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SDSU starts environmental review of Mission Valley stadium site

An aerial photo of SDCCU Stadium shows the Mission Valley stadium site where the Chargers used to play.
(K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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San Diego State University has formally started the environmental review process for the 132-acre Mission Valley site it intends to purchase from the city and use for a satellite campus.

Friday, the university published its Notice of Preparation and Initial Study on its Mission Valley website. The two documents act to inform the public and solicit feedback as the university prepares a draft environmental impact report for the mixed-use project, as required by state law. The university also kicked off a month-long comment period that ends on Feb. 19. SDSU said it will host three public meetings during that time frame where community members and agencies can weigh in on its plans.

In the November election, SDSU won the right to negotiate to buy the SDCCU Stadium property in Mission Valley from the city of San Diego. The environmental review is a precursor to any land sale, which needs to be approved by the City Council.

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The initial study released Friday contemplates at a high level the impacts of the ambitious plan. That plan includes a 35,000-seat multipurpose stadium, 4,600 residential units, 1.6 million square feet for office and research uses, two hotels with 400 rooms, 95,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail, 84 acres of parks and open space (with a 34-acre river park), and 6,205 parking spaces.

The report was prepared by the university’s planning department and prepared for the Cal State University Board of Trustees, which is the lead agency on the project. It concludes that the Mission Valley project would have a “significant effect” on the environment, meaning an environmental impact report is required for the project to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. The determination was made by Laura Shinn, SDSU’s director of facilities planning.

The initial study also finds that 18 of the 19 environmental categories on the state’s checklist — such as air quality, natural habitats and traffic — need to be analyzed further in the draft environmental impact report. The one category exempt from additional study is agriculture and forestry resources, as the project area is not zoned for farmland, the report says.

“Our CEQA team already is working with a robust list of CEQA topics, including transportation, cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, biological resources, and others,” SDSU president Adela de la Torre wrote in an email sent out to interested parties. “However, we need your input to make sure we are considering appropriate areas of importance when it comes to protecting the environment.”

The public meetings are scheduled for Jan. 29 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center on the university’s campus, Jan. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Mission Valley Marriott, and Feb. 7 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mission Valley Marriott.

The university said previously it would move quickly with the environmental review in the hopes of breaking ground on a football stadium in 2020.

Meanwhile, the city is taking steps to sell the land with help from the private sector. In December, the city solicited bids for consultants who could help it understand the value of the land and assist with negotiations. Bids were due at the beginning at January.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin