Story of Imagine Austin

With You in Mind

Developing a vision and plan for the City could not and cannot be done without the people who make up the City.

As the adopted Vision Statement says: "Austin's greatest asset is its people: Passionate about our city, committed to its improvement, and determined to see this vision become a reality." Community input is at the heart of this plan.

3 Phases

Imagine Austin was designed as a two-year process in three phases:

Phase One - Plan Kickoff (August - October 2009; completed!)
Phase Two - Vision & Plan Framework (October 2009 - February 2011)
Phase Three - The Comprehensive Plan (March 2011-in progress)

Phase I

During Phase One, the City hired a consulting firm with experience guiding cities through creating strategic and comprehensive plans, in addition to subconsultants specializing in targeted community outreach. Together City of Austin staff and the consultant team toured the community and interviewed civic and business leaders, institutional partners, and subject-matter experts.

The Public Participation Strategy was developed based on input received at participation workshops and focus group meetings. The City Council appointed Austin citizens to serve on a Comprehensive Plan Citizens Advisory Task Force to:

Work with the consultant team and City staff to help all members of the community articulate common values that will guide Austin into the future
Champion the planning process as an ongoing venue for reaching out to Austin and bringing its many perspectives together where they can amicably engage one another
Assess how well all parts of the community are participating
Provide community contact to bring concerns about the plan direction and content to the consultant team and City staff
Collaborate with the consultant team and City staff in assessing common ground based on community input.

The Task Force has met monthly since October 2009.

Initial public workshops drew hundreds from the community to kick off the comprehensive plan and identify preliminary key issues. Members of the public helped identify organizations to involve in the process, provided definitions of sustainability, and helped identify the City’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.

The Scope Framework was created laying out the process to create the comprehensive plan. A Speakers Bureau, dubbed 30 Minutes for the Next 30 Years, was established, allowing numerous groups to hear about Imagine Austin.

Community Inventory

The City conducted a Community Inventory, a large data bank on Austin capturing:

* Demographics & household trends
* Natural environment
* Land use and zoning
* Economic development and employment trends
* Housing and neighborhood conditions
* Transportation
* Public utilities
* Parks and recreation
* Community facilities
* Historic Austin
* Urban design and urban form

Phase 2

Phase Two was a very successful and thorough effort to reach all of Austin with information about Imagine Austin and why a comprehensive plan is significant.

What was most important is feedback and ideas provided to the City. Nearly 5,000 Austinites selected a preferred growth scenario. Meetings with neighborhood leaders also began addressing how existing and new Neighborhood Plans will sync with the comprehensive plan.