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Project
Overview
UC Announces
10th Campus Search
Site Evaluations Narrow the Field
Merced Site Selected by Regents
Planning Efforts Begin
Conceptual Plan Developed
Federal Permitting Underway
Site Shifted to Protect Sensitive Resources
Packard Gift Advances Habitat Preservation
Environmental Impact Reports Begin
UC
Announces 10th Campus Search
In 1988, the Board of Regents of the University of California launched
a search for a location for a new UC campus. The search quickly was
narrowed to California’s Central Valley, which was the state’s
largest and most populous region without its own UC campus.
More than 85 sites in the
Central Region were submitted to the University for consideration. That
initial list of sites was screen to twenty "Candidate" sites.
The Candidate sites were evaluated on such key factors as proximity
to population centers and accessibility, which resulted in the identification
by the University in eight "Preferred" sites.
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Site
Evaluations Narrow the Field
A consultant team that included biologists, cultural resources experts,
engineers, economists, and academic planning experts evaluated the eight
Preferred sites. This evaluation also included several major public
meetings of the University’s Site Selection Task Force in Bakersfield,
Fresno, and Modesto. Each of these meetings was attended by hundreds
of people.
Through analysis of such
factors as transportation, demographics, housing, geo-technical conditions,
public support, environmental constraints, and the availability of public
services, the University narrowed the Preferred sites to three "Finalist"
sites: Lake Yosemite in Merced County, Table Mountain in Madera County,
and Academy in Fresno County. These three Finalist sites were evaluated
in the UC San Joaquin Valley Campus Site Selection EIR.
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Merced
Site Selected by Regents
On May 19, 1995, the University certified a programmatic Environmental
Impact Report and selected the Lake Yosemite site as the optimal location
for the University’s tenth campus. The selection of the Merced
location was based upon the gift of land by the Virginia Smith Trust,
the attendant scholarship funds, the diverse population that would be
served, the tremendous community support, the potential to mitigate
sensitive environmental issues, the availability of water for campus
and community needs, and convenient access for Valley students.
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Planning
Efforts Begin
Following the completion of the University’s site selection process,
state, local, and regional officials initiated efforts to define and
implement appropriate planning and resource conservation measures required
to address challenges associated with the UC Merced project. In October
1996, the County of Merced amended its General Plan to designate a Specific
Urban Development Plan (SUDP) area and establish a number of public
planning objectives for the next several decades. These goals and objectives
include agricultural preservation, resource and wetland conservation,
low-impact urban development, and the timely construction of UC Merced.
In April 1997, the City of Merced included the SUDP within its sphere
of influence and agreed to work cooperatively with the County to realize
the proposed project.
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Conceptual
Plan Developed
In February 1998, Merced County, the University of California, the City
of Merced, the Virginia Smith Trust, and the Merced Irrigation District
initiated a collaborative Concept Planning Phase for the University
Community. In conjunction with this effort, the County of Merced adopted
a Guidance Package to formalize project planning and review and to assure
that university development would be consistent with the General Plan.
The first phase of this planning process culminated in the publication
of the University Community Concept Report in May 1999.
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Federal
Permitting Underway
Concurrent with the Concept Planning Phase process, the University and
the County initiated early discussions with state and federal regulatory
agencies to help expedite anticipated Section 404 and related permit
applications. At that time, planning was focused primarily on the Lake
Yosemite area.
A formal wetland delineation,
consistent with the Army Corps of Engineers 1987 Manual, was prepared,
and extensive surveys of endangered vernal pool crustaceans, plants,
amphibians and mammals were conducted during 1999 and 2000. Because
these resources present a significant constraint to development, UC
and the County initiated an analysis of fifteen sites within Eastern
Merced County to determine whether there are any alternatives to the
originally-selected site that might satisfy their mutual objectives
with less adverse impact on aquatic resources. These efforts resulted
in the development of the Comprehensive Alternatives Analysis (CAA),
which identified a revised location for the campus that is practicable
and satisfies UC's and the County's objectives while reducing aquatic
impacts.
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Site
Shifted to Protect Sensitive Resources
The new location sites the initial campus buildings on what is now the
Merced Hills Golf Course, about three miles south of the initial campus
site, but still within the property of the Virginia Smith Trust. The
proposed campus community has likewise been moved to the south, off
of the most environmentally sensitive lands, closer to existing urban
development patterns, infrastructure, and to the City of Merced.
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Packard
Gift Advances Habitat Preservation
In an historic agreement unveiled in March 2001, the David and Lucile
Packard Foundation announced an $11+ million grant to acquire the entire
7030 acres of the Virginia Smith Trust. The Packard Foundation will
create a 5030 acre preserve of sensitive vernal pool habitat and will
provide the 2000 acre balance to the University of California, which
will in turn create a 750 acre UC natural reserve adjacent to the new
UC Merced campus. The Virginia Smith Trust will use the proceeds from
the acquisition to bolster its scholarship endowment, pay off long-term
loans on the golf course property, and invest in the future proposed
campus community.
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Environmental
Impact Reports Begin
The University of California and the County of Merced are in the process
of preparing separate Environmental Impact Reports on the campus and
campus community, respectively. The Notices of Preparation on both of
these EIRs were filed in February 2001 with draft EIRs anticipated on
both projects by July 2001. The federal permitting process is being
pursued simultaneously in order to facilitate future campus expansion
beyond the current golf course property.
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This page was last
updated on
April 17, 2002
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