Aztec Canyon, at the extreme west end of San Diego State\u2019s property, is seen by residents around it as an unspoiled jewel of open space and wildlife habitat in the middle of the daily hustle. The people who live in the 341-home College View Estates want it to remain just that.<\/p>\n
San Diego State sees it somewhat differently \u2014 in fact, a lot differently.<\/p>\n The university, desperate for places to build badly-needed new student housing for freshmen who must live on campus their first year, has plans to build a lot of that housing in this area, with plans that would destroy a sizable chunk of that canyon \u2014 some of which San Diego State owns.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have plans for a Phase 2 \u2014 an 11-story dorm tower right near our existing west campus tower, Chapultepec Hall,\u201d school communications director Gina Jacobs said. \u201cThere are also plans for additional structures there \u2014 what we call Phase 3.\u201d<\/p>\n Those plans, once College View Estates residents found out about them, caused voices to raise and blood to boil. They have visions of Remington Road, the only way in and out of their community, clogged with even more traffic than it already is. (Remington Road would be a problem \u2014 it\u2019s just barely a two-lane street as it is, and it desperately needs work.)<\/p>\n What could have ended up in confrontation and court has been cooled somewhat by a letter from Interim SDSU president Sally Roush to state Sen. Toni G. Atkins and City Councilmember Georgette Gomez.<\/p>\n \u201cSan Diego State has elected to go forward with only Phase 1 of our expansion plans for now. A structure of four to six stories will be built in what is now Parking Lot 9, right beside Chapultepec Hall,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n The planned dorm will cost about $130 million, and will house more than 800 students. In addition to residential square footage, there will also be 4,300 square feet of market area and a 3,850-square-foot community center.<\/p>\n Jacobs said it\u2019s true the Phase 1 structure will be right beside the canyon, but that \u201cright beside\u201d is as close as it\u2019ll get.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will not impinge on the canyon at all,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is enough room for us to build the structures and the needed access and fire roads without touching a pebble in the canyon.\u201d<\/p>\n That has solved the immediate problem, but what might have been a fairly warm relationship between town and gown has now been turned into a wary standoff between the two sides.<\/p>\n Dr. Robert Plice is one of the leaders of the College View Estates Association, and one of the chief spokesmen for the community. He understands how problems like this can divide the two. He\u2019s a retired SDSU professor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe community is largely supportive of more student housing on campus,\u201d he said. \u201cIf SDSU had originally proposed a project equivalent to the Phase 1-only version, there would have been concern and comment, but mostly positive support.\u201d<\/p>\n So for now, the resistance to the project is on a stand down \u2014 but that might change.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that we know SDSU has its sights set on developing the canyon, we are reluctant to state our position,\u201d Plice said. \u201cWe\u2019re keeping our options open.\u201d<\/p>\n If that sounds as though both sides have consulted lawyers, they have.<\/p>\n Assuming completion of the final Environmental Impact Report, and other related matters, the final decision on this project will likely come in September, when it goes before the trustees of the California State University system. Approval is expected.<\/p>\n The community will accept the Phase 1 construction. The community will also keep an eagle eye on the university, the canyon, and the development plans for the future.<\/p>\n The much larger plans for Phase 2 and Phase 3 are still on the books.<\/p>\n They haven\u2019t gone away \u2014 they\u2019ve only been postponed.<\/p>\n They will be back.<\/p>\n![\"College](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/web-MAIN-SDSU-housing-copy.jpg\")
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