New campus and community group forms

La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) will have a more active role in fielding information about UC San Diego projects, it was decided at the group’s May 5 meeting at La Jolla Rec Center.

A UCSD community-work group is forming, with representatives from a few of La Jolla’s advisory boards, which will regularly meet with university administration to discuss its 2018 Long-Range Development Plan. Further, to prevent misunderstandings on the specifics of planned projects, LJCPA requested better detailed presentations from university reps going forward.

The long-awaited community-work group, which LJCPA member Janie Emerson said has been “talked about for a while (by) a number of us,” will likely begin meeting in June. Details, including who would serve as local representatives, and when and where the group would meet, will be forthcoming.

UCSD Planner Anu Delouri explained that the group would include two representatives from community boards in La Jolla and two from University City to “better learn how we will be moving forward with the 2018 Long-Range Development Plan and what it will entail. It is our hope that with the new group, will engage with the community so we can understand your (concerns and) and priorities and work together,” she said.

The Long-Range Development Plan, which all University of California campuses are reportedly expected to have, will provide a blueprint for growth. The last one was drafted in 2004. A land-use document, the plan is comparable to the City of San Diego’s General Plan and will include an updated capacity analysis.

One project already in the preliminary stage addresses capacity and would expand the campus’ student housing offerings. It could be the first topic reviewed by the community-work group.

“Each (University of California) campus is expected to expand student housing over the next four years ... It is the result of state mandates and housing initiatives announced by the UC (system) president aimed at supporting current and future student enrollment across the UC system. To that end, the campus has initiated this project, which will redevelop housing on the UCSD east campus adjacent Regents Road and La Jolla Village Drive,” Delouri said. The new housing will accommodate approximately 800-1000 beds, with a shared parking structure that will provide approximately 1,200 spaces.

When it comes to proposed remodels or new construction on the west side of the campus, that may or may not be included in the Long-Range Development Plan, LJCPA requested more elaborate presentations to its Development Permit Review (DPR) and Permit Review Committee (PRC) sub-groups.

LJCPA trustee Dolores Donovan said, “I’m aware there is a huge difference between what gets presented to (community groups such as La Jolla Shores Association or LJCPA) and the kind of presentations that architects make to PRC, so what I’m seeking is the level of detail and transparency architects bring to the community review process.”

As a recent example, she said when the Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation and Modeling (MESOM) building was opened on the UCSD campus in 2013, there was “confusion” and “misunderstandings” in the community, due to misrepresentation of the building’s ultimate size. “To avoid that in the future, I’m proposing that an earlier and more detailed presentation be made to the LJCPA sub-committees with expertise in reviewing plans (DPR and PRC),” Donovan said.

A motion passed that “LJCPA requests knowledgeable design professionals from UCSD present all preliminary plans for proposed remodels or new construction to the DPR and PRC sub-committees of LJCPA, and the findings of those sub-committees be presented to LJCPA for review.”

Whether LJCPA reviews would lead to a vote would be decided on a case-by-case basis.

In other news from UCSD:

Jacobs Medical Center expected to open in late 2016: Brittany Bailey, representing UCSD Health, gave LJCPA an update on the Jacobs Medical Center under-construction and committed to doing so again in the future. She announced UCSD anticipates receiving patients at the Jacobs Medical Center in late 2016 and is set to host a community open house in late September 2016, with details to follow.

Bailey explained that the facility is a 10-story building, with the top three floors dedicated to the care of women and infants, the middle floors providing advanced cancer care, and the bottom levels offering advanced surgical care.

— LJCPA meets monthly, 6 p.m. first Thursdays at La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St. lajollacpa.org