Coastal Commission Tours Soka Campus

The California Coastal Commission ended its first of four days of meetings this week with a tour of Soka University of America, whose application for expansion is to be heard at the commission’s meeting today.

A dozen commissioners were driven up to Claretville Hill Summit, where university representatives gave them an overview of where the proposed buildings would be and a look at the mountains surrounding the campus.

Because the university is within the area under the commission’s jurisdiction, it needs the body’s approval to implement changes.

The expansion plan, as approved by Los Angeles County, would increase the student population from 350 to 650 students, and over five years, grow to 440,000 square feet of building space, up from 81,300.

There also would be a total of 856 off-street parking spaces, 44 of which would be open to the public.

In exchange for county approval of its project, Soka officials agreed to dedicate 382 of its 588 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains for public uses.

The tour was the first opportunity for some of the commissioners to see the site, officials said.

“It’s always much better to get commissioners on the ground to look at sites they’re going to be dealing with, instead of looking at a cold staff report,” said Peter Douglas, executive director of the Coastal Commission. “It gives them an idea of the spectacular nature of the setting.”

Opponents of the plan, who also toured the site, said they were concerned that the expansion would require an amendment to the Coastal Commission’s plan for the area.

Granting that amendment, they said, would set a dangerous precedent and encourage other developers to attempt major changes as well.

The commission will hear the issue at its meeting at 9 this morning at the Radisson Hotel, 30100 Agoura Road.