Champions of the Texas Hill Country

Mission

To bring together an ever-expanding alliance of groups throughout a multi-county region of Central Texas with the long-term objective of preserving open spaces, water supply, water quality and the unique character of the Texas Hill Country.

Purpose

The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country.


Activities

Initial Meeting
Our first meeting was held September 4th, 2004 at 3300 Crosswind Drive, Spicewood, Texas. We met to share ideas and learn from each other about development issues in the Texas Hill Country. We decided to begin meeting monthly and create a website. Through email we drafted a position paper and began expanding our resources. We established three core goals; 1) Protect Water Quality and Supply, 2) Preserve Open Space and 3) Promote Responsible Growth in the Hill Country.

Building Alliances
In the last quarter of 2004 HCA spent time getting to know organizations who shared concerns about the effects of growth and development in our region. The following groups pledged support for our efforts: The Hamilton Pool Road Scenic Corridor Coalition, The Guardians of Lick Creek, Citizens in the Bee Creek Valley, Citizens for a Livable Bee Cave, Lakeway First, Save Barton Creek Association, Concerned Citizens of Spicewood, The Friendship Alliance, Citizens Assembly of Blanco County, La Tierra Property Owners Association, Public Citizen Texas Office, The Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition.

Regional Planning
Participants in HCA have been involved in many regional planning processes; The Regional Water Quality Plan, The Hamilton Pool Road Regional Plan, The SW Travis County Growth Dialog and the LCRA NPS Stakeholders Group, Envision Central Texas and CAMPO. Through our Alliance, they have been able to share ideas about the progress of these processes and further advance regional planning efforts. We have also brought public attention to these regional plans through media attention.

Public Education
Through media attention, public speaking opportunities and community outreach, HCA participants have brought awareness to the effects of development on the sensitive environment of the Texas Hill Country.

Meeting January 18, 2005
A decision was made to form a non-profit corporation. Seed money was raised to allow a contracted director to spend 6 months developing HCA into a well organized, highly credible organization with a business plan and funding opportunities in place.

Star Hill Ranch was designated the future meeting site.

Bond Proposal
HCA partnered with the Texas Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land and the Hill Country Conservancy to help Travis County with a bond initiative that included over $62 Million for open space. An HCA Board Member served on the Travis County Bonds, Citizens Advisory Committee. The bond package passed on November 8th 2005.

Database
A database is being built to help coordinate HCA efforts. HCA is building relationships with neighborhood associations, elected officials, environmental groups, developers, the Lower Colorado River Authority, The University of Texas, the business community, conservation organizations.

Provide Testimony
HCA has and will continue, to regularly provide testimony at County Commissioner’s Courts, River Authority Board Meetings, Legislative Hearings and any other opportunities to educate key decision makers about concerns in the Texas Hill Country.

Meeting January 31, 2005
HCA participants identified future goals of HCA and resources to help attain our goals. A Board of Directors was established and work began to create 501c3 status.

Meeting February 7th, 2005
An engineering consultant was chosen to help HCA with the “science” of environmentally sensitive development. Pam Reese was elected HCA’s first Board President. HCA joined Greenlights a non-profit assistance center. An outline of the roles and responsibilities of the Board was reviewed.

Public Seminar, March 7, 2005
Karl Kehde presented a public seminar on building a collaborative effort towards responsible land use. Over 40 people attended including Travis County Commissioner, Gerald Daugherty. Karl encourages communities to join together to seek community enhancement features in proposed development projects.

Meeting April 7, 2005
The HCA Board adopted the bylaws and elected additional board members. The Regional Water Quality Plan was reviewed and an update was presented on current Texas Legislative initiatives effecting water quality, scenic roadways and authority to enact environmental regulations.

Board Retreat – April 15th at Reese River Ranch
A facilitator was brought in to guide the board through a visioning process. This first step was very beneficial to building a succinct board and verbalizing goals and objectives for HCA.

Meeting May 2, 2005 – Star Hill Ranch
The board focused on talking points and “beliefs”. A decision was made to develop a set of “values” that can be adhered to in decision making processes. Upcoming events were discussed.

