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City planning staff updates council on Athens 2040 progress as population outpaces projections
Summary
Planning staff told the council Athens has reached about 32,000 people—five years ahead of projections—and reviewed housing, zoning and a transportation plan that drew more than 1,000 survey responses.
Erin Chitwell, the city planning staff member who presented the Athens 2040 comprehensive-plan implementation update, told the City Council that Athens’s population reached about 32,000 in 2024, roughly five years ahead of prior projections, and highlighted housing, zoning and transportation actions the city is pursuing.
“By 2024 our population is at about 32,000,” Chitwell said, noting that the city had been projected to reach that figure around 2030. Chitwell summarized early implementation steps including enforcement of updated residential building-material standards, annual plan updates to the planning commission and a zoning-audit process that has informed an ongoing zoning ordinance rewrite.
Chitwell presented data showing a 28% population change between 2020 and 2024, a 2023 median household income of about $65,000 in Athens, a May 2025 median home sale price of approximately $293,000 (Valley MLS), and a 2.5% unemployment rate for Limestone County. She said only 1.8% of occupied single-family housing stock was built in 2020 or later and that the city had roughly 6,806 layout approvals on its maps, with about 1,096 in preliminary status and about 4,224 in final status.
Chitwell said the city has received over 1,000 responses to a transportation-plan survey that staff and consultants will use to identify problems and “countermeasures” to prioritize projects over the next 10 to 15 years. She described outreach with stakeholders—including Athens City Schools, Athens State, hospital representatives, Habitat for Humanity and others—through initiatives such as a TVA Connected Communities workshop that identified workforce housing at the $50,000–$70,000 income range as a priority.
Councilmembers raised questions about traffic on eastern approaches to the city and how the transportation plan will address congestion; Chitwell responded that consultants will analyze public input and data and propose prioritized countermeasures and projects. Councilmembers also asked about when zoning and developer inquiries are first checked against existing zoning; Chitwell said zoning is one of the first items the office reviews when a developer approaches staff.
Chitwell said some near-term amendments are being considered, such as redefining open-space requirements so the 5% minimum in subdivisions reflects active open space rather than drainage detention areas. She noted the city’s comprehensive plan won a 2023 outstanding planning award for communities under 50,000.
No formal council action was taken during the presentation; councilmembers asked staff to continue outreach and return with planned ordinance amendments and transportation-plan materials for subsequent review.
