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ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS

ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS

History
Envision Central Texas (ECT) was formed in 2001 as a non-profit corporation to develop a common vision for land use and transportation for the Central Texas region. The ECT Board selected Fregonese Calthorpe Associates, a regional planning consulting firm based in Portland, OR, as the consultants to manage the visioning process for a five county region (Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties). Fregonese Calthorpe has performed similar evaluations for Utah, Portland, Denver, and Chicago. The non-profit corporation has been funded by contributions from the cities of Austin, Georgetown, and Round Rock; Bastrop, Caldwell, Travis, and Williamson counties; Capital Metro, and the LCRA.
The primary assumption of the visioning process is that an additional 1.25 million people will be living in Central Texas in the next 20 - 40 years.
At their September 17, 2003 meeting, the RECA Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in support of a comprehensive regional vision for Central Texas. Please click here to view the resolution.
Visioning Process
In summer 2002, ECT conducted a survey of residents in the region to solicit their comments as to the biggest problems in Central Texas. The survey results indicated that respondents ranked the problems as follows: Traffic: 40%; Roads: 18%; Schools: 11%; Jobs: 9%; and Health Care: 9%.
In fall 2002, ECT conducted planning workshops throughout the region where teams of participants used maps and symbolic stickers to indicate their desired patterns of growth, densities, and transportation systems. Based on the maps and feedback from the workshops, the consultants from Fregonese Calthorpe developed four future growth scenarios. The scenarios are designed to help analyze the impacts and tradeoffs of different land use and transportation patterns.
In summer 2003, ECT Board Members presented briefings to elected officials. City and County leaders from the five-county region received an update on ECT's progress as well as detailed information on the four future growth scenarios and the public feedback process.
In fall 2003, Central Texas residents will be able to provide their feedback on the four future growth scenarios. Inserts will be included in the Austin American-Statesman with a survey form to be completed and sent to ECT. Interested residents can also provide feedback through the ECT web site.
Next, Fregonese Calthorpe will present an analysis of the survey feedback to assist the ECT Board in developing the final scenario, or vision, for the Central Texas region in early 2004. The ECT Board will then promote this vision to the various government entities in the region for their buy-in and support. The final vision from ECT will not be a master plan with legal authority, but a guide for policy makers to use for their own local land use and transportation plans.
Scenarios
The four future growth scenarios represent a compilation of the predominant development preferences shown on the maps of the workshop teams. Each of the scenarios incorporates some form of mass-transit (commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit) and construction of projected roads.
Scenario A: "Projection of Recent Trends"
Click Here to see Map of Scenario A
Development projections are based on the trends of the past ten years. New growth is mainly low-density, separate-use development on previously undeveloped land on the fringe of existing cities and towns. Housing development primarily occurs in suburban areas while employment is concentrated in the urban centers. All planned roadways and roadway expansions are included in Scenario A. Much of the new road capacity is in tollways and expansion of arterials into expressways and freeways. Scenario A also includes commuter rail and bus rapid transit.
Scenario B: "Development along Corridors"
Click Here to see Map of Scenario B
Development is concentrated mostly along major transportation corridors such as I-35 and the future SH-130. Scenario B contains more mixed-use development compared to Scenario A. Housing development and employment are distributed throughout the five county region. New transit options include commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit.
Scenario C: "New Town Development"
Click Here to see Map of Scenario C
Development is concentrated in new and growing communities throughout the region. Commercial, retail, and residential development are distributed in these new towns and along major transportation corridors. Transit options include commuter rail and bus rapid transit for the region, as well as streetcars for Austin's urban core.
Scenario D: "Redevelopment in Existing Urban Areas"
Click Here to see Map of Scenario D
New development consists mostly of infill and redevelopment of existing property concentrated in the urban core of Travis County. Undeveloped land remains mostly undeveloped while density increases in existing urban areas. Existing neighborhoods experience the most change due to extensive infill and redevelopment. Scenario D has the most extensive transit network of the four scenarios consisting of commuter rail, bus rapid transit, and light rail.

Table A below provides a quantitative comparison for each of the scenarios.