KLRU Community Services Focus Group – May 18th, 2005
Members of the HCA board participated in this event for KLRU, Austin’s Public television network. The purpose was to identify key issues in Central Texas and ways this station can support community efforts. HCA members voiced their interest in addressing Hill Country Growth concerns in future programming.

Envision Central Texas Luncheon – May 20, 2005
HCA sponsored a table and eight of our ten board members were present. HCA was highlighted as a major sponsor of this event. The purpose of the event was to present “new urbanism” techniques and ways these concepts can be implemented in Central Texas.

Branding Session with GSD&M - May 26, 2005
The board participated in a 2 hour branding session with a branding expert at GSD&M, one of Austin’s premier ad agencies. This process was offered to HCA by a Bee Cave resident who is the Director of Community Services at GSD&M. Internal messaging was focused on and the concept of “Champions of the Hill Country” was born.

Public Seminar – June 9, 2005 at the Wildflower Center
HCA co-sponsored a seminar on Transfer of Development Rights, a key concept in the Regional Water Quality Plan. The program was attended by more than 100 individuals including landowners, public officials, developers and other interested individuals. The event was open to public and free.

Legislative Update written and distributed – June 10, 2005
Throughout the legislative session we keep our members informed and engaged about bills that effect growth in the Texas Hill Country. We provided testimony at several committee hearings and tuned into ACT (the Alliance for Clean Texas, a coalition grassroots lobbying groups). Finally we wrote a summary of legislation important to HCA and distributed it to our groups and individuals.

Meeting June 12, 2005 – Star Hill Ranch
Past, present and future issues discussed including progress on the Interim Rules, new website, Briarcliff CCN and the Travis Country Bond Election

Interim Subdivision Ordinance in Travis County passed – July 18, 2005
HCA was as the table for three months with TNR staff to write an interim set of subdivision rules for Travis County. For the first time, the unincorporated areas of Travis County will have buffers along waterways and critical environmental features. While this ordinance is far from perfect, it is a huge first step.

Develop Hill Country Conservation Development Standards – In progress
The Wildflower Center is developing a list of Conservation Development Standards to be used as incentives. HCA will pursue the idea of endorsing these standards and promoting them throughout the Hill Country. HCA has been recognized for supporting the development of the first draft of “Conservation Development in Texas: a primer for Government Officials Developers and Land Planners”.

Meeting August 1, 2005 – Star Hill Ranch
HCA is beginning to turn attention to the idea of a Groundwater Conservation District in Travis and Burnet Counties. Also, board member, Pepper Morris is following changes at TCEQ and providing updates to HCA Board. President Pam Reese, initiated a program where each board member will be responsible for in debth coverage of a specific topic i.e., TCEQ, LCRA, Legislative Affairs…

Public Educational Program on the Travis County Bond Initiative – August 8, 2005
Valerie Bristol with the Nature Conservancy was the invited speaker at a program to inform citizens about the upcoming bond election. Over 30 people attended the event which kicked off a campaign for support of open space.

Conservation Development Symposium – August 19, 2005
HCA was a sponsor of this Symposium which gathered county and municipal officials and staff, landowners and developers to share ideas about Conservation Development. Emphasis was given to County authority which is the key to success for CD implementation.

Hill Country Artist’s Reception – September 17, 2005
Spicewood Vineyard’s hosted this event to raise awareness and financial support for HCA. A local Artist will donate proceeds from a series of Hill Country paintings to the HCA cause. HCA raised $560 at this event.

Grassroots Seminar October 16-17, 2005
This event was coordinated through the Alliance for Clean Texas with the purpose of educating citizens about getting involved in the legislative process. HCA participated by sending an invitation to our database. Four representatives from HCA were in attendance.

HCA Community Meeting about Travis County Bond Election – October 24, 2005
HCA organized a public meeting about the Travis County Bond Election. County Judge Sam Biscoe, County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, and Valerie Bristol from the Nature Conservancy shared their knowledge and thoughts about the bonds. This was an educational opportunity for citizens to learn about the elements of each project and to share there concerns with public officials. HCA also presented a slide show about one of the properties that the county was considering to purchase. 59 people were in attendance. The event was covered in two newspapers and 3 television stations.

