Campus Will Conduct EIR, Hold Public Meeting on Proposed Hotel-Conference Center

After considering public comment on the Initial Study for a proposed conference center, hotel and administrative building at the University of California, Davis, the campus has decided to publish a Revised Initial Study and to prepare a focused Environmental Impact Report on the project. The EIR will address issues related to traffic and parking, noise, and the potential for physical impacts to downtown Davis. A public scoping meeting regarding the Conference Center and Hotel and University Relations Building project, will be held 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, at the University Club on campus. Copies of the Draft Revised Tiered Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration can be obtained from the reserve reading room of UC Davis' Shields Library, the Davis branch of the Yolo County Library and the Fairfield-Suisun Community Library in Fairfield. The public notice for the project is available on the World Wide Web at . Written comments on the Revised Initial Study may be submitted through Dec. 18 to the UC Davis Office of Resource Management and Planning. The proposed facilities include: * a five-acre conference center and hotel including 150 guest rooms, 13,200 square feet of conference and meeting space, one restaurant and pub, and 125 on-site parking spaces; * and, a building with 40,000 square feet of offices and meeting space for university relations offices including development, public communications, advancement services, and government and community relations. Plans call for the hotel and conference center to be located on the central campus south of the University Club and the environmental horticulture buildings and east of the Center for the Arts, now under construction. The university relations building would be on a one-acre site on the south side of the conference center and immediately adjacent to the complex. The conference center and hotel are expected to provide a venue for academic conferences and accommodations for visitors, alumni and the business community. The university relations building would consolidate the offices for several departments and provide easier access for faculty, campus groups and external constituencies.