Table B below provides a summary of the proposed transportation components that are included in each of the scenarios.

Table C below provides a summary of the proposed toll roads that are included in each of the scenarios.

Survey Results
The Envision Central Texas survey netted more than 12,000 responses in the Central Texas region. According to ECT, respondents reported they wanted a regional vision that:

includes a mix of roads and transit to address congestion;

preserves air quality, water availability and the Edwards Aquifer;

encourages redevelopment while preserving open space;

creates a balance of jobs throughout the region;

maintains affordability;

features walkable/bikeable communities; and

preserves the character of rural communities and urban neighborhoods.

When asked which of the four possible growth scenarios would provide the best overall quality of life for Central Texas' future, respondents chose:

Scenario D "Redevelopment in Existing Urban Areas" (48 percent);

Scenario C "New Town Development" (26 percent);

Scenario B "Development along Corridors" (10 percent);

None of the Above (10 percent);

Scenario A "Projection of Recent Trends" (<5 percent); and

No response (<5 percent).

In May 2004, Envision Central Texas released the ECT Vision presenting the culmination of the public input process. ECT has begun to transition from the "visioning" phase to the implementation phase. The seven Implementation Committees established are focusing on the following areas:

Transportation and land use integration - chaired by Dean Fritzsteiner & John Langmore

Economic development coordination - chaired by Betty Voights & Jeff Webb

Housing and jobs balance - chaired by Pete Dwyer & Terry Kahn

Density and mixed uses - chaired by Jim Walker & Don Bosse

Open space funding plan - chaired by Robin Rather & Sheril Smith

Social equity - chaired by Charles Urdy & Fred Butler

Recognition of best practices - chaired by Jay Hailey & Scott Polikov

The Transportation and Land Use Integration Committee held a public SH 130 Corridor Summit for all SH 130 Corridor stakeholders on Saturday, November 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch and Pavilion in Creedmoor. Envision Central Texas and the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council co-hosted this summit.
With State Highway 130 set to open in 2007, Central Texas has an unprecedented opportunity to shape its future. The type of development that occurs along SH 130 will determine how thousands of people live, work and travel for generations. The Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council has been involved with the development of SH 130 since its inception. More recently, Envision Central Texas has been working to address how Central Texas is going to accommodate another million people over the next 20-40 years while at the same time preserving and enhancing our quality of life, natural resources, and economic prosperity. The leadership of these two organizations believes that thoughtful development along SH 130 is critical to addressing these goals.
ACTIVITIES IN 2007
Envision Central Texas has a number of initiatives underway in 2007, including the Quality Growth Toolbox, the Greenprint for Growth, a "Vision" checklist and the 2007 ECT Community Stewardship Awards, which were held May 18, 2007. ECT is conducting a series of meetings in each of the five Central Texas counties to update elected officials and other community leaders about ECT projects and to engage in a dialogue about pressing growth-related challenges in each of the counties.
The Quality Growth Toolbox is an electronic “toolbox” intended to help both the public and private sector access useful and appropriate information on critical issue areas addressed in the ECT Vision, including transportation and congestion, land use, preservation of natural areas and open space, economic vitality, community livability and social equity. The toolbox, which is being designed in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, will be a searchable “expert system” that will enable users to identify effective, context-sensitive tools that encompass regulatory, land acquisition, infrastructure investment, market pricing, and planning-related techniques that would be useful for their specific circumstances. It will be a resource for the region that can be updated and revised as new tools and data become available. ECT will also work with communities around the region as the toolbox comes online to ensure that they can maximize the benefits of these resources. Envision Central Texas hosted a Planners Roundtable on December 7, 2007 to introduce the Quality Growth Toolbox to planners in the five-county Central Texas region.
ACTIVITIES IN 2008
On Monday, July 28, 2008, ECT announced the completion of their Vision Progress Assessment study commissioned by the Board of Directors to mark the five-year milestone since ECT's creation of its Regional Vision, and to determine how well the region is meeting the demands of its continued growth and if it is moving toward the future expressed by the ECT Vision.
While many study participants believed that the region has made progress toward a number of the goals of the Vision, there was also a pervasive feeling that Central Texas still faces many of the same major issues it did five or ten years ago, only magnified. The lack of a coordinated approach to infrastructure planning in the region was attributed as one of the barriers to more significant progress.

