Category Archives: UCR

City Of Our Dreams, Environment, Living Among Giants, Social Capital, UCR

Watkins Clean Up Love Riverside It Shows

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Thanks to the University neighbors, Friends of Riverside’s Hills and students who took walk on Watkins Drive, for Love Riverside’s serve day Saturday, Oct. 12th.

Along the way, they picked up 32 large bags of trash, 2-5 gal. cans of  toxic waste, 1 tire tread, assorted construction waste, and several green cans worth of invasive green waste and other nasty junk that makes us glad we have public works to take it the last mile- to the landfill.

Trash Pick up Results 1 Trash Pickup Results 2 Volunteers picking trash along Watkins Dr West Side Watkins Dr clean up curb pin with now dumping storm drain message

This is why the UNA is the neighborhood of our dreams. Thank you neighbors.

 

Arts, Culture, Entertainment, Living Among Giants, UCR

UCR Spring Splash

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UCR Spring Splash Concert crowd and stage

Hello everyone,

I would like to share that on Saturday, May 18th, the Associated Students Program Board is hosting UCR’s annual Spring Splash concert.  We wanted to notify you of potential amplified sound and access that may affect the inner areas of campus.

The event kicks off at 4:30pm and will last until 9:30pm. However, sound checks for the artists will begin at 9:00am until 3:00 pm. Please be advised that the center of campus will be fenced and access to the inner areas of campus will be impacted as a result.  Students, faculty, and staff will be asked to walk around the fenced areas beginning at 12pm until the event ends.  We will provide signage that ensures everyone is able to get to where they need to go. Included is a map outlining the alternative routes once the venue is closed at 12pm on May 18th.

You will start to see the set-up of staging on Wednesday, May 15th;  and set-up of fencing on Friday, May 17th.  Access to buildings will not be impacted before Saturday, May 18th. We appreciate your patience and support of activities for our students that assist them in making a deeper connection to UCR. If you would like more information about the event, please visit our website

Students must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at UCR (we verify) and pre-registration is required for the event for access. UCR undergraduate students must present a physical R’Card and entry wristband to enter the event. We will not offer student verification at the event; students must have a wristband and their R’Card to enter (no exceptions).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Jazmin Alvarez Barragan

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) | University of California, Riverside

111 Highlander Union Building Riverside CA, 92521

Office: (951) 827-3615 | jazmin.alvarezbarragan@ucr.edu

 

Open Government, Public Policy, Safety, Social Capital, Transportation, UCR

STEM HS EIR Public Meeting

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Woman's upper body holding a microphone attached to a lecternIf you live in the University neighborhood and you care about neighborhood quality of life, then Tuesday, April 16th’s meeting 5:30-8:00 pm, at the Courtyard Marriott 1510 University Ave. is where you need to show up and speak your mind for the record.

Rich Davis has been actively following the STEM project. He along with other neighbors have reviewed the EIR and have pointed out significant deficiencies, that if left unchallenged, or unvoiced by us, will be at our future peril. Here’s what you need to know:

We need your bodies Tuesday Evening. We’d love your voice for the record if you are so inclined. It is your right to speak. You may also write a letter. If you do, here are some thoughts to consider and where to send your comments. Thank you Rich.

The nearly 2,000 page Environmental Impact Report  (EIR) has been reviewed by several community members. The EIR failed to give an accurate reporting on its findings and is misleading as to the negative impact this project will have on our community. Here are some of the problems in the report:

PARKING

  • 153 parking spaces are allocated:

    • 60 are reserved for staff.

    • 6 for ADA-compliant spaces.

    • 25 for electric vehicle charging.

    • This means only 62 spaces will be available for student parking, for a school that claims to be able to enroll 1,200 students.

  • There is no available parking on Linden, Blaine, Canyon Crest, Rustin, or the surrounding neighborhoods to  accommodate the additional spaces for students to park.

  • The report falsely implies the majority of students will use buses (or ride bicycles, an even more ludicrous claim given that the student body is projected to be drawn evenly from across the entire RUSD), so additional student parking was not addressed in the report.

TRAFFIC

  • A traffic study was done on November 30, 2021 (a Tuesday) from noon-2pm. According to the study, an average of 760 vehicles traveled on Blaine and 332 cars on Canyon Crest in a one hour period in the middle of the day. As alarming as these numbers appear, this reporting was done during COVID lockdowns when students, including UCR students, were mostly doing online schooling and many people were still working from home. There appears to be no updated reporting since 2021 and no reference of potential traffic reduction due to COVID restrictions.

