UCSC Plans Would Bury City 
A 12/4/05 Sentinel Op Ed piece by CLUE's Don Stevens

UCSC has ambitious plans for campus growth that would be by far the largest development project in local history and is simply beyond the carrying capacity of Santa Cruz. These plans call for nearly doubling the square footage of campus buildings (imagine adding a ‘second’ university) and increasing student enrollment by nearly 50%, from 14,500 to 21,000.

In 1988, citizens of the city and the county of Santa Cruz agreed by referendum that a rational, controlled growth policy was best for Santa Cruz's citizens. City Measure C, approved by a 76% majority, stated: "It shall be the policy of the City of Santa Cruz to insist that the University of California limit and phase its rate of growth so that all significant adverse impacts on the community, particularly in the areas of housing and traffic, are fully mitigated."

UC growth since 1988 has had serious negative effects on our community including a huge increase in traffic. UCSC stated a goal of housing 70% of students on campus, yet only 40% of students now live on campus while campus dormitory space remains empty because it is simply too expensive. Stormwater mitigations identified in 1988 went unfunded so now their own study says: "The UCSC campus is currently at a turning point. The ecological integrity of campus watersheds will be irrevocably altered if such (erosion) rates continue.”

If implemented, UCSC's proposed plans will dramatically worsen the quality of life for Santa Cruzans. Unbearable traffic with an estimated 10,500 additional daily vehicle trips are predicted for Westside streets leading to gridlock and spillover effects County wide. An additional 4,000 students will be seeking to live off-campus. Most of the remaining water supply will be used up, precluding other growth and leading in a few short years to a probable ban on new water hook-ups.

Overall, any hope that Santa Cruz can productively expand its economic base and improve its fiscal health will be choked off. UCSC, exempt from city property and business taxes, has already greatly reduced revenues generated for the City by acquiring the former Texas Instruments properties, the Laureate Court condos at Bay and High, 50 acres near Long Marine Lab, and other downtown properties. Other UC acquisitions will no doubt follow.

Environmental degradation of campus land, most distressingly the elimination of trail networks for mountain bikers, runners, hikers, and equestrians on the pristine northern campus now linking Pogonip, Gray Whale and Wilder Ranch State parks, would rob us of one of our most treasured natural resources.

Will this development at least help improve education at UCSC? History suggests not. The rapid, unplanned growth of recent years has served the campus poorly. Classes grow ever larger, with fewer teaching assistants and discussion sections. Meanwhile tuition increases annually. Most astonishingly, there is currently NO campus-wide master plan in place that links academic and budgetary priorities.