N. County Campus Gets Board’s OK : Trustees Vote to Purchase Land for SDSU Branch but Delay Choosing Site

California State University trustees on Wednesday agreed to go forward with plans for a San Diego State University campus in North County but put off a decision on precisely where the school should be built.

Ending months of speculation, the board unanimously approved a resolution pledging its intention to purchase land for the branch, which officials say is needed to alleviate overcrowding on the main San Diego campus and accommodate the explosive population growth forecast for North County into the next century.

“I am absolutely delighted that we have officially stated as the full board of trustees that we are 100% behind a North County campus,” Tom Stickel, a trustee from San Diego, said after the meeting. “It’s a big step for the board and a big step politically. Now we can come out of the closet and begin pushing for this in Sacramento.”

Before the campus becomes a reality, the proposal still must receive the backing of the California Post-Secondary Education Commission and the state Legislature. Sen. William Craven (R-Oceanside), who has fought to build an SDSU branch in North County since 1968, said he is prepared to introduce legislation to fund the land purchase as soon as a site is selected.

Craven conceded, however, that it may be too late to push a bill through in the current legislative session, which ends Aug. 29.

“I’d like to be the supreme optimist, but the timing isn’t so good and I predict we’ll probably be moving on this during the next fiscal period,” Craven said in a telephone interview from Sacramento. “But so be it. I’m just pleased to see the board take the first overt step that shores up the contentions we’ve been making about the growth and demand in North County.”

While giving the campus the green light, trustees declined to take a position on where it should be--a question that has prompted a fierce tug-of-war between North County cities eager to host the school.

Four locations--two in Carlsbad and two in San Marcos--have been under consideration by a San Diego consulting firm preparing a site selection study for SDSU.

Last week, sources told The Times that a San Marcos site formerly known as the Prohoroff Poultry Farms had the edge. The sources said that site has an optimum location, is flat and easy to develop, and has ample acreage for future expansion.

The other leading contender, a Carlsbad parcel known as the Bressi Ranch, has aroused concerns because of its topography and proximity to Palomar Airport. Land is also more costly near the coast, although the parcel’s owner has indicated that a partial donation may be in the offing.

On Wednesday, trustees said they delayed selection of a site because of lingering technical questions about the properties. Board members declined to elaborate, although Stickel said the concerns “relate to cost, size, topography, access and transportation.”

In addition, the university will investigate safety and noise concerns and possible development restrictions relating to the Carlsbad site’s proximity to the airport, according to Roland Arnall, chairman of the board’s ad hoc committee on off-campus facilities.

“The bottom line is, we need more information before we can choose,” Arnall said. “We don’t want to make a hasty decision.”

Officials said they hope to announce the selection of a site at the trustees’ July 7 meeting and begin negotiations with its owner immediately thereafter. Several trustees said that only the Bressi Ranch and Prohoroff Farms sites remain in the running.

Despite their endorsement of a land purchase for the new SDSU facility, the trustees appeared to have differing views on just what type of campus will actually be built.

While San Diego’s representatives on the board are convinced that growth in the county’s northern reaches merits construction of a four-year, full-service campus on a speedy schedule, other trustees question population predictions for North County and projected enrollments for the new campus. One study forecasts a potential enrollment of 21,000 by the year 2010.

“I’m still skeptical of those numbers,” said Trustee George Marcus, noting that existing state branches at Bakersfield and Stanislaus are struggling because they have failed to meet enrollment targets. “But I do agree that a need for a permanent facility of some greater scope is needed now in that area.”

Arnall echoed his colleague’s reservations over enrollment predictions, but noted that it makes good business sense for the university to purchase adequate land now and be prepared to build a campus of whatever scale is necessary down the road.

“It would be foolish not to proceed relatively expeditiously due to the quick disappearance and rising costs of land in northern San Diego County,” Arnall said. “I’m not convinced a full-grown campus is needed, but we must keep that option open.”

The fight to build a North County SDSU branch began in 1968, when Craven pushed unsuccessfully for legislation creating a new campus. Ten years later, he helped secure a small state grant that enabled the existing North County center--situated in rented space in a San Marcos industrial park--to open.

Enrollment at that center has bounded upward. And officials on the main San Diego State campus note that theirs is the most overcrowded branch in the 19-branch university system.