County Pushes Otay Ranch as UC Site

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has endorsed a bid to attract a new University of California campus to a site on the Otay Ranch development east of Chula Vista.

The parcel is a tract off Wueste Road, overlooking Otay Lakes and next to the new Olympic training center being developed in the unincorporated area. The Baldwin Co. has offered 400 acres free to establish a university campus, Chula Vista Mayor Tim Nader said.

The UC system is looking to build three new campuses within the next decade to cope with an expected enrollment boom. One of the campuses is expected to be in Southern California and UC officials have expressed interest in the parcel as a site, Nader said.

In a report to the board, county staff noted that development of the campus might impinge on steep slopes, sensitive vegetation and bird habitats in the area. But the supervisors made their endorsement of the site conditional on “appropriate environmental review.”