  • The data from the traffic study was collected between noon and 2:00pm, totally disregarding commuters from the surrounding neighborhoods using Blaine St. to reach or return from the freeway during the time school (and the workday) starts and ends.

  • The report mentions the construction of the new 1,600-student UCR dorm currently being built on the corner across from the proposed school site, but has no mention of the impact the dorm and school would have on traffic on Blaine/Canyon Crest.

  • The report lists the nearly 300-unit apartment complex being built next to Stater Bros. on Iowa, with housing for nearly 1,000 people within a half-mile of the school. However, the EIR fails to consider the impact this will have on the traffic at the corner of Iowa and Blaine.

  • It appears the entrance and exit into the school will be off of Canyon Crest for parent drop off/pick up, and parking just before lot 26. The proposal is to put a traffic light at this location. Canyon Crest is a one lane street going both directions with bike lanes and street parking. Anyone who has ever attempted to drop off or pick up a student knows that huge lines of cars queue up waiting to get to or from a school. The proposed school will be a commuter school, guaranteeing that this dropoff and pickup traffic will be even heavier, totally blocking Canyon Crest and impeding traffic on Blaine with an undoubtedly long line of cars and buses. This is not addressed in the report other than stating that students will take buses and other transportation like a bike.

  • The report states that 10 buses will drop off students at 8:00am, 10 buses will pick up part time students at 12:30pm, and 10 buses will pick up the remainder at 3:30pm. No mitigation is described for the  adverse air quality or impact to traffic of 30 bus trips to the school (in addition to the RTA buses running down Canyon Crest).

  • The nearly 250 high school students attending the current STEM Academy rarely use the buses provided, preferring parent pick up and drop off resulting in long lines on Watkins and traffic congestion on Mt. Vernon.

INTRAMURAL FIELDS

  • The report states the joint use agreement with UCR and the Riverside city government ends in 2027 with no discussion on the possibility of renewing this agreement. These fields are the only Park/Rec fields we have in our community that can accommodate a variety of uses, including lighting.

  • The report implies that the fields are rarely used by UCR students and the community, and therefore losing the fields will have no direct impact. It clearly states those wanting to play baseball, softball, or soccer can go to Highland Park, Islander Park, Patterson Park, and the Stratton Center. NONE of these facilities are equipped to accommodate these sports. The report even suggests that these intramural sport teams could simply pay to rent the facilities at North High, Highland Elementary, and/or University Heights Middle.

  • This intramural field is only one of two on the UCR campus for a student population approaching 30,000 and growing. The report doesn’t address the fact that 1,600 dorm students who will be living right across the street have the potential of increasing its usage.

COMMUNITY PUBLIC INPUT CONCERNS

  • The EIR must address comments made at public meetings and names are included in the EIR. Astonishingly, this EIR states that this project will have no substantial adverse impact on the community. Time and again the justification noted is found to be inaccurate, misleading and lacking critical information to render its conclusion.

It has been a couple of years since our community came together to strongly voice our objections to this project. We must continue to voice our objections by attending a special meeting:

Tuesday, April 16   5:30-8:00pm 

Courtyard Marriott  1510 University Ave.  

Those wanting to speak will be limited to 2-3 minutes. If you wish to be heard, it will be best to read a statement.

If unable to attend you can send a letter to Stephanie Tang1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507 or submit online at CEQA@ucr.edu.

City Of Our Dreams, Education, Public Policy, UCR

RUSD STEM Center Draft EIR Notice of Completion/Notice of Availability

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STEM Logo

Pursuant to the State of California Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 21091(a) and Sections 15085 and 15087 of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA Guidelines), the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has released for public review a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Center.

The Draft EIR is available for viewing at the UCR Planning, Design & Construction (PD&C) office located at 1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507; at the RUSD Planning, and Development Office located at 3070 Washington Street Riverside, CA 92504; at the Riverside Main Library located at 3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501; and available for downloading on the UCR PD&C Environmental Planning website: https://pdc.ucr.edu/environmental-planning-ceqa (Scroll down to Completed CEQA and NEPA Documents, RUSD STEM Education Center).

Project Overview:

The proposed project entails development of an approximately 80,000 gross-square-foot, three-story, approximately 50-foot-tall school facility that would contain classrooms, lecture facilities, a multi-use discovery center, a fabrication lab, food service, a fitness center, administrative offices, outdoor learning areas, landscape, hardscape, and associated site improvements.

