Photo courtesy of Irene O’Connell.

Often great art comes from outrage — at least it does for Irene O’Connell, a fourth-year art and Latin American and Latino studies major at Cowell college.

O’Connell was a main organizer for a project to repaint the Upper Campus water tanks along with Brandon Hayward, a creative writing and poetry major at Kresge, and other UCSC students. The repainted tanks show a series of murals designed by O’Connell that criticize the university’s proposed Long Range Development Plan (LRDP).

According to the website, voteondesalsc.org, the plan would construct three million square feet of new buildings, including two new colleges, on 240 acres of what is currently a natural reserve for the campus.

O’Connell is particularly worried that the plan, which intends to accommodate up to 19,500 students by 2020, will jeopardize UCSC’s commitment to promoting sustainable development of several vital natural resources.

“When you think about bringing in all those students, you have to think about water and energy,” O’Connell said. “We’re in a water crisis.”

The repainting project was inspired by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) future hearing on Dec. 5, where a decision will most likely be reached on whether or not the city’s water services should be extended into UCSC’s Upper Campus for its proposed expansion under the LRDP.

O’Connell wanted to have the repainting completed before the LAFCO hearing on Dec. 5 to call attention to the future of Upper Campus because if the LAFCO approves this water service extension, construction will start.

Photo courtesy of Irene O’Connell.

“I had been thinking a lot about some of the incongruencies in official campus language and action, and I wanted to make sure people were at least talking about it,” O’Connell said.

After the LAFCO hearing on Dec. 5, the group of artists plans to modify the mural in order to include their opinions on the outcome of the decision.

The current mural art responds to several themes: “desalination, respect for nature, and the UC’s commitment to ‘sustainability,’” O’Connell said.

O’Connell sees her role in the repainting not just as an artist, but also as an activist who wants to spark new discussion and debate.

“I found this as an opportunity to realize visual art as a vehicle for raising awareness around an important issue that affects everyone,” O’Connell said.

In planning for almost 10 years, the construction would demolish a large section of the forest in Upper Campus. It would also call for increased water usage for the campus. The result of the development would be two new colleges and the addition of a few thousand more students and faculty.

The county of Santa Cruz and some local non-profits have filed a lawsuit against the campus, prompting LAFCO to act as a mediator between these conflicting parties. Their hearing will decide whether or not to extend the water and sewage services of the city into Upper Campus, which is not currently within city limits. If LAFCO approves this service extension, construction will go forward.

Gary Patton, an environmental lawyer who represents the Community Water Coalition — a local non-profit dedicated to water issues in the city — has cited a few reasons for the meeting’s postponement.

“I believe that a number of factors may have played a role,” Patton said. “Relevant new information is coming out from both the city and the NOAA Fisheries and the Department of Fish and Game. Plus, having a major decision-making meeting the day after Election Day might have made it hard for various members of the commission to be as rested, ready and prepared as they would have liked.”

Patton also said one of the commissioners, Roger Anderson, was traveling the day of the originally planned meeting and was unavailable. Patton said Anderson is a key member for both sides of the debate and that his input is invaluable.

The postponed meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 5 at the County Governmental Center. 

Illustration by Christine Hipp.

The Santa Cruz Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) ruled to delay a vote on UC Santa Cruz’s proposed Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) to their October session.

Held Wednesday morning, the four-hour forum covered topics ranging from water credits to the sustainability of the LRDP. Participants in the discussion included LAFCO commissioners, students, professors, Santa Cruz residents and UC administrators.

The LRDP is an initiative that would expand UCSC campus housing into the Upper Campus area above Colleges Nine and Ten. Plans to advance the LRDP were originally proposed at a December LAFCO meeting, while a vote on applicable water restrictions to the proposed plan occurred at the March 7 session.

Before entering the 9:30 a.m. meeting, about 100 opponents of the LRDP gathered to plan their speaking strategy. After Chancellor George Blumenthal, former mayor Ryan Coonerty and former commissioner of LAFCO Gary Patton opened the meeting, opponents discussed the Upper Campus archaeological sites of the federally unrecognized Ohlone tribe, the welfare of the endangered Ohlone tiger beetle and wild salmon and the sustainability of LRDP. A 2,751 name petition of students and faculty against the development plan was presented by UCSC anthropology profesor Anna Tsing to the commsioners.

Early in the meeting, Blumenthal offered a proposal to delay the LRDP vote of the day in exchange for looser restrictions on water usage. He detailed a policy of paying $10,000 for every 1 million gallons that UCSC runs over the 176 million gallons, in exchange for UCSC being allowed a provisional cap of 206 million gallons per year.

Micha Rahder, a UCSC anthropology graduate student, expressed concern over the proposal’s effect on the environment.

“This has more to do with the real estate interests of the UCSC administration than the educational policy side of the administration,” she said. “Despite being in a financial crisis, UCSC needs to figure out a way to raise more funds without endangering wildlife.”

LAFCO commissioner John Leopold proposed a subcommittee that would attempt to reconcile the issues raised by students and residents with the university’s plan. Leopold and Mayor Don Lane cited the threat of legal action from the UC to LAFCO as the reasoning behind the creation of the proposed subcommittee.

But former LAFCO commissioner and current legal representative of the California Wildlife Center Gary Patton felt Leopold’s proposal was too generous to the administration’s interests.

“I’m disappointed by the board’s decision to delay,” Patton said. “Leopold’s subcommittee needs to take into account third party evaluations of the project. The board needs to make a decision, and they need to decide now.”

Blumenthal said the commissioners made the right choice in delaying the LRDP vote.

“I’d rather see a delayed vote and see the board get it right then to vote quickly in haste,” Blumenthal said. “Delaying the vote was wise.”

LAFCO will reopen the LRDP plan at a public session in August, with voting held at their October meeting. To learn more about the Save Upper Campus movement, see their website at www.teachtheforest.wordpress.com