The corporate limits of the city of Athens grew by more than 300 acres Monday after the City Council approved an annexation request.

Attorney Bill Matthews, representing Piney Creek LLC, first brought the annexation possibility to the council’s attention in January. The total acreage is 305, but Matthews believes other property owners may want to follow suit.

Following the council meeting, he explained it was annexed into the city as agricultural land and that crops are being planted. He anticipates the land to be used for residential development in the future and could even include a new elementary school.

The property is along Cambridge Lane, south of U.S. 72. Farther south and east, the city of Huntsville has annexed large swaths of land.

“We’re excited to be in the city of Athens,” Matthews said. “There’s no question that Athens would be the choice over Huntsville.”

Mayor Ronnie Marks said he was excited to have the additional acreage and expressed excitement over what the future holds for the property.

“Anytime we can look at furthering our revenue stream and the growth opportunities we have, is a good thing,” he said. “I appreciate the developers and landowners for bringing it to us.”

Marks said there is a question yet to be answered — if water service will be provided by Athens Utilities or Limestone County Water & Sewer Authority. A federal court order has clearly defined the service area for each utility.

“We will walk through that process with (city attorney) Shane Black and Limestone County Water,” Marks said. “We’ll start that process (Tuesday) morning.”