The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) will hold a public hearing today, Jan. 22, in an effort to hear from citizens regarding the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the university’s North Campus Housing Project Phase 2. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the University Center, Administrative Complex, Building 111A. “[The university] is answering a demand for additional housing. Instead of living in surrounding areas, we’re having students living on campus,” said Pat Jacoby, UCSD director of outreach communications, in a previous interview. “We’re trying to fill the demand for affordable housing on campus.” The university proposed building the North Campus Housing Project on top of an existing parking lot. The project would consist of low- and high-rise 13-story buildings at North Point Drive and Scholars Drive North that will hold 750 beds. University officials will discuss an EIR examining issues related to the project, mainly stemming from its proximity to the Torrey Pines Gliderport, according to planning documents. The university added this project to its North Campus Housing – Phase 1, which is under construction, calling this proposal Phase 2. The 240,000-gross-square-foot (GSF) 750-bed North Campus Housing – Phase 2 project will sit on a 3.5-acre site, currently surface parking lot P357. Building the housing would remove 430 parking spaces, but “parking for residents would be available in nearby existing campus surface lots and parking structures,” planning documents stated. UCSD officials previously addressed some issues from a 2004 EIR, such as aesthetics, cultural resources, hazards, water quality and recreation. According to documents, UCSD officials proposed to build the project just east of the Torrey Pines Gliderport, creating issues relating to Hazards, Recreation and Cultural Resources. The public can address these issues during the Jan. 22. meeting, or view environmental documents online at http://www.physicalplanning.ucsd.edu/pub_notice.html. For more information call associate planner Alison Buckley, (858) 534-4464. The project’s Draft EIR can be viewed online at http://physicalplanning.ucsd.edu/pub_notice.html or at area libraries; call (858) 534-6515.