“This update to Imagine Austin is about making sure our city keeps a sense of possibility and connection as we grow. It’s about holding on to what makes Austin special, while thinking big and planning smart for the future," Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement.
The setup
Austin's charter calls for ongoing comprehensive planning to manage a wide range of civic issues from development to natural resource management.
"The city intends to preserve, promote, protect and improve the public health, safety, comfort, order, appearance, convenience and general welfare; prevent the overcrowding of land and avoid undue concentration or diffusion of population or land uses; facilitate the adequate and efficient provision of transportation, water, wastewater, schools, parks, recreational facilities, housing and other facilities and services; and conserve, develop, utilize and protect natural resources," the charter states.
The original Imagine Austin was adopted in 2012, and city leaders have since used the document as the basis for policy decisions and strategic planning. A revised blueprint for the next 20 years is now in the works given how much Austin has changed over the past decade-plus, according to city staff.
"The anticipated update will be clearer, more actionable, and reflect Austin’s many voices. It will better align our transportation, housing and climate goals with renewed policy recommendations to move the city forward in a connected, strategic direction," they wrote.
The effort is funded with $3 million first budgeted for the project in 2023. A draft plan revision will be up for public review next winter, and the new Imagine Austin will be approved by fall 2027.
The approach
City officials and the Planning Department have said significant resident engagement will be required for the Imagine Austin update. Staff will also be providing regular public check-ins as the work continues.
The city started taking feedback about the process last spring and has hosted an Imagine Austin speaker series since last fall, with the most recent event held Aug. 23. Further public events, surveys and other outreach are expected over the year ahead.
“This process is rooted in listening and the Planning Department is ready to reach out across the community to make it easy for Austinites to weigh in,” Planning Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt said in a statement. “We want to make sure everyone’s voice counts, especially the ones that haven’t always been heard. That’s how we build a plan that truly reflects all of Austin.”
Council also directed the process to include citywide coordination with a community-focused approach, a transparent "implementation framework" for action items, and an outline for more comprehensive planning updates in the future.
Before approving the $3 million initiative Aug. 28, council member Mike Siegel noted the scope of Imagine Austin and said this version of the plan could be more inclusive than the last.
"This the first process we’ve had since we’ve reverted to a 10-1 [City Council] system with district representation," he said. "I’m excited for this process and how all of us as a community and all of our organizations and groups can be stakeholders in this process and really have a very forward, progressive, sustainable, prosperous city in the years to come.”
More information about the planning update is available online.
