UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO UCSD

BERKELEY · DAVIS · IRVINE · LOS ANGELES · MERCED · RIVERSIDE · SAN DIEGO · SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA · SANTA CRUZ

9500 Gilman Drive CAMPUS PLANNING Mail Code 0074 TEL: (858) 534-6515 La Jolla, CA 92093-0074

January 18, 2017 Via Overnight Mail State of California Office of Planning and Research 1400 Tenth Street Sacramento, CA 95814 NOTICE OF PREPARATION - DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Project Title: Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East Lead Agency: University of California Project Location: University of California, San Diego County: San Diego Project Description: The proposed Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East project (proposed project) consists of two campus housing developments and a shared parking structure located on separate, but proximate sites within the 87-acre Mesa Housing Neighborhood located on the East Campus of the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), as shown on Figure 1, Project Vicinity. The proposed project would replace low-density student housing with higher-density apartment buildings that are environmentally responsible in design and construction. In accordance with the UC Student Housing Initiative, the project would address the current demand for affordable on-campus housing, which exceeds the supply, and assist the campus in meeting its Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) goal of housing at least 50 percent of UC San Diego students on campus. The project would provide a total of approximately 1,470 net new beds—primarily for graduate students, and possibly a small group of upper division undergraduates if needed to meet demand; 80 beds for the UC San Diego Family House; structured and surface parking; and supporting facilities within the Mesa Housing Neighborhood. The proposed residential buildings would be located on two sites generally located south of Miramar Street North and west of Regents Road and on either side of the Mesa Nueva project currently under construction (Figure 2, Project Site). The parking structure would be located north of Miramar Street North and west of Athena Circle on an existing surface parking lot.

Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East Notice of Preparation January 18, 2017

2

The Nuevo West component of the project would redevelop an approximately 6.3-acre housing site that forms the West Mesa portion of the neighborhood. Nuevo West would remove existing on-site facilities, including 6 low-density apartment buildings containing 100 beds, the associated surface parking, and an amenity service building. Nuevo West would provide 804 beds for single graduate students and 80 beds for the UC San Diego Family House program within four buildings encompassing a total of approximately 325,000 gross square feet (gsf). Residential buildings would be moderate to high-rise structures consistent with other development in the University City area. A smaller support services building for a café/neighborhood market is also proposed. Student housing units would include a mix of one-bedroom studios and two- and four-bedroom apartments. The Family House would serve as a housing facility to accommodate temporary stays for UC San Diego Health System patients and their families. The Family House would include a combination of 25 guest rooms (hotel style units for overnight stays), 2 day rooms (hotel style units for day use), and 15 two-bedroom apartment units. Parking for the UC San Diego Family House would be provided on the site in the adjacent Mesa Nueva Parking structure. Parking for the student housing would be provided at the proposed shared parking structure. Nuevo West would also include pedestrian and bicycle circulation paths, indoor and outdoor common spaces and community gathering areas, recreation spaces, and other support amenities. Nuevo East would redevelop an approximately 8.0-acre housing site on the North Mesa portion of the neighborhood. Existing on-site structures consisting of one laundry building and 21 low-density apartment buildings containing 336 beds and the associated surface parking spaces would be removed. Large eucalyptus trees that occupy the central portion of the Mesa Housing Neighborhood would be retained. Nuevo East would provide 1,100 beds for graduate students and upper division undergraduate students within seven moderate to high-rise buildings consistent with other development in the University City area. The buildings would be grouped together to form courtyards and public spaces. A smaller support building for a café/neighborhood market is also proposed. Student housing units would consist of a mixture of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Support spaces and amenities would also be provided, including pedestrian and bicycle circulation paths, indoor and outdoor common spaces and community gathering areas, recreation spaces, and other support amenities. Both Nuevo West and East would comply with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, oriented toward energy efficient and “green building” standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The Nuevo West and East components would each seek to achieve a Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) Gold rating from USGBC. The shared-use, above-grade, multi-story parking structure would be constructed on a 3.2-acre site on the north side of Miramar Street North that currently contains lot P783. This existing 142-space surface parking lot would be removed and a multi-story parking garage containing 1,200 spaces would be constructed. Demolition, site improvements, and building construction are anticipated to begin late 2017, and the project is estimated to take approximately 24 months to complete. The proposed project is anticipated to be partially occupied by fall 2019.

Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East Notice of Preparation January 18, 2017

3

Potential Environmental Effects of the Project: A project-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be tiered from the 2004 LRDP Program EIR (as updated in 2010) and will address environmental issues associated with the construction and operation of the proposed project. Potential key environmental considerations anticipated to be addressed in the EIR include: aesthetics, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions/climate change, hydrology/water quality, public services, noise, and transportation/traffic; these issues are described briefly below.

Aesthetics. The project would be constructed in the Mesa Housing Neighborhood, which is envisioned to be redeveloped over time as an integrated community of campus housing villages around a central urban park along with a mixed-use center along Regents Road at the campus interface with the University community. The EIR will address the proposed change to the visual character and visual quality of the project area due to implementation of Nuevo West and East. The EIR will also analyze the compatibility of the project with the visual environment of the campus and surrounding area.

