Friend of Ebenezer Swamp

We are posting the some of the drafts of the comments that were shared with us about the Walker Springs hearing last night, Sept. 27. From an advocate for Ebenezer Swamp: Ebenezer Swamp Ecological Preserve is a 68-acre nature preserve dedicated to research and education and is maintained by the University of Montevallo. It features sculptures created by UM students, an outdoor classroom, and an ADA-accessible boardwalk and trail. It is open to the public seven days a week during daylight hours. There are plans to remodel the building onsite to create a nature interpretive center that would allow us to expand our educational programming. Currently, the Environmental Education Program hosts K-12 field trips, university labs, day camps, guided tours, teacher workshops, and public programming. All of these services which are available and utilized by residents of Alabaster. Much of our programming and curriculum is inspired by the beauty and complex ecosystem of our beloved Ebenezer Swamp.

  Thank you to everyone who came out last night! The planning and zoning hearing to accept the amended plan from developers was a packed house last night! Thank you to everyone who showed support for the swamp, and thank you to the committee for hearing our comments.  While the frustration was palpable, the committee did hear many comments from different stakeholders regarding this project. Overall, the planning and zoning committee voted to accept the amended plan, with one member- Councilwoman Kerri Pate, abstaining from the vote. This means that the amended plan will replace the current master plan going forward.  The developers still have yet to receive feedback from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and could have to amend their plan again, and then the committee will have to vote to accept another amended plan yet again.  Overall, the developers claimed to have reduced impervious surfaces on the amended plan. The committee heard comments that: -This does not necessarily also imply

What has changed on Walker Springs amended plan? We hope that you can join us on Tuesday, September 27 for the public hearing held by the Planning and Zoning Committee of the City of Alabaster.  Date: September 27, 2022 Time: 6:30 p.m. cst Location: 1953 Municipal Way                    Alabaster, AL 35007 As an Alabaster resident, this notice was given about a week ago via certified mail: *apologies for the poor image quality! First time blogger here! When we contacted the person listed for more information, this is what we were given: This is the amended plan that the City of Alabaster Planning and Zoning committee will be voting to accept on Tuesday, September 27 and where you as a member of the affected community, get to voice your concerns about the site plan. When we looked at this, we decided it was pretty difficult to discern what was amended from just this page. So upon a request for more context, the current master plan was also shared.  Current Master Plan for Walker Springs

As of today, here is what we know: As proposed, this development which is known as Walker Springs will consist of 450 acres, 1,004 homes in multiple subdivisions, and a new road. The road will connect to Hwy 119 at Veterans Park with a traffic light and span all the way to Smokey Road via the fields and cow pastures. The development will also have a minimum of 5 acres dedicated to commercial businesses that will be near the Smokey road side of the development. Walker Springs will impact the wetlands and water sources that feed Ebenezer Swamp, not to mention impacting our school system, traffic, flooding, or possible tax increases to expand/support public infrastructure.   The land parcels for Walker Springs were introduced for rezoning via two ordinances in November 2020 and a public hearing was held December 7, 2020. The ordinances were primarily listed under individual names. Neither ordinance mentions a mass residential development. The parcels were later annexed into Alabaster in F

  Hello, Welcome to Friend of Ebenezer Swamp Blog! We are so grateful for your support and hope you find our blog to be informative and enlightening. Ebenezer Swamp in Alabaster, AL is near and dear to our hearts and plays a vital role in the community. We invite you to explore our posts and list of resources, as well as subscribe so you can stay up-to-date and informed about different policies that threaten to gravely damage the wetlands.  We created this blog to keep the community at large informed about the ever-changing status of the challenges the swamp faces, as well as, share ways to get involved and make your voice heard! If you would like to join our email list be sure to check out our different tabs along the the top of our blog. Thanks for being here!