This article is from the November 25, 1980, issue of the Daily Nexus
A long planning and certification process was completed by the U.C. Regents Friday when they agreed to the terms imposed on UCSB’s Long Range Development Plan by the California Coastal Commission.
The terms, which include more stringent housing and environmental policies, were imposed pending State Coastal Commission approval of the LRDP last August.
Although the regents had initially approved the plan in September 1979, Coastal Commission regulations require regent approval of any added conditions prior to final certification.
Under the conditions stipulated by the commission, the university must “protect, encourage, and where feasible, provide housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income.”
The terms also force the university to discuss the possibility of land trades with the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District and Santa Barbara County. The alternate sites would be used in lieu of West Campus for future student and faculty housing.
Should the university decide to develop the southern portion of West Campus for something other than housing, such as research or academic facilities, it must then determine the location of an alternative housing site on campus. An added site would require an amendment to the LRDP.
In addition to the provisions regulating new housing, the terms require that the university cooperate in the rehabilitation of existing Isla Vista student housing and continue to assist off-campus non-profit housing co-operatives.
Finally, the university must submit evidence of “reasonable progress” in implementing its housing policies to the commission’s Executive Director either within six months of approval of Santa Barbara County’s Local Coastal Plan or before construction on the southern West Campus building area, slated for low-density development.
Environmental policies added to the plan stipulate that both the Storke Campus Wetlands and the West Campus Marsh “shall be preserved, protected and maintained” in their existing states until studies in conjunction with the State Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determine whether “restoration and enhancement” are necessary.
Regent approval of these conditions also makes the legality of ECen events such as the recent Police concert a “moot issue,” according to Associate Vice-Chancellor Robert Kroes, who represented UCSB to the Coastal Commission. The legality of such events had been questioned earlier this quarter when it was learned that an amendment to the Events Center permit had expired. Thus the holding o spectator events in the ECen violated the 1976 Coastal Act.
“In fact, the Coastal Commission granted an extension to full use Nov. 19,” Kroes added.
“I am pleased that the plan is done. Students have made headway in housing and environmental concerns and in making the university realize that we are a force in the planning process,” A.S. President Tibby Rothman said.
Kroes described the plan as “nothing we can’t live with.”
The LRDP will now be forwarded to Coastal Commission Executive Director Michael Fisher for filing.
