IntroductionWHAT IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN?

The Neighborhood Master Plan (NMP) presents the detailed site plan and designguidelines that will be used to create a new student, faculty and staff neighborhood atUC Davis.

Developed within the context and planning process of the 2003 UC Davis LongRange Development Plan (LRDP), which provides for broad, campus-wide planningpolicies and initiatives, the NMP details specific development characteristics for theneighborhood. These include planning concepts and principles, program require-ments, and design guidelines to establish the character of the community, and toguide development of specific projects.

WHY IS A CAMPUS NEIGHBORHOOD NEEDED?

Development of the NMP was planned in response to two major factors:

• Projected Growth The NMP is a planned response to the expected University ofCalifornia system-wide increase in student enrollment that would occur underguidelines set by the State of California’s Higher Education Master Plan. Underthis expected growth, UC Davis’s share of the projected growth would increasetotal enrollment to approximately 32,000 students in 2015-16.

• Fostering Access and Affordability The significant growth in student enrollment– coupled with limited residential capacity under the City of Davis General Planand increased housing costs in Davis and the surrounding region – has made itmore difficult for the university to maintain its sense of community. These pres-sures make it difficult for the campus to attract and retain the talented facultyand staff necessary to maintain UC Davis as one of the nation's premier univer-sities. They also make it challenging to maintain the college town relationshipthat exists between UC Davis and the Davis community.

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During the LRDP planning process the campus considered two approaches toaddress these concerns: (1) create of a new campus neighborhood to locally house aportion of the projected growth of students, faculty and staff; and, (2) maintain thestatus quo of local and regional housing, which would result in many students andcampus employees commuting to campus from significant distances.

The university determined that creating a neighborhood best achieves the goals ofenriching campus life, creating strong connections, and fostering a sense of commu-nity. To that end, the new mixed-use neighborhood will provide affordable and con-veniently located housing for approximately 3,000 upper-division undergraduate andgraduate students, as well as 500 faculty and staff units. It will also provide a varietyof facilities and amenities for the campus and the community.

W H A T I S D I F F E R E N T A B O U T A U N I V E R S I T Y -A F F I L I A T E D N E I G H B O R H O O D ?The new neighborhood will ensure that many students, faculty and staff who wish tolive in the community where they study and work will be able to do so. The neigh-borhood will help maintain the “college town” atmosphere of the community andwill be a vibrant addition to the university and Davis communities. The NMP callsfor a mix of uses, strong transit and bicycle links to campus, generous open spaces,recreational opportunities, and environmentally sound design practices. The neigh-borhood is envisioned as a place that combines diverse elements and uses in a settingthat is in keeping with the character of the existing campus and larger Davis area.

While specific land uses and systems are outlined in Chapter III, several characteris-tics and opportunities that make the neighborhood distinct include:

• Linking Home to School and Work Neighborhood residents will have a directaffiliation with UC Davis, either as a student, faculty or staff member, or as arelated household member.

• Affordability Through the use of long-term ground leases and resale controlson for-sale housing – as well as below market sales prices – long-term affordabil-ity of housing stock will be a key tenet of the neighborhood. In addition, manysingle-family houses will have cottage units, which may be rented and thus mayhelp pay mortgage costs and augment family income.

• Proximity to Campus and the Community Located just west of State Route 113(SR 113) on campus lands south of Russell Boulevard and north of HutchisonDrive, the new neighborhood will be adjacent to both the Central Campus andCity of Davis.

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• Focus on Alternative Transportation A key element to the neighborhood will beits focus on affordable and efficient alternative transportation modes, includingbus transit, bicycles and pedestrians. A central Transit Green will provide pedes-trian and bicycle facilities in addition to a dedicated transit line to the core ofcampus. All housing units will be within about a five-minute walk to the transitconnection. To encourage use of bus or bicycles to reach campus, neighbor-hood residents generally will have limited opportunities to purchase on-campusparking permits. Open space/greenbelt corridors will include bicycle and pedes-trian paths with links to the Transit Green, neighborhood districts, campus andthe greater community. Grade-separated crossings will minimize potential con-flicts between automobiles and bicycles and pedestrians. On-street bicycle laneswill also be provided where appropriate.

• Education Partnerships A Community Education Center (CEC) will be devel-oped as a partnership between the University, the Los Rios Community CollegeDistrict, and the Davis Joint Unified School District. The CEC will providefacilities and resources for community college and University affiliates, as well assatellite facilities for Davis Senior High School. In addition, an ElementarySchool is planned to accommodate the expected increase in school-age childrengenerated by the neighborhood.

• Environmental Design Sound environmental design is an important feature ofthe neighborhood. The site is planned and designed to optimize solar access aswell as natural flows of wind and water, and drainage swales and ponds forstormwater retention.

ORGANIZATION OF THE NMP

The remainder of the plan is organized according to the following chapters:

• Chapter 2 Planning Context summarizes the regional and local context,neighborhood program and site selection, and existing site conditions.

• Chapter 3 Development Plan describes land use, circulation, open space,and infrastructure elements at the neighborhood scale.

• Chapter 4 Neighborhood Districts outlines proposed land uses, relation-ships and character for the seven major neighborhood districts.

• Chapter 5 Typical Design Characteristics describes specific guidelines andparameters for the neighborhood’s buildings, open spaces and streets.

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