The talk was of process and priorities at last week’s kick-off meeting of the chancellor’s Long-Range Development Plan Advisory Committee.

The 20-member group, meeting before an audience of about 50, learned more about the 21/2-year process that will produce a new framework for guiding the campus’s physical development until 2015, and offered their thoughts on top-priority planning issues.

"What we’re doing here is helping build community," said John Meyer, vice chancellor for resource management and planning. "Much of our work is planning about people and relationships, and a sense of belonging. We want to design a campus that illustrates our role as stewards of the environment. We also want to strive for a plan that makes our campus community and all our neighboring communities better off for our efforts."

The new LRDP will accommodate an additional 5,000 to 6,000 students–Davis’ "fair share" of the additional 60,000 students expected to enroll in the University of California between now and 2010-11.

Several committee members representing neighboring communities expressed interest in helping to provide affordable housing for new faculty and staff, and research park opportunities for university-business collaborations. Preservation of open space, ex-

panded bike pathways and mitigation of expanded use of city and county services were also among priority issues raised.

"There are so many opportunities for partnering," said Mary McCarthy, president of the Solano Economic Development Corp. "We look to the university for leadership, to help define how the community will look and operate in the next 20 years."

Yolo County Board of Supervisors Chair Lois Wolk suggested sharing facilities such as the airport, landfill and industrial research parks. She also advocated that "a significant portion" of new housing "be absorbed in Yolo County."

The impact of new housing on the schools–and on child care–needs to be "very carefully considered," said Davis school board president Joan Sallee.

Davis Mayor Ken Wagstaff advised looking to California State University and the community colleges for "instructive" growth approaches, such as the creation of "specialty centers and adjunct institutes." He said the LRDP process "should take into account the community vision of surrounding jurisdictions."

Cal Aggie Alumni Association President Francisco Rodriguez advocated retaining the campus’s "sense of place" and "some level of architectural consistency."

Academic Senate Chair Jeff Gibeling suggested that the campus "think more carefully about integrating teaching and research physically" and preserve open space in the center of campus for faculty/student interaction and for recreation.

"The more compact or more condensed the growth, the better," said undergraduate student body president Matt Huerta, advocating affordability and accessibility in housing and transportation.

Planning for growth in a way that makes UC Davis once again the region’s "employer of choice" should be a high priority, said Carol Miller, past chair of the UC Davis Staff Assembly.

The LRDP planning timeline calls for discussion of growth options from now till March 2001, consideration of land-planning alternatives for the next year, and then a yearlong environmental assessment of the preferred alternative. The new plan is scheduled to go to the UC Board of Regents for approval in spring 2003.

The public is invited to the quarterly meetings of the advisory committee. Dateline will carry word of the meetings when dates have been set. More information can also be found at http://growthplanning.ucdavis.edu.