Town-Gown Showdown

21 January 2007 - 7:00am

The City of Santa Cruz and its University of California campus are struggling to come to terms with the university’s ambitious plans for growth and its impact on the city.

"Located in this northern California seaside city, UC-Santa Cruz has long attracted students who enjoy its laid-back environs and natural beauty. Yet, the university’s vision in the next decade and a half to grow enrollment by 30 percent, add 1,500 faculty and staff members, and launch several new professional programs and research centers has many residents up in arms. As a state institution, UC-Santa Cruz is exempt from local land use laws and local taxes, which many say generates excess costs in infrastructure and lost property taxes that taxpayers must bear. To sort out the disputes, citizen groups, the city, and the county have filed lawsuits to halt the university’s expansion until it addresses the anticipated problems."

Source: The New York Times, January 19, 2007
Bookmark and Share
While previous street standards emphasized uniformity, the new street design manuals emphasize flexibility and choice for design professionals to arrive at solutions that reflect the needs of each place, and satisfy broad goals that call for "livability," "improved connectivity," and "enhanced environmental quality."