One Water Living Learning Laboratory
9 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2019011042
Public Agency
California State University, San Diego
(SDSU)
Document Title
One Water Living Learning Laboratory
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
3/7/2025
Document Description
The One Water Living Learning Laboratory (OWLLL) project will install a 480 square-foot modular building to be used for water research purposes. The project site totals approximately 6,000 square feet and includes outdoor space for hands-on demonstrations and education, to benefit SDSU students, faculty, K-12 students, and the general public. The project will be located at the west end of the SDSU Mission Valley River Park. Specifically, the modular lab will be installed on a raised area near an existing bioretention basin and an MTS Trolley viaduct. The project will be installed outside of the MTS Trolley easement. Due to proximity to the adjacent bioretention basin and existing sanitary sewer infrastructure, the lab’s location is optimal for water reuse research opportunities. Utilities will be extended from the existing infrastructure. No grading or disturbance of the bioretention basin will occur.
The OWLLL will contain spaces for staging field research in the San Diego River and its tributaries, a laboratory for preparing samples and training students in basic water quality analyses, and a real-world testbed for SDSU’s new water technologies. OWLLL will provide access points for stormwater sampling and wastewater sampling (with return of wastewater back to the sanitary sewer after sampling or treatment) and an outdoor area for hydrology demonstrations and training activities. The OWLLL would be operational and accessible at hours reasonably determined by the OWLLL’s operators and researchers.
Project implementation also involves an amendment to an existing agreement between the Board of Trustees of the California State University and the City of San Diego known as the “Agreement Regarding Maintenance and Management of the River Park and Storm Water Best Management Practice Structures”, recorded in the Official Records of the San Diego County Recorder’s Office on August 13, 2020, as Document No. 2020-0454907 (2020 Maintenance Agreement). The Board of Trustees on behalf of SDSU seeks to amend the 2020 Maintenance Agreement to provide for operation of the OWLLL as an allowed use under a limited-duration (10-year) easement, with options for three separate 10-year extensions of the term. The CSU will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the OWLLL, and, upon termination of the easement, for restoration of the OWLLL site to substantially the same condition as existed on the effective date of the amended 2020 Maintenance Agreement. The 2020 Maintenance Agreement would otherwise remain in in full force and effect.
The amendment will be recorded on title, once fully executed, and the site plan and conceptual floor plan for the OWLLL are on file with SDSU.
Contact Information
Name
Kara Peterson
Agency Name
San Diego State University
Job Title
Director of Facilities Planning
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
San Diego
Counties
San Diego
Regions
Statewide
Cross Streets
River Park Rd
Zip
92108
Schools
San Diego State University
Other Location Info
San Diego State University, Mission Valley, West of
2025 River Park Rd., San Diego, CA 92108
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Section 15303, Class 3: New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures
Reasons for Exemption
Consistent with the qualifying criteria for the Class 3 categorical exemption, the project consists of the construction and operation of a small modular structure of less than 2,500 square feet that will not involve the use of significant amounts of hazardous substances; all necessary public services and facilities are available in the project vicinity; and the surrounding area is not environmentally sensitive.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Section 15304, Class 4: Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
Consistent with the qualifying criteria for the Class 4 categorical exemption, the project would result in minor alterations to the land, as the site of the facility
has been previously graded and a sewer connection vault with plumbing and conduit from the vault already exists in the area. There will be no additional grading, and minimal trenching is required for utility connections. Furthermore, no removal of trees or established vegetation is necessary for this project. In addition, the project does not trigger any of the exceptions (a) through (f) to the use of categorical exemptions cited in Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines.
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Section 15061(b)(3) Common Sense Exemption
Reasons for Exemption
In the alternative, moreover, and for the reasons stated above, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant effect on the environment, and therefore the project also qualifies for the “common sense” exemption to CEQA provided in Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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