UCD Directives

UC DAVIS:  PLANNING AND BUDGET OFFICE

September 15, 1999

DEANS, DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS, and CAMPUS ADMINISTRATIVE
OFFICERS

RE: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Western Human Nutrition
Research Center (WHNRC) Building, Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative
Declaration.

     The University is evaluating the potential environmental effects of the
proposed construction and operation of the 29,000 assignable square feet
USDA WHNRC building in the Health Sciences District at UC Davis.  The proposed
approximately 2.4-acre site is located just east of West Health Science
Drive, north of Parking Lot 53, and northwest of Tupper Hall.  The USDA would lease
the site from the University.  Existing land use on the site is undeveloped
open space.

     The WHNRC is an existing USDA research program that was most recently
located at the Presidio of San Francisco.  Approximately 40 of the 100
employees who were located at the Presidio are currently temporarily located
in five buildings on the UC Davis campus.  The remaining WHNRC employees would
relocate to UC Davis upon completion of the new WHNRC facility.  The
research mission of the WHNRC is to develop and test dietary interventions for
improving the health of all Americans.  The research program focuses on two prevalent
nutritional problems in the United States: 1) the effect of self-imposed
restricted intakes of food on nutrition and health; and 2) the impact of
protective factors in foods on cardiovascular and immunological function.
The USDA chose to relocate the WHNRC to UC Davis because the campus provides an
excellent opportunity to establish productive collaborations in the fields
of health and nutrition between UC Davis and WHNRC researchers.

     I am writing to inform you that a Draft Initial Study/Mitigated
Negative Declaration has been prepared for the proposed construction and operation of
the USDA WHNRC in the Health Sciences District and that you are invited to
comment on the Draft Initial Study during the 30-day public review period. 
Copies of the Tiered Initial Study, the proposed mitigated negative
declaration, and the 1994 UC Davis LRDP EIR are on file at Shields Library
on the UC Davis campus, the Yolo County Library, 315 East 14th St., Davis,
California, and the Fairfield-Suisun Community Library, 1150, Kentucky St.,
Fairfield, California.  A more detailed description of the project,
potential environmental impacts, and information on when and where to comment on the
Draft Initial Study are presented in the Public Notice, available on the
World Wide Web (WWW) at http://www.pbo.ucdavis.edu/env/envplan.  If you are unable
to access the WWW and wish to obtain a hard copy of the Public Notice, please
contact Laurie Hanson at (530) 752-9259.

     If you have any questions, please contact UC Davis Environmental
Planner Sid England at (530)752-2432.

Sincerely,

Richard F. Keller
Director-Physical, Environmental, and Capital Planning
Planning and Budget Office

99-097

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