BERLIN — Berlin’s municipal footprint is growing, taking in more than 20 acres of combined residential and farm property on the town’s southwest side.

At its regular meeting Monday, the Berlin town council approved the annexation of five contiguous pieces of property that lie along County Road 728 and an intersecting access road, County Road 7201. Four of those — a 12-acre farm and residence, as well as three vacant subdivision lots that either abut the larger property or connect with each other extending southward — came at the request of owner and Berlin resident Jacob Dye.

An additional 8 acres of land owned by Berlin resident Marilyn Bolte adjoins the southernmost of Dye’s newly-annexed lots, and therefore became eligible on Monday for annexation into the town as contiguous land. At Bolte’s request, the town council approved the annexation of that property as well.

Together, the two owners’ land extends southward from the previous town boundary and effectively encircles the Willow Grove subdivision, which fronts County Road 728, on three sides. Dye’s three lots are, in fact, the only remaining parcels in the Willow Grove subdivision that have yet to be developed.

Berlin mayor Patrick Bates said the new annexation could potentially create an incentive for other nearby residents to petition the town for annexation of their own land in the future.

The three undeveloped parcels lie at the end of County Road 7201, a short spur off of CR 728 whose sole use is to access existing homes in the unincorporated part of the subdivision, as well as the newly-incorporated lots (which lie at the end of the cul-de-sac terminus). The town will take up road maintenance for the cul-de-sac portion of the road, said Bates, once residential housing on any of the lots has been developed. Cullman County will continue to maintain the portion of CR 7201 that lies outside the Berlin town limit.