Long Marine Lab planning, 07-23-01

UCSC Currents online

July 23, 2001

Community meeting July 30 to discuss plans for Long Marine Laboratory

By Jim Burns

The University of California, Santa Cruz, will hold a public workshop on Monday, July 30, to discuss progress toward developing a Coastal Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for Long Marine Laboratory. The meeting will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the La Feliz Room of the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory (100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz).

Anyone interested in this topic is urged to attend the workshop and provide input, share information, or ask questions.

At the workshop, UCSC staff and project consultants are planning to continue a discussion of the wetland areas of the site, describe a revised site plan, and review the project schedule.

A UCSC planning committee, which includes representatives of the city of Santa Cruz and staff from the California Coastal Commission, has been working since fall 1999 to develop plans for the Long Marine Lab site, including the 55 acres acquired by UCSC in spring 1999.

In December of that year, the committee adopted a set of planning principles for developing the site as a marine research and education center that were presented to the public at an open house. They were published in a document entitled Planning Principles: Marine Research and Education Center.

The university has hired a consulting team--EHDD Architecture, a San Francisco firm that developed the original Long Marine Lab Master Plan over 20 years ago and also designed the Monterey Bay Aquarium; and BMS Planning Consultants, also from San Francisco--to prepare the Coastal LRDP for the site. In spring 2000, the consultants and the planning committee met with interested parties in a series of focus-group workshops. Environmental groups, agricultural interests, and the Terrace Point Action Network were among the participants in the focus groups.

At the second public meeting, held in June 2000, the consultants and the planning committee presented the input they had received from the focus groups. In addition, consultants unveiled six different schematics, showing how the site might be developed as a marine research and education center.

At the third public meeting, held last October, three site concepts were presented and discussed.

This past December, meanwhile, the expansion of Long Marine Lab was discussed at a meeting of the Coastal Commission in San Francisco. Commissioners at that meeting asked UCSC staff and consultants to re-examine the boundaries of a seasonal pond and the drainage areas that make up the wetlands on the site.

At the upcoming workshop, the results of that wetlands review will be discussed. The consultants will also present a revised site plan, reflecting past discussions about incorporating research and educational facilities on the site, preserving open space on the site, and providing housing that would support the needs of the marine programs there.

Following the July 30 community workshop, it is expected that the consultants will complete a schematic for the site. The schematic will serve as the basis for the Coastal Long Range Development Plan--and accompanying Environmental Impact Report--that the university will prepare for consideration by the UC Regents and the California Coastal Commission, probably sometime next year.

For maps of the site and additional information, go to the planning website.

Return to Front Page


	July 23, 2001 Community meeting July 30 to discuss plans for Long Marine Laboratory By Jim Burns The University of California, Santa Cruz, will hold a public workshop on Monday, July 30, to discuss progress toward developing a Coastal Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for Long Marine Laboratory. The meeting will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the La Feliz Room of the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory (100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz). Anyone interested in this topic is urged to attend the workshop and provide input, share information, or ask questions. At the workshop, UCSC staff and project consultants are planning to continue a discussion of the wetland areas of the site, describe a revised site plan, and review the project schedule. A UCSC planning committee, which includes representatives of the city of Santa Cruz and staff from the California Coastal Commission, has been working since fall 1999 to develop plans for the Long Marine Lab site, including the 55 acres acquired by UCSC in spring 1999. In December of that year, the committee adopted a set of planning principles for developing the site as a marine research and education center that were presented to the public at an open house. They were published in a document entitled Planning Principles: Marine Research and Education Center. The university has hired a consulting team--EHDD Architecture, a San Francisco firm that developed the original Long Marine Lab Master Plan over 20 years ago and also designed the Monterey Bay Aquarium; and BMS Planning Consultants, also from San Francisco--to prepare the Coastal LRDP for the site. In spring 2000, the consultants and the planning committee met with interested parties in a series of focus-group workshops. Environmental groups, agricultural interests, and the Terrace Point Action Network were among the participants in the focus groups. At the second public meeting, held in June 2000, the consultants and the planning committee presented the input they had received from the focus groups. In addition, consultants unveiled six different schematics, showing how the site might be developed as a marine research and education center. At the third public meeting, held last October, three site concepts were presented and discussed. This past December, meanwhile, the expansion of Long Marine Lab was discussed at a meeting of the Coastal Commission in San Francisco. Commissioners at that meeting asked UCSC staff and consultants to re-examine the boundaries of a seasonal pond and the drainage areas that make up the wetlands on the site. At the upcoming workshop, the results of that wetlands review will be discussed. The consultants will also present a revised site plan, reflecting past discussions about incorporating research and educational facilities on the site, preserving open space on the site, and providing housing that would support the needs of the marine programs there. Following the July 30 community workshop, it is expected that the consultants will complete a schematic for the site. The schematic will serve as the basis for the Coastal Long Range Development Plan--and accompanying Environmental Impact Report--that the university will prepare for consideration by the UC Regents and the California Coastal Commission, probably sometime next year. For maps of the site and additional information, go to the planning website. Return to Front Page