Proposed Ocean Road Housing Project at UCSB Will Await Approval of Long-Range Development Plan

UC Santa Barbara officials have announced that a campus proposal to develop housing for faculty, staff, and graduate students along the Ocean Road corridor bordering Isla Vista will not be moving forward ahead of the campus's new Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). The housing project is included in the overarching long-range development plan, called "Vision 2025."

When UCSB released an initial study for the Ocean Road development last fall, the proposal included language that suggested the project could proceed even before the approval process for the new LRDP was completed. That would have required an amendment to the campus's existing 1990 long-range plan. Some advocacy groups and local government officials raised questions and concerns about that approach, which led campus administrators to drop it.

"In response to community concerns about the timing of the approval process for the Ocean Road project, UC Santa Barbara has committed to obtaining approval of its new LRDP before seeking approval of the Ocean Road housing project," said Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas, who co-chairs the committee responsible for the LRDP.

The environmental impact report for the Ocean Road project is to be released sometime in the spring, and it will not include any language about possibly amending the 1990 LRDP.

The draft versions of UCSB's new Long-Range Development Plan and its accompanying environmental impact report are being revised to incorporate modifications suggested during last year's public comment and review process. However, the campus currently has no set timetable for submitting the plan to the UC Regents.

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