road network in Sector 3 of Ammersee Lakes.

During a public hearing on the matter, Bagley said the amendment calls for 27 lots instead of 34 lots in the third sector.

“The new plan is actually a little better than the old one,” Bagley said. “The lots are a little bigger, there are fewer lots and smaller impact. The price of the lots and the quality of the subdivision will be raised a little bit.”

Bagley said the wetlands areas have expanded from 3 acres to 5 acres total.

Councilmember Martha Eisenberg and another resident expressed concerns about construction equipment damaging the subdivision’s roads, portions of which she said already contain dips where water collects when it rains.

Matthew Burgess, the city’s engineer, said the subdivision regulations call for a bond of 150 percent of the amount of the improvement cost.

“We know without a doubt what the improvement cost on that first sector costs since we just resurfaced it last year,” Burgess said. “To date, what we had talked about was bonding Sector 1 in addition to what’s required on the bonding for this new one because the construction traffic has to traverse through both of them. It would be 150 percent of roughly $85,000.”

City Clerk and Treasurer Steve Gilbert said the developer will have to provide the city with the bond before they can obtain a land disturbance permit to begin work.

Concerns and questions residents shared during the hearing related to flooding and water system issues, the lack of a separate construction entrance, the safety of students walking to and from school buses, land disturbance and zoning regulations.

The Planning and Zoning Commission previously approved the amended master plan and recommended it to the City Council for approval.

Located off Ammersee Lakes Drive, the 10.52-acre property is zoned R-2 SD, Single Family Special District.

“I do think that some of our citizens have some legitimate concerns, but I don’t see how that pertains to this,” Councilmember David King said. “This is just approving for them to shrink their (lot) sizes, but I would love for us to really put our eyes on this and make sure the citizens in Ammersee get a fair shake. Other than that, I think we need to approve this.”

Councilmembers Kenneth Dukes, Sonya Swords, King and Mayor Rusty Nix voted in favor of the amended master plan, while Councilmember Lelia Mitchell voted against it and Eisenberg abstained.

The council also approved the release of the Bagley Properties LLC surety bond for Moore’s Spring Road in Ammersee Lakes Subdivision Phase 2.

In doing so, the City Council has adopted the road as a city street upon declaration of the HOA and property owner, Bagley Properties LLC.

The council also:

• Presented a proclamation honoring Dr. Earl Cunningham for his contributions and lifetime of service to the community.
• Recognized the new members of the Montevallo Junior City Council as they signed and took their oath of office.
• Approved a petition for annexation from Keith and Detrice Dowdell for four parcels of land totaling about 4.64 acres on Highway 204.
• Authorized the mayor to enter into a five-year contract agreement with Shelby County 911 to provide police dispatching services.
• Tabled a recommendation to update the City Boards, Commissions and Committees Handbook. Nix asked King, Mitchell and Eisenberg to serve on the committee to review the handbook.