Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Denver Stutler announced on January 22, 2006 that Central Florida has received a state grant to become the first region in Florida to conduct a comprehensive regional growth visioning project.

“Since land use and transportation need to be linked as we discuss how the regions of Florida will grow, on behalf of Secretary Cohen [Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thaddeus Cohen] and myself, I’m pleased today to announce that the Florida Departments of Community Affairs and Transportation have agreed to provide financial, technical and leadership support to the Central Florida visioning initiative,” Stutler said.

The grant is being funded through a partnership between the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Florida Department of Transportation, myregion.org, the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Central Florida MPO Alliance and the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

myregion.org, a regional development organization, is serving as the coordinator for this seven-county effort, which will include the citizens of Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia Counties.

“Over the next two years, myregion.org will ask more than 5,000 citizens in all stakeholder areas for their input on the issues of future growth and development in the region,” Stutler said.

This regional visioning effort is an outgrowth of the 2005 Growth Management Bill passed by the Florida Legislature as well as the work of more than 3,000 citizens through the myregion.org effort.

“The 2005 Growth Management Bill reflects an understanding of the sense of urgency regarding growth in the State of Florida,” Stutler said. “The legislation specifically addresses the importance of viewing growth from a regional perspective, as opposed to looking only from the context of specific county boundaries. The 2025 Florida Transportation Plan builds upon the Growth Management bill by calling for each Florida region to develop a regional vision and action plan.”

The goal of the Central Florida Regional Growth Visioning Project is to form a clear community vision and reach consensus on how Central Florida should grow over the next 50 years.

“The regional visioning effort will play a dual role in moving the Central Florida region toward a sustainable, consensus-based vision for its future,” Stutler said. “It will also serve as a prototype for how the regional visioning and coordination policies can be applied at a statewide level.”

“We are very honored and pleased to be provided this opportunity to meaningfully address the tremendous challenges facing Central Florida,” said Randy Lyon, the volunteer chairman for myregion.org. “One of the core values of our organization is partnerships and I am very excited about the partnership that is being developed for this project.”

The total cost of the project is $850,000 with the two state organizations contributing $420,000 in cash and consultant support. The remaining $430,000 is being funded by the local organizations.

The visioning process will include multiple inter-active community outreach presentations in each of the seven counties. These sessions will include the use of innovative scenario planning tools to provide citizens the opportunity to create an alternative vision for the future. Elected officials, business and community leaders will also be engaged in the process with the goal of providing a future vision that has the support of all regional stakeholders.

“This is a glorious opportunity for Central Florida,” said Jacob Stuart, President of myregion.org. “As a region, we must seize this chance to create a future that meets the needs of our citizens, both the 3.5 million that currently live in our borders and the four million that are projected to join us over the next 45 years.”

The visioning initiative will begin with a regional visioning kickoff on March 29, 2006. The project is expected to take 18 months and will conclude with a regional growth symposium.