The study included a survey of which issues are most important to ensuring a positive future for Central Texas. Two out of every three respondents ranked "Transportation/Congestion" in their top three concerns. When asked to rank the progress of seven elements of the ECT Vision, transportation ranked at the bottom of the list.

December 2008 Update

The Board of Directors re-elected Jim Walker as chairman for 2009. Mr. Walker is executive director of the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project. The Indicators Project covers Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties and tracks more than 40 indicators of the health of the Central Texas economy, environment, and social equity.

Other 2009 officers include Chair-Elect Travis Froehlich, Seton Family of Hospitals; Past Chair Frederick "Fritz" Steiner, dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture; Secretary John Langmore, transportation and land use consultant; and Treasurer Valarie Bristol, retired.
A major ECT initiative for 2009, Ensuring Efficient New and Existing Infrastructure in a Time of Limited Resources, will focus on a regional dialogue about infrastructure needs. ECT will convene a series of three Central Texas Infrastructure Forums to bring the region’s key leaders, infrastructure providers, subject matter experts, and the public to examine existing challenges relating to interconnected infrastructure issues including transportation, water quality, water quantity, wastewater, and utilities.
ECT will also develop a process for citizens to examine the issues and priorities. Two polls will measure opinion changes. ECT will form a task force to plan and execute details of the initiative. Based on the outcomes of the forums and the public outreach process, ECT will develop advocacy positions to influence decision makers to achieve the desired results.

Resources
Vision Progress Assessment (July 2008)
Addendum to Vision Progress Assessment: Statistics and Demographics
Visit the ECT website for more information.
For more information on this or similar projects, please visit the web sites below:
www.frego.com
ftp://ECTBoard@ftp.frego.com/ (At this site, you will be able to access ECT's assumptions, presentations, and other working documents to date.)

© 2006 Real Estate Council of Austin, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Back to Top

ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS
ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS History Envision Central Texas (ECT) was formed in 2001 as a non-profit corporation to develop a common vision for land use and transportation for the Central Texas region. The ECT Board selected Fregonese Calthorpe Associates, a regional planning consulting firm based in Portland, OR, as the consultants to manage the visioning process for a five county region (Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties). Fregonese Calthorpe has performed similar evaluations for Utah, Portland, Denver, and Chicago. The non-profit corporation has been funded by contributions from the cities of Austin, Georgetown, and Round Rock; Bastrop, Caldwell, Travis, and Williamson counties; Capital Metro, and the LCRA. The primary assumption of the visioning process is that an additional 1.25 million people will be living in Central Texas in the next 20 - 40 years. At their September 17, 2003 meeting, the RECA Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in support of a comprehensive regional vision for Central Texas. Please click here to view the resolution. Visioning Process In summer 2002, ECT conducted a survey of residents in the region to solicit their comments as to the biggest problems in Central Texas. The survey results indicated that respondents ranked the problems as follows: Traffic: 40%; Roads: 18%; Schools: 11%; Jobs: 9%; and Health Care: 9%. In fall 2002, ECT conducted planning workshops throughout the region where teams of participants used maps and symbolic stickers to indicate their desired patterns of growth, densities, and transportation systems. Based on the maps and feedback from the workshops, the consultants from Fregonese Calthorpe developed four future growth scenarios. The scenarios are designed to help analyze the impacts and tradeoffs of different land use and transportation patterns. In summer 2003, ECT Board Members presented briefings to elected officials. City and County leaders from the five-county region received an update on ECT's progress as well as detailed information on the four future growth scenarios and the public feedback process. In fall 2003, Central Texas residents will be able to provide their feedback on the four future growth scenarios. Inserts will be included in the Austin American-Statesman with a survey form to be completed and sent to ECT. Interested residents can also provide feedback through the ECT web site. Next, Fregonese Calthorpe will present an analysis of the survey feedback to assist the ECT Board in developing the final scenario, or vision, for the Central Texas region in early 2004. The ECT Board will then promote this vision to the various government entities in the region for their buy-in and support. The final vision from ECT will not be a master plan with legal authority, but a guide for policy makers to use for their own local land use and transportation plans. Scenarios The four future growth scenarios represent a compilation of the predominant development preferences shown on the maps of the workshop teams. Each of the scenarios incorporates some form of mass-transit (commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit) and construction of projected roads. Scenario A: "Projection of Recent Trends" Click Here to see Map of Scenario A Development projections are based on the trends of the past ten years. New growth is mainly low-density, separate-use development on previously undeveloped land on the fringe of existing cities and towns. Housing development primarily occurs in suburban areas while employment is concentrated in the urban centers. All planned roadways and roadway expansions are included in Scenario A. Much of the new road capacity is in tollways and expansion of arterials into expressways and freeways. Scenario A also includes commuter rail and bus rapid transit. Scenario B: "Development along Corridors" Click Here to see Map of Scenario B Development is concentrated mostly along major transportation corridors such as I-35 and the future SH-130. Scenario B contains more mixed-use development compared to Scenario A. Housing development and employment are distributed throughout the five county region. New transit options include commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit. Scenario C: "New Town Development" Click Here to see Map of Scenario C Development is concentrated in new and growing communities throughout the region. Commercial, retail, and residential development are distributed in these new towns and along major transportation corridors. Transit options include commuter rail and bus rapid transit for the region, as well as streetcars for Austin's urban core. Scenario D: "Redevelopment in Existing Urban Areas" Click Here to see Map of Scenario D New development consists mostly of infill and redevelopment of existing property concentrated in the urban core of Travis County. Undeveloped land remains mostly undeveloped while density increases in existing urban areas. Existing neighborhoods experience the most change due to extensive infill and redevelopment. Scenario D has the most extensive transit network of the four scenarios consisting of commuter rail, bus rapid transit, and light rail. Table A below provides a quantitative comparison for each of the scenarios. Table B below provides a summary of the proposed transportation components that are included in each of the scenarios. Table C below provides a summary of the proposed toll roads that are included in each of the scenarios. *Survey Results* The Envision Central Texas survey netted more than 12,000 responses in the Central Texas region. According to ECT, respondents reported they wanted a regional vision that: includes a mix of roads and transit to address congestion; preserves air quality, water availability and the Edwards Aquifer; encourages redevelopment while preserving open space; creates a balance of jobs throughout the region; maintains affordability; features walkable/bikeable communities; and preserves the character of rural communities and urban neighborhoods. When asked which of the four possible growth scenarios would provide the best overall quality of life for Central Texas' future, respondents chose: Scenario D "Redevelopment in Existing Urban Areas" (48 percent); Scenario C "New Town Development" (26 percent); Scenario B "Development along Corridors" (10 percent); None of the Above (10 percent); Scenario A "Projection of Recent Trends" (<5 percent); and No response (<5 percent). In May 2004, Envision Central Texas released