When the decision was made to develop a common vision for the Central Texas region, organizers placed an invitation to community, business and government leaders from Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties to attend a meeting to discuss how the planning process might work. At this meeting, an eight-person committee was appointed to establish a non-profit corporation, a governing Board of Directors and an Executive Committee. This original committee appealed to all aspects of diversity in forming the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. They sought to include every county, constituency, and vested interest group in the region.

With a shared goal and a Board of Directors in place, Envision Central Texas sought a third-party consultant to manage the planning process. After researching numerous firms throughout the country, ECT selected Fregonese Calthorpe Associates (FCA), a regional planning consulting firm based on the West coast. Below is a timeline of the key phases of the visioning process and highlights of subsequent milestones and accomplishments.

Incorporation - September 2001

Envision Central Texas is incorporated as a Texas 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation.

Community Input - Summer 2002

Throughout the summer of 2002, Envision Central Texas gathered input from residents in all five counties through focus groups and telephone surveys.

Public Workshops - Fall 2002

Envision Central Texas hosted a series of workshops in each county during fall 2002. By considering a variety of planning elements including roads, shopping centers, business centers, housing types and neighborhood developments, the workshop attendees built growth strategies for Central Texas. These strategies generated model plans that provide an overview of how growth will affect each portion of our region during the next 20 to 40 years.

Community Test Site Workshops - Spring 2003

Envision Central Texas also hosted a series of six Community Test Site Planning Workshops throughout Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. The Test Site Workshops served as pilot projects to examine different planning tools for addressing typical issues within the Central Texas region.

Regional Survey - Fall 2003

From the input gathered at the various public workshops, ECT created four potential growth scenarios for residents to consider. In October 2003, hundreds of thousands of Regional Vision Surveys were distributed throughout the five counties, and were also made available on the ECT web site. The surveys invited respondents to give their input on four different growth scenarios and how well each scenario would address the region's challenges. This public feedback survey and extensive grassroots outreach resulted in more than 12,500 survey responses, making it one of the broadest based surveys ever conducted in Central Texas.

Leadership Workshop - Feb. 2004

ECT convened a workshop attended by 150 of the region's leaders to give guidance for the next steps that Envision Central Texas should take. Input from the Regional Vision Survey and the Leadership Workshop provided the framework which shaped the seven initial focus areas ECT is pursuing as it begins the implementation phase of the project.

The Vision - May 2004

The culmination of all of the "visioning" activities since 2002 has been the synthesis of all the public input by the ECT Board of Directors into a regional "vision" for the future. This vision, which was unveiled in May 2004, has been derived from the informed expressions of the desires of the citizens of the region, and serves as a guide for ECT as we assist residents, regional planners, and policy makers with voluntary implementation strategies for realizing this common vision

New Leadership - Fall 2004

Neal Kocurek, ECT's visionary founder and chairman passed away unexpectedly in March 2004. In August 2004, Bill McLellan was named as the new chairman of the ECT Board of Directors. McLellan, Vice chairman of Treaty Oaks Bank, has had a long career as an accomplished business, civic and non-profit leader. In September 2004, Sally W. Campbell, a non-profit executive with more than 30 years of business, communications and non-profit management experience was named as the new executive director of Envision Central Texas.

Implementation Begins - January 2005

ECT established seven Implementation Committees to develop tools, resources and projects in the following critical issue areas:

• Transportation and Land Use Integration
• Economic Development Coordination
• Housing and Jobs Balance
• Density and Mixed-Uses
• Open Space Funding Plan
• Social Equity
• Recognition of Best Practices

ECT continues to educate and engage citizens about these growth-related issues, promote regular interchanges of information among the various stakeholder groups within the region, and encourage the widespread coordination and cooperation at a county or sub-regional level. In addition, ECT is a resource to the region on issues related to key growth trends, best practices and strategies that support quality growth and move us closer to the ECT vision.

SH 130 Corridor Summit - November 2005

Nearly 500 people attended the SH 130 Corridor Summit hosted by ECT and the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council on Saturday, November 19 at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch and Pavilion in Creedmoor. The Summit provided an opportunity to discuss the critical issues needed to ensure the optimum and most desirable development of the SH 130 Corridor.

Inaugural ECT Community Stewardship Awards Luncheon - May 2006

The Recognition of Best Practices Committee led by Jay Hailey and Tom Yantis hosted the Inaugural ECT Community Stewardship Awards Luncheon on May 17 at the Hyatt Regency Austin. More than 400 people attended the luncheon which featured Keynote Speaker Robert Yaro and the presentation of six Community Stewardship Awards.

Launch of Quality Growth Toolbox - December 2007

ECT, in partnership with the School of Community and Regional Planning in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, introduced an online interactive compendium of more than 100 planning tools with examples and recommendations to assist the public and private sector in understanding and better utilizing growth strategies, tools and best practices.

Vision Progress Assessment - Spring 2008

ECT conducted a five-month analysis to gauge progress of the regional Vision over the past five years and to understand current local concerns and issues. The process included:

• 8 public outreach forums
• 3 focus group discussions about regional challenges
• 3 online surveys to gather additional input
• A consultant conducted 26 one-on-one interviews with key regional leaders

A consultant-produced report included details regarding key findings, challenges and opportunities in moving toward the Vision and recommendations for next steps. Key findings in the report included:

• Belief in ECT tenants
• Need for greater regional coordination
• Lack of planning resources for community growth
• Lack of county land use authority
• Water issues dominates environmental concerns
• Need for regional transportation system plan and improvements
• Need to strengthen public understanding of ECT role

Central Texas Greenprint for Growth - Fall 2009

The Central Texas Greenprint for Growth is an innovative mapping tool to help communities in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Travis Counties balance conservation goals with the infrastructure needs of our rapidly urbanizing region. The project team included the Trust of Public Land, Envision Central Texas, the Capital Area Council of Governments, as well as Stakeholder Working Groups in each of the counties who provided input about their conservation goals and priorities. Detailed Geographic Information Systems data about land, environmental and development features in the region was combined with stakeholder input into a sophisticated mapping and modeling process which produced color-coded "opportunity maps" that highlight areas that meet multiple conservation priorities.

The Greenprint will help communities and decision makers address land conservation priorities, as well as development and infrastructure strategies. Greenprint resources include printed and online versions of a four-county report, county-specific brochures and maps for each of the conservation priorities as well as the overall Opportunties Map.

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