Planning Principles Framework I
REVISED March 13, 2000

The following presents the preliminary list of principles to guide the formulation of the land use and development alternatives for the University Community. They are intended to represent the foundational "rules" that will be used for all planning alternatives and will serve as criteria in assessing any plan’s consistency. In subsequent steps of the University Community planning process, they will be supplemented and revised in response to additional review, discussion, technical research, and economic projections. Inherently, they are not comprehensive and may not fully address site development issues and objectives. Ultimately, the principles may be reworded to serve as "objectives" or "policies" in the University Community Plan document.

General

Land Uses

1.The University Community will accommodate the amount of population and employment equivalent to the level of growth resulting from the development of the University of California campus with an enrollment of 25,000 students.

2.A mix of land uses will be accommodated in the University Community that will be an integral part of and complement the economic vitality of the City of Merced and other major activity centers. As such, the University Community’s pattern of uses must account for and reflect the patterns of growth and development planned for surrounding City and County areas.

3.The Community will accommodate convenience goods and services that meet the normal daily needs of its residents (e.g., food, personal services, prescription drugs, and so on). At the same time, its mix of uses will be balanced and contribute to the sense of a complete neighborhood offering a variety of housing types, supporting convenience commercial, job opportunities, schools, parks, and open spaces.

4.In the early phases of development, it is recognized that the University Community will have a high level of dependency on and linkage with the commercial services and jobs offered in the City and other County communities.

5.The types and densities of development to be accommodated will offer choice, meet the unique needs and lifestyles of a campus-related population, promote community activity and interaction, support pedestrian activity and transit use, and be supportable in the marketplace. It is recognized that such uses and densities may change over time to reflect the evolving characteristics, needs, and objectives of the marketplace, within the context of overall objectives for the form, character, and qualities of the University Community.

6.The University Community’s uses shall offer opportunities for a students and residents of diverse backgrounds, cultures, incomes, and needs.

7.Open spaces will be retained as an essential amenity that distinguishes the University Community and to provide recreational opportunities for residents, contribute to the economic value, serve as visual relief, reflect the region’s distinct character, and protect significant environmental resources.

8. The mix and character land uses to be developed in the University Community will distinguish the site as a special and place that can be uniquely identified within the Merced region due to its function, physical form and character, quality of life, and opportunities and choices.

Economic Viability

9.The University Community will accommodate a mix of land uses that can be supported by the marketplace and adequately financed.

10.A level of development will be accommodated in the University Community that enables the Virginia Smith and Cyril Smith Trusts to achieve objectives for the funding of academic scholarships.

11.Land use, infrastructure, public service, and open space plans will be developed to ensure that development is economically viable, can be adequately financed, and .the County of Merced, City of Merced, the Trusts, or other affected jurisdictions.

12. The University Community will provide capacity for the development of uses that offer economic development opportunities capitalizing on the presence of the University of California campus.

Environmental Resources

13. The land use and development plan will meet the objectives for the development of a new University of California campus and supporting community, maximizing opportunities for the protection of wetlands and other important natural resources.

14. The plan will provide for the development of uses, buildings, and infrastructure in a manner that promotes the maintenance and re-use of water, air, energy, and other scarce natural environmental resources, where feasible.

Determinants of Land Use/Urban Form

1.Development patterns will be shaped to conform to and reflect natural topography and landforms and plant and animal resources where practical. These patterns, building materials, and landscape shall reflect the region’s agricultural history, vegetation, and open lands character.

2.Site and design land uses, streets, public places (e.g., parks, plazas, etc.), and open spaces to capitalize on viewshed opportunities of the Sierra, Lake Yosemite/Park, Merced, and greater San Joaquin Valley.

3.Site and design land uses to reflect and incorporate the property’s natural drainage courses, to the extent feasible in consideration of public safety and habitat preservation.

4.Establish appropriate land use and open space transitions to reflect long term development, agricultural, and conservation objectives for properties abutting the University Community.

Overall Organization of Land Uses

1.Development will be concentrated to minimize impacts on natural environmental resources and the extent of supporting infrastructure, as well as maximize community/pedestrian activity and transit use.

2.The University Community will be a composite of distinct places differentiated by function, use, density, physical form and character, and design that are integrated into a cohesive and definable community.

3.Open spaces will be integrated with and used to shape the patterns of development, differentiating/separating the Community’s districts and neighborhoods.

4. A land use pattern will be established that capitalizes upon diversity by the integration of a mix of housing types and densities in residential neighborhoods, development of mixed use activity centers (e.g., housing with commercial uses, retail and business parks, etc.), and similar techniques.

5.Land uses and buildings will be sited and designed to maximize community livability, including the establishment of pedestrian-oriented mixed use districts and residential neighborhoods that reflect the traditional qualities of Merced, while providing opportunities for innovative and creative forms of development.

