City taking public comment on upcoming University District study : North County Times

204-acre development’s potential effects on the environment will be considered

By ANDREA MOSS – NC TIMES Staff Writer | Thursday, November 6, 2008

The public has less than a week to help the city determine which issues to explore in an environmental study on a proposed development near Cal State San Marcos.

Wednesday is the deadline for people to send the city written comments about environmental issues they would like the report to cover.

The University District development would add a mix of housing, small stores, restaurants, offices, a hotel and other amenities to 204 acres on both sides of Twin Oaks Valley Road between Highway 78 and the university. City officials have identified 15 aspects of the project’s potential effect on the environment that they want their study to cover. They include aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, noise, traffic, and land use. The project is part of a larger development called Heart of the City.

City officials have described University District as an opportunity to provide university students with a place where they can live, work, shop, dine and hang out. A city task force began working on a plan for the University District last spring. The tentative plan developed by the task force identifies space for each of the proposed uses within the development. The plan also includes roads and potential bridges that could connect University District to the university’s campus and to San Marcos Boulevard north of Highway 78.

Read more and see map via SAN MARCOS: City taking public comment on upcoming University District study : North County Times – Californian