The proposed project is expected to serve a capacity of approximately 800 students at any given time, approximately 1,200 students daily (400 full-time and 800 part-time), and approximately 60 faculty and staff. Upon completion of the proposed project, students in grades 9 through 12 that are currently enrolled at the existing STEM facility at the former Hyatt Elementary School site would be relocated to the proposed STEM Education Center while the existing Hyatt Elementary School would continue to serve grades 5 through 8.

The proposed project would also involve a variety of associated modifications to existing facilities and infrastructure to accommodate site development, including removal of the existing open recreational fields (two baseball diamonds, bleachers, lighting), decommissioning and relocation of the existing T-Mobile Cell Tower, relocation/replacement of on-site utilities, installation of an electrical feeder line upgrade (approximately 1,900 linear feet) located within the public rights-of-way of Canyon Crest Drive and Blaine Street, and installation of an approximately 175-foot-long extension of an existing sewer line in Canyon Crest Drive to the southeastern corner of the project site.

Environmental Effects:

Implementation of the proposed project would result in environmental impacts, on the following environmental resource areas: aesthetics, biological resources, cultural resources, geology/soils, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, transportation, tribal cultural resources, and wildfire.

The proposed project would also result in less than significant impacts, with no mitigation required, related to the following environmental issue areas: air quality, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, hydrology/water quality, land use/planning, population/housing, public services, recreation, and utilities/service systems.

The proposed project would also result in no impacts related to the following environmental issue areas: agriculture/forestry resources and mineral resources.

Hazardous Materials/Waste Disclosure:

There are no hazardous waste facilities or sites within the project site included on the lists of sites enumerated under Government Code Section 65962.5.

Document Availability & Review Period:

A copy of the Draft EIR is available for viewing at the addresses noted above, or for downloading on the UCR Planning, Design & Construction Environmental Planning website: https://pdc.ucr.edu/environmental-planning-ceqa; at the UCR Planning, Design & Construction Office located at 1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507; at the Riverside Unified School Facilities, Planning, and Development Office located at 3070 Washington Street Riverside, CA 92504; and at the Riverside Main Library located at 3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501.

The 45-day public review period for the Draft EIR begins on March 18, 2024, and ends on May 2, 2024. Comments must be received in writing no later than 5:00 PM on May 2, 2024. Your name should be included with your comments. Please send your written comments to the attention of Stephanie Tang at 1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507 with the subject line titled STEM Education Center. Comments can also be submitted via email to the following address: CEQA@ucr.edu. Comments must also be received no later than 5:00 PM on May 2, 2024.

Public Hearing to Provide Comments:

A public meeting will be held by the University during the public review period. The meeting will be held in person on April 16, 2024 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Courtyard by Marriott located at 1510 University Avenue Riverside, CA 92507.

The public hearing will also be available via live feed link: on the day and time of the public hearing noted above. Please note that public comments would not be available via the live feed and members of the public could provide comments either in person at the public hearing or via email to CEQA@ucr.edu or mailed to 1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507.

A recorded version of the public hearing meeting will be posted on the UCR Planning, Design & Construction Environmental Planning website under “Community Meetings”: https://pdc.ucr.edu/environmental-planning-ceqa and via the following link: after the public hearing date. If you have any questions regarding this Notice of Completion/Notice of Availability (NOC)/(NOA), please contact Stephanie Tang at 1223 University Avenue Suite 240 Riverside, CA 92507 or via email at CEQA@ucr.edu.

For questions about accessibility or to request an accommodation, please contact us at (951) 827-1484 or CEQA@ucr.edu. Requests should be made a week prior to the public hearing so that the university has sufficient time to arrange reasonable accommodations.

A copy of the NOC/NOA is also attached. Let me know if you have any trouble accessing the document or have any questions pertaining to the proposed project or Draft EIR document.

Warm Regards,

Denise Davis (she/her/hers)
Assistant Director of Advocacy and Institutional Relations