6.An integrated system of greenways, trails, transportation corridors, and civic uses will be developed to connect and provide access to all districts and neighborhoods.

Residential Villages

1.The University Community’s residential villages will be developed as distinct places, with each village’s mix of housing types and densities developed in response to resident needs, market conditions, innovation, and creativity.

2.Each residential village will contain a mix of housing products and densities. This may include a mix of housing types on individual blocks (e.g., single family detached with townhomes). No village will be developed exclusively with a single housing type. Large multi-family districts that are undifferentiated by density and product will be avoided. (note: this may include standards regarding the maximum percentage of units/area that can be developed for single family detached units, minimum percentage of multi-family units, and maximum number of multi-family units at any one location).

3. Off-campus student housing will be distributed throughout the Residential Villages, discouraging overly dense concentrations at any one location.

1.Housing units will be designed to physically and visually relate to the street frontage to enhance neighborhood livability. Garages will be sited and designed to minimize their visual dominance from the street. Sidewalks and parkways will be incorporated to foster pedestrian activity and enhance the quality of the neighborhood.

2.Each residential village will contain a center that serves as the focal point of identity and activity. At a minimum this would include community meeting facilities and plazas for public gatherings and events. Optimally, provided there is sufficient market support, it would also contain local-serving convenience retail, personal services, and food sales. School, parks, libraries, and civic/cultural facilities may also be developed here. Each center should be located within walking distance of all homes within the village/neighborhood.

3.The land use plan will support the development of public uses that offer the opportunity for the sharing of facilities such as the integration of school play fields and athletic facilities with public parks, multi purpose auditoriums that serve multiple schools, and libraries that serve both schools and the general public.

4.Opportunities will be provided for the development of innovative housing types to meet the special needs of students and others attracted to a "University environment" (e.g., co-housing, higher density units, sustainable building materials, etc.). This may include areas set aside for the development of experimental or housing prototypes.

5.Plans and programs will be established for the maintenance of the long-term affordability of housing for students, faculty, and low income residents (e.g., resale or rental restrictions on price increases, etc.).

Town Center

1.The Town Center will be developed as the symbolic and functional center of the University Community and linked with the University campus core.

2.The Town Center will contain a broad mix of uses including retail, office, entertainment, civic, cultural, dining, housing, and similar uses that are supportable in the marketplace. Emphasis will be placed on the development of buildings and sites that contain a mix of uses, including the vertical integration of housing with retail, office, or other uses. (note: it may be appropriate to specify a minimum percentage of housing units). Public uses (e.g., day and senior care facilities, community meeting rooms and recreation facilities, health facilities, and so on) should be integrated with other uses in the Center.

3.The County and developers will collaborate with the University of California to identify the uses that can be developed in the Town Center that support both the campus and community and normally would be sited internally on the campus.

4.The Town Center will be developed with the highest densities in the University Community to reinforce its role as the "heart" of the community and foster pedestrian and transit use.

5.The Town Center’s buildings and public spaces shall be located and designed to take advantage of viewsheds of Merced, the Valley, and Sierra, reflect topography, and reflect the site’s wind and temperature conditions.

6.Pedestrian activity will be encouraged through the location of buildings on public sidewalks and plazas forming a semi-continuous "building wall" (with parking located to the rear or in structures with ground level retail uses), restriction of the ground floor of buildings to uses that have a high level of customer activity, design of buildings to open onto the sidewalk/plaza, and similar techniques.

7.Sidewalks and public plazas will integrate well-designed landscape, street furniture, signage, lighting, public art, and other amenities to enhance the pedestrian experience.

8.The Town Center’s internal street network will be designed to inhibit through trips and high speeds, fostering pedestrian activity. Regional access corridors should be located at the Town Center’s periphery.

9.A transit center will be incorporated into the Town Center to serve both the community and core campus. It will be developed at the earliest possible date to lessen automobile dependence (using subsidies as necessary to ensure viability).

10.Shared parking facilities will be developed in lieu of separate parking for each site/use in the Town Center. Overall parking standards may be reduced to promote transit use and walking. (notes: this may be accomplished through the formulation of a Parking Management Plan for the Town Center). Consider the development of parking structures/facilities in the Town Center that could be shared by both community and campus uses.

11.Streets, sidewalks, bicycle paths, transit, infrastructure, and open space corridors will be located to provided connectivity with the University of California campus. This will involve the collaboration of the County and developers with the University.

Business Centers

1.Business centers will be developed to provide job opportunities that benefit from the presence of the University of California campus. Development standards will be sufficiently flexible to accommodate the innovation of new industries and respond to their evolving building, site, and operation needs over time.

