The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency expects demand for new housing units in Chattanooga and Hamilton County to total 46,000 units during the next 20 years.
The RPA based its conclusion on the research and analysis phases of Plan Chattanooga, its planning processes for Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
This is the first time the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County have undertaken a process for managing long-term growth, identifying community needs, prioritizing capital projects and creating a program for implementation.
The RPA will release the Plan Chattanooga data, research and analysis, as well as a citywide land use map, in March.
During the coming months, Plan Chattanooga will coordinate with city departments and focus groups consisting of community members to provide further understanding of transportation, community and land use issues. More public meetings and online virtual engagement opportunities are also expected.
Once adopted, Plan Chattanooga will provide a guide for growth of the city, including future operations, capital planning and implementation, says RPA Executive Director Dan Reuter.
“City departments are working hard to meet the community’s needs. Growth occurs and new jobs are announced every day. This requires us to continually advance our knowledge of infrastructure and service needs. We need to use the best planning models and data, and coordinate capital needs across city and county departments.”
Additional findings
There are 47,000 students enrolled in Hamilton County public schools, 10,000 in private schools and 20,000 in local colleges who will need jobs and housing in the future.
Approximately 38% of the city’s land is classified as either vacant, agricultural or open space, while 32% is classified as single-family residential. Three planning areas contain nearly two-thirds of all vacant land: Lookout Valley (30%), Hixson (19%) and Highway 58 (14%).
Families are smaller and there are more single parent and nontraditional households. In 2021, 54% of Chattanooga households were either a single person or a single person over age 65.
The public has expressed concerns about increasing traffic congestion and services being adequate or available as new development occurs. Only 21% of the streets in Chattanooga have sidewalks and fewer than 3% have bicycle facilities.
About 70% of all working residents (69,000) live and work in the city for their primary job. Approximately 3% of residents commuting to jobs out of the city head to the Nashville area. This is the largest single outside location for Chattanooga residents. Just under 54,000 people are employed in trade, transportation and utilities, making up 19% of the Chattanooga area’s current workforce.
Approximately 24% of Chattanooga’s land area has 30% slope or greater. In addition, areas within the floodway and the 100-year floodplain are constrained when it comes to new development. If development continues at the current rate of growth into outlying areas, this could result in new development affecting 2,800 acres of land and sensitive resources.
Chattanooga is home to 76 municipal parks and a number of state and national park lands, although approximately 70% of residents say they can only access their favorite parks by car.
The RPA is working with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to explore financial strategies for building new transportation and infrastructure projects. Other major planning activities underway include a kickoff of the Safe Streets for All transportation initiative, administering a Federal Railroad Administration’s Passenger Rail Corridor study, an update of the Chattanooga Zoning Code and a fire services study for unincorporated Hamilton County.
Next steps
Comprehensive planning is occurring for areas within unincorporated Hamilton County boundaries. In the coming months, the RPA staff and its consultants will share the Plan Chattanooga findings through a series of public meetings and events planned for April and May. These meetings will focus on prioritizing where growth should occur and which areas with key resources should be preserved.
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