An undeveloped piece of land in the Inverness area will be developed into a natural park, Hoover city officials confirmed this week.

The 80-acre tract of land, which was donated early this year to the city of Hoover by local developers, will be disturbed as little as possible, Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos said Monday during a meeting to discuss the proposed park.

The property is currently comprised of wooded areas and steep slopes that have attracted a large amount of wildlife, including birds, fox, deer and turkey.

A number of Shelby County residents who live close to the land want to see it remain as unchanged as possible.

Petelos told the 30-plus residents who attended the Monday meeting that, unlike a recently completed city park on Valleydale Road that contains playgrounds and ball fields, this proposed natural park would remain largely unchanged from its current state.

&8220;We need to make this a little bit different,&8221; Petelos told those in attendance. &8220;The intent is to keep it as natural as we can.&8221;

The proposed plan calls for a number of trails to be cut through the park and a small pavilion and parking lot to be constructed at the area&8217;s entrance.

There would be lighting, Petelos said, but it would be limited to the lot and pavilion area.

The Hoover mayor said the city plans to hire a developer in the future to work on a solid plan for the park and its uses.

Petelos also said that the park could become part of a greenway through the surrounding Hoover and Inverness community in future years