Smart Coast began in 2002 as the Healthy Coastal Communities Initiative (HCCI). From 2002-2004 HCCI operated as a project of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program carried out in coordination with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Coastal Policy Center, the Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' State Lands Division, Coastal Section.

During this time, HCCI completed a number of studies to gain a "snapshot in time" of coastal growth and development issues. As an initial step, elected and appointed officials in the region were interviewed to gain their perceptions of growth and development.

A gap analysis was conducted to compare our region to other coastal regions that had been chosen as sites for Chamber Leadership trips. In addition, a Matrix of citizen groups was developed to identify sustainable efforts of these groups.

In March 2004, HCCI joined with Envision Coastal Alabama and many other partners to host a Smart Coastal Growth Conference that was held in Mobile where over 300 people showed up to hear five national speakers present a balanced picture of smart growth. The participants were very diverse and representative of the two-county region.

The response was very positive, so a follow-up workshop, Smart Growth Act II was held in July 2004 to give people in the region an opportunity to discuss possible smart growth initiatives. There were over 150 participants in attendance. The workshop resulted in the identification of common issues people felt should be addressed.

After the HCCI project was completed in 2004, Smart Coast was formed in early 2005 to serve as the non-profit whose mission is to continue the work of bringing the region together to dialogue about growth and development and how our region can design healthier communities.

In spring of 2005, the Smart Coast Steering Committee reviewed the common issues and major trends identified in the Smart Growth Act II Workshop and has formed task force groups to identify"doable"initiatives and begin taking action.

In the spring of 2006, Smart Coast produced the Imagine: A Region with Thriving Mixed Use Cities Conference where over 350 attended the full day event that hosted six mayors and experts from around the country who talked about the impact of allowing Mixed Use to be used to revitalize their cities and towns.

Later in the summer of 2006, Smart Coast received its 501-c3 designation and began full operation as a non-profit.