Sierra Club sues Placer County
Stephanie Takach
Issue date: 1/16/09 Section: News
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"Drexel is proposing to locate a campus in an area that is very sensitive and we just think the University should be responsible in choosing a location," Terry Davis of the Mother Lode chapter of the Sierra Club said.
Scott Finley, supervising deputy county counsel for Placer County said the county feels they conducted a very complete examination of the project and are disappointed that it was taken this far.
"The county believes that this project was subjected to a very complete and thorough public view that involved a multi volume environmental report," Scott Finley, supervising deputy county counsel, said.
However, Davis said the project is really designed as an urban island or urban peninsula, and that it would cut through the western part of the county, which is currently all agriculture.
Davis said California is a leading state in trying to limit greenhouse gas emissions, trying to get to 1990 levels by 2020. The state passed a bill that seeks to direct new growth to existing cities, within existing cities or immediately adjacent to cities.
"The idea behind it is to limit vehicle trips and mileage that automobiles and trucks have to travel and how far people have to travel to get to jobs and shopping," Davis said. "The proposed Drexel location and all the urban development is really the wrong pattern of growth to achieve the decrease of greenhouse gasses."
He said there are farmland issues, vernal pool issues and that these are also some vanishing grass lands that are home to a lot of species of hawks.
"The Regional University Plan that was approved was thoroughly reviewed by the county and was specifically designed to be consistent with the Sacramento area's regional blueprint plan for smart growth, which is supported by environmental groups and local governments," Tobey Oxholm, inaugural dean, chief executive officer and executive vice president of Drexel, said.
Oxholm said the University is confident that the litigation will be resolved so as not to adversely impact Drexel's consideration of the proposal to become the region's first nationally ranked private undergraduate university.
According to Davis, another issue is that the land is not attached to any city. The nearest city, Roseville, has a planning area that is a line on the map, but there is no other development there. A 3,232 unit subdivision and 22 acres of shopping centers is much more than just a campus, Davis said.
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