2.Business centers will be developed to take advantage of the mix of uses that support their functions and products that will be available in the Town Center such as retail, financial, personal service, dining entertainment, recreation, and similar uses. This will foster the development of "industry clusters" wherein primary businesses can easily access products and services that are integral to their product or service, as well as provide amenity for employees. Where business centers are developed independent of the Town Center (if appropriate), such uses would be integrated into the business center.

3.Buildings will be clustered along public rights of way, sidewalks, plazas, and other common elements to convey the visual sense of an integrated village (similar to the Town Center’s pedestrian character).

4.Business centers will be developed with a network of streets, sidewalks, bicycle trails, infrastructure, and open spaces that are interconnected with and continue the basic pattern established in abutting commercial districts, the Town Center, and residential villages.

Public Uses

1.Public uses will be integrated into the Town Center and Residential Village Neighborhood Centers to maximize their accessibility by local residents and recognize their contribution to community and neighborhood identity.

2.Multiple levels of schools will be clustered for the purposes of sharing capital intensive facilities such as auditoriums, libraries, athletic fields, community meeting rooms, and similar uses.

3.Public libraries and community multipurpose facilities will be integrated with schools, where feasible.

Open Spaces—General

1.The University Community’s open spaces will be established for the purposes of active and passive recreation, visual relief, habitat preservation, nature observation, education and research, hiking and biking, flood control/public safety, and similar functions.

2.Open spaces will be designed/planned as amenities that contribute to the quality of life, image, and economic value of the University Community.

3.Natural drainages, trails, recreation areas, and similar techniques will be used to link the University Community’s open space elements.

Recreation

1.The University Community will contain a mix of active and passive recreational uses to serve the needs of its residents.

2.The existing recreational cluster at the site’s entry from Bellevue Road (Lake Yosemite, Merced County Regional Park, and Merced Hills Golf Course) will be intensified to serve the University Community and region, as well as serving as a transition from surrounding planned urban uses.

3.Parklands will be distributed throughout the University Community with active facilities located in Residential Villages in proximity to all residents and primary activity centers. Parks of an "urban" characteristic will be integrated into the Town Center and neighborhood centers (e.g. bandshells, small sports fields, basketball courts, picnic tables, etc.).

4.Parklands will be integrated into an areawide open space system that interconnects all elements by trails. This will include connections with Lake Yosemite and Merced County Regional Park.

5.Parks will be integrated with schools, promoting shared use opportunities and minimizing capital development and maintenance costs.

6.Recreational fields will be developed for common use by community residents and the campus, with site locations and facilities to be determined collaboratively by the County Parks District, developers, and UCM.

Resource Conservation/Habitat Preservation

1.Selected wetlands and significant plant and animal habitats will be committed for preservation and maintenance as permanent open space . To the extent feasible, preserved habitats will encompass large, contiguous areas to maintain the integrity and health of the resources. (Note: habitats, locations, and acreages will be determined in consideration of input from the joint County-UCM habitat conservation strategy, in progress).

2.Preserved habitats will serve as a resource for education and research, including possible programs for UCM and local schools.

Natural Drainage Corridors

1.Natural drainages shall be preserved as an open space amenity, to the extent feasible as determined by flood control and habitat preservation objectives.

2.Walking, bicycle, equestrian, and nature interpretation trails will be developed along drainage corridors, to he extent feasible. These will be interconnected with an areawide trail system connecting the University Community’s neighborhoods and districts.

University Community/University of California Campus Edge

1.The interface edge of the University Community and University of California campus, in locations outside of he Town Center/Campus Core, will be developed to ensure a compatible relationship between campus and community uses. This may include open space buffers and/or uses that can be mutually shared such as recreational play fields and nature interpretation.

2.The County and University Community developers will collaborate with the University of California to ensure that there is a continuity of transportation, infrastructure, and open space corridors between the Community and campus.

3. While it is the intention to "blur" the campus-community edge at the Town Center and other possible locations, entries at key locations will be clearly delineated by use, landscape, signage, open space, and other elements.

Transportation

1.The University Community’s transportation system will be designed to accommodate a diversity of modes, with emphasis on the use of public transit, walking, and bicycling as alternatives to the automobile. Street standards will be sufficient to accommodate these alternatives.

2.The transportation network will be designed to facilitate convenient access among and connect all land use districts and neighborhoods. Street patterns that inhibit access and support segregated and homogeneous patterns and densities of land use will be avoided.

3.Major transportation corridors will be planned to "feed into" rather than bisecting the Town Center, Business Parks, and residential villages.

4.Residential street standards that support neighborhood qualities will be used in lieu of those fostering through trips, high traffic volumes, and high speeds. In general, street widths should be minimized to promote the relationship among a block’s housing units, while maintaining adequate public safety (emergency access, fire, police, etc.).

This page was last updated on April 18, 2002

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