After two years of struggle with lawsuits, negotiations and meetings with community members and neighbors, San Diego State can now go forward with its proposed Campus Master Plan.
Yesterday, the California State University Board of Trustees unanimously approved SDSU's revised Environmental Impact Report and campus expansion, and endorsed the $6.4 million proposed to cover SDSU's fair share of improvements to the community.
Under the revised plan, SDSU plans to increase enrollment by 10,000 full-time equivalent students by 2025.
Not everyone present at the board of trustees meeting was in favor of the decision.
Although many of those who spoke against the approval said they agreed with SDSU's goals and mission in campus expansion - and many residents said they welcomed the additional student housing - they had concerns about SDSU's fulfillment of its "fair-share" of mitigations made necessary by campus expansion.
During the public comment period, representatives from organizations that worked closely with SDSU to reach an agreement on an amount to cover the university's fair share of improvements to the surrounding community said the decision must be delayed until an agreement could be reached.
The City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of The California State University decision in 2005 decertified SDSU's first EIR and required SDSU to negotiate "in good faith" the costs for off-site impacts caused by campus development.
SDSU administrators argued that the university had fulfilled the "good faith" requirement by taking nearly a year for negotiations with city agencies. However, representatives from SANDAG, MTS, Caltrans and the mayor said the $6.4 million SDSU is requesting for improvements is not enough.
A representative from Caltrans said the amount SDSU has proposed for traffic improvements in the surrounding area is about one third of what is actually needed. Because SDSU chose to negotiate individually with each agency, it didn't provide a meaningful context for looking at the transportation and traffic situation as a whole, according to the representative.
Some neighbors to the university in Del Cerro and College Area who spoke at the meeting expressed concerns for the negative impact of the increased traffic campus expansion would bring. A representative from the College Area Community Council read a letter from CACC President Doug Case, which said although the council agrees the expansion is needed, many are worried about the potential impacts and not having the funding to address them.
Although some neighbors and city leaders expressed concern, others urged the board of trustees to approve the plan, saying the expansion is beneficial to creating an educated workforce to serve San Diego, creating jobs and helping to fuel the local economy.
Associated Students President James Poet brought a group of students to the meeting and spoke on behalf of the student body, asking the board of trustees to approve the plan. Poet talked about two projects in the Master Plan that are especially important to students: the increase in student housing and the renovation of Aztec Center.
"By nearly doubling the student housing on campus, the Master Plan will give more students the opportunity to have the complete campus life experience," Poet said.
The Master Plan proposes nearly 3,000 additional beds on campus and the renovation of Aztec Center, which is currently the oldest student union in the CSU system.
"This long overdue upgrade to the facility will provide much needed space for our student organization office spaces, retail, food services, recreational facilities and social gathering space," Poet said. "In 2006, students approved a fee increase to pay for the project. We're ready to move forward once the campus master plan is approved."
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