Planning staff outline gap between projected housing demand and likely supply, propose zoning and code changes

Planning Department staff presented a preliminary briefing on the housing and infrastructure study requested by Metro Council Resolution RS2024-288, saying Nashville faces higher housing demand than current zoning and development patterns are likely to deliver and proposing code, zoning and infrastructure analyses to close the gap.

Greg Claxton, who leads the study team in the Planning Department, told the Planning, Zoning and Transportation Committee that the Unified Housing Strategy (UHS) estimates roughly 90,000 housing units of demand over the next 10 years and that the department’s “likely build‑out” analysis under current zoning produces an estimated 60,000–70,000 units. Claxton said the team is considering an additional planning “buffer” of about 10,000–25,000 units to account for uncertainties in economic and household trends.

The gap between demand and modeled likely build‑out is central to the study’s three questions: what limits housing production under current rules, where the city should add housing consistent with Nashville Next, and what infrastructure and amenities are required to support that growth. Claxton said staff will test alternate zoning scenarios and assess the financial feasibility of middle‑housing types — duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and small…