Office of Governmental & Community Relations

Denise.davis@ucr.edu

Parks, Public Policy, Transportation, UCR

Planning Commission To Re Zone Park For STEM High School

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The proposed STEM school site on Blaine and Canyon Crest, contains two parcels of property.
One belonging to UCR, the other to the city of Riverside.
This Thursday, Feb 16 at 9am at city hall, RUSD will be presenting to the city’s planning commission a proposal to change the zoning on the city owned property in order to build the school. After hearing the presentation, the commission will make its recommendation to the city council for a final vote.
Make an E Comment, Call in or Zoom it.
We need everyone to come to the meeting or contact the planning commission to let them know our concerns about these possible changes and the impact they will have on our community.
Because this is a zoning meeting, it has been highly recommended that we focus our opposition to the zone change on issues that we feel will impact our community.  Key factors to consider are:
  • This is not a neighborhood school where traditionally students walk to.  This is a commuter school bringing school buses and hundreds of cars into our area.
  • District’s proposal indicates 1,200 students and 60 staff members. The proposal does not address the need for a parking lot to accommodate this many people. There are no places for parents to line up when dropping off and picking up students on Blaine, Canyon Crest, Rustin and Linden.
  • The proposal is to have the flow of school traffic go from Blaine to Canyon Crest then right onto the narrow parking lot by the ball fields, then exiting onto Rustin.  Rustin is a very narrow two lane street already jammed with apt. cars parking on both sides of the street.  Traffic from the STEAM school on the corner of Rustin and Linden already is impacting Linden and Rustin.
  • There is no legal parking/waiting on either side of Blaine.
  • UCR will begin the 2nd phase of building a 1,600 student dorm from Blaine towards Linden across from the proposed STEM site. The parking lot for the dorm will be similar to the one near Watkins with egress and ingress onto Blaine. This will severely impact traffic flow around Blaine and Canyon Crest
  • With the 1,260 STEM population, along with 1,600 UCR dorm students, rezoning will result in nearly 3,000 people crammed into a very small block area.
  • Canyon Crest is a two lane road already jammed with RTA buses, commuter cars, cyclists and pedestrians.
  • Rezoning will eliminate the only developed Park and Rec facility in our community. We may lose our baseball/softball and soccer fields .  This field is used often by UCR intramural sports, community sport clubs and other community organizations needing a large field.
  •  Less than a 1/2 mile from the proposed school, plans are to tear down the old Kmart on 3rd and Iowa and construct a 1-3 bedroom complex adding hundreds of cars onto Blaine/3rd and Iowa.
  • Less than 1/2 mile from the proposed school site is the new warehouse on the corner of Watkins and Spruce, which will now bring commercial trucks into our neighborhood.
  • With the STEM traffic, UCR dorm(s) traffic, the new apt. complex at Kmart traffic, the warehouse on Spruce and Watkins trucks, the cross town commuters by passing the freeway, traffic jams already around the North High School, University Heights Middle and Highland Elementary school, rezoning this property is detrimental in increasing harmful carbon emissions from cars, buses and trucks into the air affecting especially those with health issues, our children and the elderly living in our neighborhoods.
  • We must first ask for a denial for this zone change or a least ask for a postponement on rezoning until an in-depth traffic and environmental study independent of the district is conducted.
  • We must demand that the district present a detailed plan to the commission and to the community addressing our concerns with traffic, parking and environmental issues before a decision is made to rezone, something the district has denied us for years.
We need you to contact the planning commission expressing your opposition to rezoning the city property. 
Email the commissioners at fandrade@riversideca.gov.  There is no individual email for each commissioner. Your email will be disseminated to each commissioner.
You are limited to 3 minutes if participating orally on Thursday, Feb 16 at 9am.
  1. Speak in person on Thursday, Feb16 at city hall.
  2. Calling in at (669) 900-6833 and enter Meeting ID: 926 9699 1265. Press star 9 (*9) to request to speak.  Individuals in the queue will be prompted to press star 6 (*6) to unmute and speak.
  3. By zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/92696991265  . Select the “raise hand” function to request to speak.  An on-screen message will prompt you to “unmute” and speak.
Follow along with the meeting via www.RiversideCA.gov/Meeting or Riverside TV
cable channels,
Please pass this along to family and neighbors.  Any additional comments to add to the list are welcomed.

 

 

UCR

UCR North District 2 Public Meeting

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UCR North District 2 Housing Conceptual Rendering

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) will be holding the first of two community project review meetings to discuss the proposed North District Phase 2 Project.

The community meeting will be held in person at the UCR Alumni Visitor Center from 6:00p.m. – 7:00p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

Two hours of free parking (5:30p.m. – 7:30p.m.) will be available to all attendees within the Bannockburn South Parking Lot (see attached PDF with meeting location and parking).  You will need to provide your license plate and email address at the following link prior to or day of the community meeting to avoid a parking violation: https://www.offstreet.io/location/SZXQHRCE

This will be an opportunity to learn more about the project, provide feedback/comments, and meet project team members.

The proposed North District Phase 2 would include approximately 1,600 student housing beds and ancillary amenity spaces in apartment-style units, within approximately 425,000 gross square feet of new construction.

