The city of Santa Cruz garnered unprecedented legal guarantees from UC Santa Cruz in a settlement reached this month, slated to be announced on August 13, according to insiders close to the deal. In four-way negotiations that were encouraged by the Santa Cruz County Court, the university, city, Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO), and Coalition to Limit University Expansion (CLUE) all agreed on several binding legal limits relating to housing, water, traffic, and enrollment. Here are the complete provisions of the agreement, all in effect until the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) expires in 2020:
EnrollmentUCSC will not grow beyond 17,500 undergraduates, and 19,500 students total. Phase-in targets limit the pace of the growth as well. HousingUCSC must provide housing for 67 percent of its student body in excess of 15,000. (Previous agreements capped at 50 percent.) If this housing requirement is not met within a 2 percent margin of error, enrollment is frozen. UCSC may only use 225 off campus beds for the purpose of meeting the above requirement, and must pay $199 per bed to the city with 2 percent annual increases. The city and CLUE will not oppose housing development west of Porter College. The city will adopt rental regulations within two years, or UCSC's housing limitations are void. ExpansionUCSC will apply to LAFCO for water and sewer services in the north campus area, and the city will not oppose the application, though CLUE reserves the right to challenge during the process. If LAFCO does not approve the expansion, or imposes conditions UCSC doesn't like, or takes more than 18 months, or someone challenges the expansion in court, all parties are allowed to pursue further legal action regarding north campus construction. If LAFCO denies the application or the university is otherwise blocked from developing north campus, the housing restrictions above are void. WaterUCSC will pay the same water fees as everyone else, and treated the same as any other applicant in terms of allocation of new water supply. (A 1965 agreement gave the University of California free access to water supplies, regardless of jurisdiction.) If the city declares there is not enough water resource for new development, UCSC must halt development, just like everyone else, and halt enrollment increases. UCSC will implement water conservation measures within five years. TrafficThe number of average daily vehicle trips (ADT) to and from UCSC must not exceed 28,700, or 3,900 more than there are now. UCSC will pay $1.4 million to the city for the extra trips, in order to fund improvements to corridors and intersections leading to campus. UCSC will also pay $419,000 for new development at 2300 Delaware and Long Marine Lab. If the above number of ADT is exceeded, UCSC must take mitigation actions such as adjusting the number of students and workers on campus or implementation of alternative transportation. The university will also pay triple fines for every ADT above 28,700. If UCSC is prevented from developing north campus, or if legal actions prevent UCSC from meeting its housing requirement, or the bus system reduces its services to campus below 25 percent of all ADT, the total allowed ADT will increase to 30,000, and the penalties will not apply. Traffic counts will be conducted at the expense of UCSC every three years or 1,000 new students, whichever happens first. UCSC will pay for another $107,500 worth of widening efforts on Mission (in addition to the $216,500 it's already paid), all the costs of improving Heller & Empire Grade, all the costs of any new entrance to campus, 40 percent of the costs to repair Bay Street, and all the costs of improving entry to the Marine Science Campus at Delaware and Shaffer. UCSC and the city will each chip in $500,000 toward alternative transportation improvements, and both will also pay $50,000 to work with CLUE to find new methods of easing traffic congestion around campus and the Westside. General AgreementsThe next LRDP must identify alternate sites for campus growth. The current (2020) LRDP will go through without a lawsuit by any of the parties. UCSC will not develop a corporation yard on Empire Grade north of West Entrance. Measures I and J will be considered satisfied. UCSC will withdraw its legal fight against the city regarding 1965 water contracts. UCSC will not renew its lease at the University Inn when it's up in 2011, opening those hotel rooms to Transient Occupancy Tax. The biomedical facility will be built without challenge from any of the parties. Enforcement mechanisms will be determined for all these provisions by November 1. Reactions from all parties and a deeper explanation of how the city was able to win concessions from the university will be explored in an article for the August 14 edition of Good Times. Stay tuned...
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