By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster’s new home permit count at the end of June was about 89 percent lower than the same time in 2007, a decline city officials blame on the nation’s economic climate.

At the end of last month, Alabaster had granted 14 new home permits, which was a far cry from the 128 the city had granted at the end of June 2007.

“You want to control your growth, but the economy is doing that for us right now. Maybe a little bit too much,” said Alabaster Ward 7 Councilman Tommy Ryals.

Between 2000 and 2007, Alabaster granted no fewer than 219 new home permits per year. 2003 and 2004 brought the highest number of new homes, at 354 and 322, respectively.

But when the nation’s housing market collapsed near the end of 2007, Alabaster’s new home growth fell drastically.

In 2008, the city granted 100 new home permits, 2009 saw 48 new homes and 2010 brought at total of 29 new homes in the city. The year-to-date 2011 number is one fewer than the same time last year.

“We’re at 14 now, so we’re still not doing real good,” Ryals said.

In the early 2000s, Alabaster took steps to limit the explosive growth the city experienced during the 1990s. In the late ‘90s, it wasn’t uncommon for the city to grant more than 700 new home permits every year.

“That was just way too many,” Ryals said. “You need to grow a little to attract businesses, but you need to make sure you don’t have uncontrolled growth. You need to make sure your population doesn’t outgrow your ability to provide services.”

Ryals said he would like to see the permit number rise to between 200-300 per year once more.

“We just have to wait for it to pick back up,” he said.