Air Quality. The proposed project has the potential to contribute criteria air pollutant emissions to the San Diego Air Basin. Although development associated with the project was anticipated in the 2004 LRDP Program EIR (as updated in 2010), the EIR will include a project-specific analysis of potential impacts from air pollutant emissions estimated to be generated during project construction and operation.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions/Climate Change. The issue of greenhouse gas emissions/ climate change was not included in the 2004 LRDP EIR. However, this topic will be addressed in the project EIR. Direct and indirect GHG emissions associated with project construction and operation will be quantified. The EIR will assess the project’s consistency with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy as well as the goals of Assembly Bill 32 and Senate Bill 32 with respect to achieving statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Hydrology/Water Quality. Construction and operation of the project could have short- and long-term impacts, respectively, to on- and off-campus downstream surface water quality and flows (capacity and velocity). To reduce potential related effects that may occur from project implementation, Low Impact Development storm water management strategies would be integrated into the project design and addressed in the EIR as Best Management Practices, in accordance with recent changes in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations.

Noise. The EIR will address potential impacts related to off-site noise sources affecting the proposed uses as well as how project-generated construction noise and operational noise (from the parking garage, ventilation equipment, and project-added traffic) may affect nearby land uses.

Public Services/Facilities. Under CEQA, impacts to public services are limited to physical effects associated with the construction of new or altered facilities that could have a significant impact on the environment. Because the proposed project would result in a net increase of approximately 1,470 new beds, the project could result in an increased demand for services, potentially prompting construction of new infrastructure. Therefore, impacts associated with the proposed project on public services would be addressed in the EIR.

Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East Notice of Preparation January 18, 2017

4

Transportation/Traffic/Parking. The proposed project would add additional trips to local

roadways. Although the 2004 LRDP EIR (as updated) took into account the proposed growth, an analysis of near- and long-term traffic effects related to the project is planned. Pursuant to measure Tra-1A of the 2004 LRDP EIR (as updated), a traffic study would be prepared to address project related effects. The traffic study will include both a level of service (LOS) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) analysis (pursuant to SB 743), and will rely on recent traffic forecasts contained in the City of San Diego’s 2016 Amendment to University Community Plan Transportation Element as a basis for the long-term analysis. The traffic study would be used to prepare the traffic section of the project EIR.

Alternatives. The Draft EIR would also include a discussion of reasonable alternatives to

the proposed project. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15126.6, alternatives would be developed that would avoid or lessen identified significant impacts of the proposed project, while feasibly attaining most of the basic objectives of the project. The Draft EIR will also include an analysis of cumulative effects, as well as other required CEQA sections. CEQA Compliance: The University of California is the Lead Agency for the project and will prepare a focused EIR to evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed project. The Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East project EIR will be tiered from the 2004 LRDP EIR (SCH No. 2003081023), which was certified by the Regents of the University of California on September 23, 2004, and as updated by the East Campus Bed Tower project EIR (SCH No. 2009081053), which was certified by the Regents on July 13, 2010. In compliance with the State and University of California guidelines for implementation of CEQA, this Notice of Preparation (NOP) is hereby sent to inform you that the University of California, San Diego is preparing a Draft EIR on the above-named project. As Lead Agency, we need to know the views of your agency as to the scope and content of the environmental information, which is germane to your agency’s statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed project. We appreciate your prompt acknowledgement and review of this NOP. Due to the time limits mandated by state law, the 30-day scoping period will extend from January 19 through February 17, 2017. Your scoping comments must be sent at the earliest possible date, but not later than 5:00 PM on February 17, 2017. Comments on the proposed scope of the project EIR can be mailed to:

Catherine Presmyk Assistant Director, Environmental Planning

University of California, San Diego Physical & Community Planning Office

9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0074 La Jolla, CA 92093-0074

Mesa Housing Nuevo West and East Notice of Preparation January 18, 2017

5

If you have any questions about the project please contact me at (858) 534-3860. Sincerely,

Catherine Presmyk Assistant Director, Environmental Planning Enclosures: Environmental Document Transmittal Form Figures 1 and 2 (Project Vicinity and Project Site) cc: B. Lounsbury C. Strem SANDAG City of San Diego

SCRIPPS INSTITUTIONOF OCEANOGRAPHY

WEST CAMPUS

EAST CAMPUS

Torre

y Pine

s Roa

d

North

Torre

y Pine

s Roa

d

Genesee Avenue

Rege

nts Ro

adPacificOcean

!"̂$

LA JOLLA DEL SOL

UNIVERSITY HOUSEAND BEACH PROPERTIES

Project Site

I:\PRO

JECT

S\U\U

CS\U

CS-28

_Nue

voW

est\M

ap\N

OP\Fi

g1_V

icinit

y.mxd

UCS

-20.19

09/2

1/16 -

EV

Figure 1MESA HOUSING NUEVO WEST & EAST

Project Vicinity

0 1,800FeetN

Project SiteUCSD La Jolla Campus BoundaryCoastal Zone Boundary

Project SiteMESA HOUSING NUEVO WEST & EAST

Figure 2

I:\P

RO

JEC

TS

\U\U

CS

\UC

S-2

0.22

_Mes

aNue

voE

ast_

Nue

voW

estH

ousi

ng\M

ap\N

OP

\Fig

2_P

roje

ctS

ite.

indd

U

CS

-20.

22 1

2/22

/16-

EV

Nuevo EastStudent Housing

Minimum of 1,100 Beds

Population Served:Graduate Students &

Upper Division Undergraduates

Funding:External Financing &

Housing Reserves

Parking Structure

800-900 Spaces

Population Served:Residents of Mesa

Housing

Funding:External Financing (debt

serviced by Parking & Housing Revenues)

6RE

GENT

S RO

AD

REGENTS ROAD

MIRAMAR STREET

REGE

NTS

ROAD

REGE

NTS

ROAD

MIRA

MAR S

TREET

NUEVO EASTHOUSING

SITE