The proposed project will also include parking and recreational fields. The project site is located on the northeastern corner of W. Linden Street and Canyon Crest Drive.

A copy of the meeting flyer which includes additional information and a project location map is provided on the following website under Community Meetings – https://pdc.ucr.edu/environmental-planning-ceqa)

For more information, or to submit questions or comments before or after the meeting, please contact:
Melissa Garrety, Planner
UCR Planning, Design & Construction
(951) 827-7376

planning@ucr.edu

Health, UCR

Upcoming Events At UCR

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Save the Dates
Make Some Noise Homecoming Sign Held by UCR Cheerleader

 

 

 

 

 

 

City Of Our Dreams, UCR

UCR Homecoming

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Make Some Noise Homecoming Sign Held by UCR CheerleaderThis weekend is UCR’s Homecoming!

Community members are welcome to participate in the many activities during the weekend. Of particular note, the Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) will host a Homecoming Bonfire event on Friday, November 19, 2021. Below are some important details of the event.

Event Logistics: 

Homecoming Bonfire 2021 will be held in Lot 19/INTN Field from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Estimated attendance is about 3,000. This event is open to the UCR community; food and promotional items are only for UCR undergraduates.

Performance Schedule:

6:00-6:30pm Start of Event (ASPB Playlist)

6:30-7:00pm Student DJ

7:00-7:30pm Student DJ

7:30-8:30pm Opening Act

8:30-9:00pm Homecoming Ceremony (in collaboration w/ Athletics)

  • Bonfire will be lit at 8:50pm with 5-minute firework show.

* The air quality and wind/weather conditions will determine if we can light the bonfire or set-off the fireworks. The Fire Marshall office will notify ASPB if they need to modify the event based on these conditions.

9:00-10:00pm Headlining Act

Attractions: 

Fiber Glass Slide

Large Chair Swings

Fortune Teller

Caricature Artist

Safety Measures: 

Each attendee that wishes to visit the fenced dance area or ride/participate in any of our attractions, must receive a wristband at any of our Waiver Stations throughout the venue. To receive a wristband, the UCR student or community member must show a Cleared Wellness Check and must be always wearing a mask in the designated areas regardless of vaccination status. The open nature of the event will allow for social distancing where permitted and clearance but PPE must be verified before entering more congested locations.

Riverside Fire Department will be on standby to assist UCR Fire Department with the Bonfire and the Fireworks show. Highlander emergency services will be on standby to assist with any minor first aid and will field any transports as deemed necessary.

City Of Our Dreams, Public Policy, UCR

Public Comments On UCR 2021 Long Range Development Plan

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We Are Just Getting Started SignThe closing date for public comments on UCR’s LRDP was Friday, Sept. 3rd, 2021.

Here are three of the public comment letters submitted.

One is from the City of Riverside, one is from lawyers hired on behalf of the UNA, and one letter from UNA Co Chair Gurumantra Khalsa.

The City really stepped up their game compared to previous planning projects.  It’s almost a text book case study for public comments.

Thanks go out to Kevin Dawson for alerting the City of Riverside to Berkeley being awarded $84 million over 14 years for mitigation.

Here are links for your review of the comments.:

City of Riverside Comments

Delano & Delano Comments

UNA Co Chair Comments

City Of Our Dreams, Open Government, UCR

This Week In The UNA

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Meet Your Neighborhs SignREMINDER:  Ward 2 Candidate Forum

CANDIDATE FORUM

Riverside City Council Election June 8, 2020

Sponsored by:  League of Women Voters Riverside

Conducted via Zoom and free of charge. Registration is required. See below and join us. Riverside City Council Ward 2 Wednesday, April 28th 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Virtual Event Candidates: Aram Ayra, Clarissa Cervantes, Tony Huerta, Joe Paredes, Austin Skipper, Anthony Tyson

________________________________

Citizens University Committee Meeting:

Riverside Mayor Patricia Locke Dawson

Matt Barth Dir. CE CERT and Mayor Patricia Locke Dawson

Wednesday, April 28th  7:20 am (Program at 7:30)

There Will Be No Charge to Participate in This Meeting

Join Zoom Meeting (Preferred):

https://ucr.zoom.us/j/93264741413?pwd=UzJSdXZqbUxBSE1NelB6cEdRaUJyZz09

Meeting ID: 932 6474 1413
Passcode: CUC

Join Zoom Meeting (Preferred):

https://ucr.zoom.us/j/93264741413?pwd=UzJSdXZqbUxBSE1NelB6cEdRaUJyZz09

Meeting ID: 932 6474 1413
Passcode: CUC