Provide citizen support for Envision Central Texas – ongoing
HCA’s director is serving on the open space committee for ECT. This is a regional, 5 county planning project. The current focus of this committee is on mapping and green printing this region to prioritize open space projects. HCA has been successful with open space initiatives in Travis County and hopes to assist neighboring counties with open space projects.

Meeting November 7, 2005 – Walnut Springs Preserve
The HCA Board toured the Walnut Springs project which is a conservation development adjacent to the LBJ Ranch and Bamberger Ranch. This development consists of 65 home sites on over 2000 acres. The project manager presented his conservation development ideas to the group and the board discussed ways to encourage more conservation projects across the region.

Meeting December 5th, 2005 – Jacob’s Well
HCA Board members toured Jacob’s Well with David Baker and Roy Mann. The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association recently purchased Jacob’s Well, one of the outstanding natural springs in the Texas Hill Country and entire nation. Nominating Committee formed to secure nominations for the 2006 HCA Board of Directors.

Meeting January 9th, 2006 – Westcave Preserve
Toured Westcave Preserve and listened to a presentation by Molly Stevens, Westcave Executive Director about the history and goals of this exceptional learning center.

Westcave Strategic Planning Session – January 21, 2006
A key to success for HCA will be partnerships. HCA President Pam Reese and Director Christy Muse participated in a full day planning session for the future of Westcave Preserve. This project will be important to HCA goals for several reasons. Westcave is located where Hamilton Pool Road and the Pedernales River meet. These two corridors are well worth a major preservation effort. Westcave is also a place where children will come to learn about the fragile eco-system of the Hill Country.

Meeting February 6, 2006 – Bamberger Ranch

District 47 Candidates Debate – February 16, 2006
HCA partnered with the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods to host a candidate’s debate for the Texas House District 47 seat.

Meeting March 9, 2006 – Star Hill Ranch
HCA voted to commission a study of a direct discharge permit for Little Bear Creek in Hays County and participate in a coordinated effort to protect the permit along with the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, Hays Trinity GCD, City of Austin, Friendship Alliance and Bear Creek HOA. Support for the 2006 Austin Open Space Bond package was pledged by the HCA board.

Dark Skies Seminar – March 23rd at Star Hill Ranch
HCA hosted an educational seminar about effective lighting for dark skies. The event was well attended, drawing several new participants from Burnet and Blanco Counties.

First “Neighbor to Neighbor” publication
A collaborative project, HCA worked with a coalition of experts to produce an educational publication about the direct discharge permit application for Belterra in Hays County. The piece was hand delivered to the community and posted on the HCA website for future reference.

Meeting April 3, 2006 – Star Hill Ranch

Board Retreat/Cypress Canopy Tours – May 2006

Community Meeting – May 15th at Star Hill Ranch
HCA co-hosted a meeting with Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty about the need for a Groundwater Conservation District in SW Travis County. Over 70 people attended. The LCRA, TCEQ, Hays Trinity GCD and BSEACD participated in a panel moderated by Dr. Kent Butler from UT. Minutes are posted on our website.

Meeting June 5, 2006 – Star Hill Ranch

Travis County Greenprint
HCA participated as a stakeholder in the Trust for Public Land Greenprint for Travis County.

Strategic Planning Session – August, 2006 at Star Hill Ranch
HCA Advisory Board members joined the HCA Board and invited guests to participate in a strategic planning session. Membership, marketing, county authority, website development and mapping were identified as key priorities.

Meeting September 10, 2006 – Star Hill Ranch
Mapping project was introduced by board member Roy Mann. UT Environmental Law Clinic announced that the SW Travis County GCD will be one of the class projects. HCA director was selected to serve on Representative Rose’s Rainwater Harvesting Committee.

Hays County Subdivision Rules rewrite
HCA began to monitor revisions to Hays County rules

Community Meeting September 21, 2006 – Bee Cave Elementary School
HCA hosted a public meeting to address road plans in SW Travis and Hays Counties as well as introduce the CAMPO preferred growth plan. Over 70 people attended.

Meeting October 2, 2006 – Reese West, Bee Cave
HCA Marketing plan presented to the board for first draft approval.

Meeting November 8, 2006 – Star Hill Ranch
Membership marketing materials approved by HCA board

Outreach meeting with Comal and Kendall Counties – November 17th, 2006

Field trip to Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne – December 6th, 2006

 
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