Notice of Preparation and Scoping

On December 1, 2021, UC Davis released the Notice of Preparation (NOP) to solicit comments on the scope of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the UC Davis Folsom Center for Health Master Plan Project. A copy of the full NOP can be found here: NOP link. The NOP comment period was from December 1, 2021 to January 5, 2022.

Project Overview: The UC Davis Folsom Center for Health Master Plan Project proposes to develop 400,000 square feet of building space for wellness and healthcare services, which will be built out in multiple phases. The proposed project is located in the city of Folsom, located south of Highway 50 adjacent to East Bidwell Road. The Project is anticipated to include a 110,000 square foot (sf) medical office building, a 114,000 sf ambulatory surgery center with, an 80,000 sf hotel with approximately 100 rooms, an 86,000 sf micro-hospital with an emergency department with up to 30 beds, a central utility plant, and approximately 1,350 parking stalls. The UC Davis Folsom Center for Health Master Plan EIR will be a Program EIR that will evaluate the master plan for the site and can be used at a program-level in the environmental review of subsequent phases and development projects. The project to be evaluated in this Program EIR is the master plan for the site, which is anticipated to include the construction of a medical health center on this property and Phase 1 Development of master plan implementation.

Environmental Review and Comment Period: The University of California will be the lead agency under CEQA (PRC Section 21000 et seq.) and will prepare an EIR for the Folsom Center for Health Master Plan Project as required by PRC Sections 21080.09 and 21116. UC Davis has determined that an EIR will be required for the Folsom Center for Health Master Plan Project and when the decision to prepare an EIR has already been made, CEQA states that an initial study is not required. As such, an initial study has not been prepared. The NOP has been prepared pursuant to Sections 15082 and 15083 of the CEQA Guidelines.

UC Davis requested input regarding the scope and content for the draft EIR that is relevant to your agency’s statutory/regulatory responsibilities or is of interest to individuals to ascertain potential environmental impacts of the project. The NOP comment period began on December 1, 2021 and ended on January 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm.

Comment Opportunities: Formal comments regarding the NOP were submitted in writing via mail or email during the NOP comment period. Written comments regarding the scope and content of information in the NOP and the scope and content of the draft EIR were submitted no later than January 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm. Comments (along with appropriate contact information) were submitted to:

Matt Dulcich, AICP
Director of Environmental Planning
Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship
University of California, One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
environreview@ucdavis.edu

Virtual Open House Scoping Session: UC Davis conducted a virtual open house scoping session during the NOP comment period on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm via Zoom Webinar. The objective of the session was to brief interested parties on the scope of the Folsom Center for Health Master Plan Project and obtain the views of agency representatives and the public on the scope and content of the Draft EIR and potentially significant environmental impacts related to the project.

Presentation slides from the Scoping Session can viewed here: Scoping Meeting Slides