the ECT Vision presenting the culmination of the public input process. ECT has begun to transition from the "visioning" phase to the implementation phase. The seven Implementation Committees established are focusing on the following areas: Transportation and land use integration - chaired by Dean Fritzsteiner & John Langmore Economic development coordination - chaired by Betty Voights & Jeff Webb Housing and jobs balance - chaired by Pete Dwyer & Terry Kahn Density and mixed uses - chaired by Jim Walker & Don Bosse Open space funding plan - chaired by Robin Rather & Sheril Smith Social equity - chaired by Charles Urdy & Fred Butler Recognition of best practices - chaired by Jay Hailey & Scott Polikov The Transportation and Land Use Integration Committee held a public SH 130 Corridor Summit for all SH 130 Corridor stakeholders on Saturday, November 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch and Pavilion in Creedmoor. Envision Central Texas and the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council co-hosted this summit. With State Highway 130 set to open in 2007, Central Texas has an unprecedented opportunity to shape its future. The type of development that occurs along SH 130 will determine how thousands of people live, work and travel for generations. The Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council has been involved with the development of SH 130 since its inception. More recently, Envision Central Texas has been working to address how Central Texas is going to accommodate another million people over the next 20-40 years while at the same time preserving and enhancing our quality of life, natural resources, and economic prosperity. The leadership of these two organizations believes that thoughtful development along SH 130 is critical to addressing these goals. *ACTIVITIES IN 2007* Envision Central Texas has a number of initiatives underway in 2007, including the Quality Growth Toolbox, the Greenprint for Growth, a "Vision" checklist and the 2007 ECT Community Stewardship Awards, which were held May 18, 2007. ECT is conducting a series of meetings in each of the five Central Texas counties to update elected officials and other community leaders about ECT projects and to engage in a dialogue about pressing growth-related challenges in each of the counties. The Quality Growth Toolbox is an electronic “toolbox” intended to help both the public and private sector access useful and appropriate information on critical issue areas addressed in the ECT Vision, including transportation and congestion, land use, preservation of natural areas and open space, economic vitality, community livability and social equity. The toolbox, which is being designed in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, will be a searchable “expert system” that will enable users to identify effective, context-sensitive tools that encompass regulatory, land acquisition, infrastructure investment, market pricing, and planning-related techniques that would be useful for their specific circumstances. It will be a resource for the region that can be updated and revised as new tools and data become available. ECT will also work with communities around the region as the toolbox comes online to ensure that they can maximize the benefits of these resources. Envision Central Texas hosted a Planners Roundtable on December 7, 2007 to introduce the Quality Growth Toolbox to planners in the five-county Central Texas region. *ACTIVITIES IN 2008* On Monday, July 28, 2008, ECT announced the completion of their Vision Progress Assessment study commissioned by the Board of Directors to mark the five-year milestone since ECT's creation of its Regional Vision, and to determine how well the region is meeting the demands of its continued growth and if it is moving toward the future expressed by the ECT Vision. While many study participants believed that the region has made progress toward a number of the goals of the Vision, there was also a pervasive feeling that Central Texas still faces many of the same major issues it did five or ten years ago, only magnified. The lack of a coordinated approach to infrastructure planning in the region was attributed as one of the barriers to more significant progress. The study included a survey of which issues are most important to ensuring a positive future for Central Texas. Two out of every three respondents ranked "Transportation/Congestion" in their top three concerns. When asked to rank the progress of seven elements of the ECT Vision, transportation ranked at the bottom of the list. December 2008 Update The Board of Directors re-elected Jim Walker as chairman for 2009. Mr. Walker is executive director of the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project. The Indicators Project covers Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties and tracks more than 40 indicators of the health of the Central Texas economy, environment, and social equity. Other 2009 officers include Chair-Elect Travis Froehlich, Seton Family of Hospitals; Past Chair Frederick "Fritz" Steiner, dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture; Secretary John Langmore, transportation and land use consultant; and Treasurer Valarie Bristol, retired. A major ECT initiative for 2009, Ensuring Efficient New and Existing Infrastructure in a Time of Limited Resources, will focus on a regional dialogue about infrastructure needs. ECT will convene a series of three Central Texas Infrastructure Forums to bring the region’s key leaders, infrastructure providers, subject matter experts, and the public to examine existing challenges relating to interconnected infrastructure issues including transportation, water quality, water quantity, wastewater, and utilities. ECT will also develop a process for citizens to examine the issues and priorities. Two polls will measure opinion changes. ECT will form a task force to plan and execute details of the initiative. Based on the outcomes of the forums and the public outreach process, ECT will develop advocacy positions to influence decision makers to achieve the desired results. Resources Vision Progress Assessment (July 2008) Addendum to Vision Progress Assessment: Statistics and Demographics Visit the ECT website for more information. For more information on this or similar projects, please visit the web sites below: www.frego.com ftp://ECTBoard@ftp.frego.com/ (At this site, you will be able to access ECT's assumptions, presentations, and other working documents to date.)

© 2006 Real Estate Council of Austin, Inc. All Rights Reserved.	Back to Top