new hotel-conference center

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Questions Raised About Parking Reimbursement for Proposed UCLA Hotel/Conference Center

Byuclafaculty

The proposed UCLA hotel/conference center would involve demolition and removal of the parking spaces of parking structure #6 (shown at left).  UCLA policy is to reimburse the parking service for such demolitions.  In the UCLA case, however, the planned reimbursement seems over $10 million less than policy would require.  Parking expert Prof. Donald Shoup – author of the acclaimed book “The High Cost of Free Parking” – examined the planned reimbursement and has questioned the proposed reimbursement on behalf of the UCLA Faculty Welfare Committee, a committee of the campus Academic Senate. The Faculty Welfare Committee’s minutes for the June…

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Will the UCLA Hotel Pass the Sniff Test in November?

Byuclafaculty

We noted in a blog posting yesterday that the UCLA proposal for a 250-room hotel/conference center is back on the Regents’ July agenda.  Also on the agenda is discussion of the recently-enacted state budget and the governor’s November tax initiative.  The Regents are likely to endorse the ballot initiative which, as prior posts have noted, is not polling as well as it should at this stage. So an interesting question for the Regents is whether the hotel passes the sniff test for wise spending of UC (and UCLA) resources.  Given all the fiscal difficulties UC has faced in recent years,…

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The 250-Room Whatchamacallit is Back on the Regents Agenda

Byuclafaculty

The Regents’ agenda for the July 17-19 meeting is now posted.  The UCLA hotel/conference center is back on the agenda as item GB2.  It is now called a “conference and guest center.”   UCLA still is in denial that a 250-room establishment is a hotel.  Perhaps it should be called a No-Tel in view of the denial.  The material the Regents will consider is not attached to the agenda in keeping with no tell; at least it is not attached as of 9:30 AM today but the link is: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul12/gb.pdf Other items of interest: As expected, the proposal for tuition…

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Do We Really Want to Roll Straight Ahead on the Hotel Project?

Byuclafaculty

UCLA seems to be rolling along on its hotel-conference center project without looking to the right or left.  That approach can get the university into trouble. Yours truly received two items from a neighbor group that has been raising concerns about the project.  Below you will find links to two documents that were submitted in connection with the recent environmental hearing on the hotel that UCLA was required to hold.  One document is essentially a cover letter from a law firm summarizing points made in the longer written submission of the group. The objections range from procedural – it appears…

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Forecast Lessons from the Past and for the Present

Byuclafaculty

Earlier today, the UCLA Anderson Forecast conference presented its quarterly projections of the U.S. and California economies.  No surprises.  There was a continued forecast (from earlier conferences) of sluggish growth with years to go before what can be truly seen as a return to “normal” occurs.  You can find a media write up at: http://business-news.thestreet.com/daily-news/story/ucla-forecast-economy-lag-3-more-years-high-unemployment-slow-growth-impede-progress/1 An official media release from the Forecast is at:http://uclaforecast.com/contents/archive/2012/media_62012_1.asp The Forecast reminded me of two lessons that can be drawn from recent developments.  The first – from the past – is that there is an underlying problem in California which can be seen in two charts…

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Maybe the New Guy Will Take a New Look at the UCLA Hotel Project

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Daily News: Kelly Schmader, an engineer who’s headed LAUSD’s Facilities Division for two years, is leaving his $218,000-a-year post to take the top facilities job at UCLA.  In a phone interview Friday, Schmader described his move to the University of California Los Angeles as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” “I’ve always wanted to work in higher education, and a prestigious place like UCLA – as an engineer, I couldn’t pass it up,” Schmader said… Full story at http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_20866656/lausd-facilities-chief-resigning-take-job-at-ucla It’s time to scale the grand hotel back. Kelly Schmader! You can just hear this project cry out for a…

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Costless and Nice? Listen to the audio of the environmental hearing on the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center

Byuclafaculty

A hearing on the draft environmental impact report on the proposed UCLA hotel-conference center took place at the Faculty Center on June 5, 2012.  You can find link to the audio (1 hour and 38 minutes) below.  A total of 17 individuals spoke, either pro or con, at the meeting. A certain amount of orchestration of the testimony was apparent.  Originally, a 3-minute limit was suggested but it was dropped soon after the comments began.  The portable public address system was defective so that in some cases, the amplification went on and off.  However, all remarks should be audible at…

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The Best Laid Plans

Byuclafaculty

Hmmm.  A proposed course on Community and Conflict in the Modern World has been rejected. (See below.) Maybe this now-defunct course could have usefully reviewed the pending proposal for a UCLA hotel/conference center!  Certainly, there has been conflict over thatproposal in various communities.  And there will be more to come at the Tuesday, June 5, 7 pm hearing on the proposed hotel project at the Faculty Center. From UCLA Today, June 1, 2012: Faculty in the College of Letters and Science have voted downa proposal to require all undergraduates to enroll in a general education course in a new sub-category called Community…

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A Real Good Bet

Byuclafaculty

From today’s Daily Bruin: The university will hold a hearing next week to allow public comments on the proposed UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center’s environmental impact report. A 700-page draft of the report, which was released by UCLA earlier this month, outlines the environmental consequences of the conference center and hotel project… All comments voiced at the hearing will be recorded and addressed in the final version of the report. Drafters of the report will also include comments that are sent in by June 29, said Tracy Dudman, a senior planner for UCLA capital programs.While the hearing will let community members address…

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Lawsuit: Urban Wildlands Group Takes Aim at UCLA Over Proposed Archery Facility

Byuclafaculty

Readers of this blog may recall an earlier post about a proposed UCLA archery facility to be located  south of the Child Care Center along Veteran Avenue. Concerns have been raised about the proposal on ecological and other grounds. Readers who have been following the UCLA hotel issue will know that UCLA was not forthcoming in response to Public Records Act requests by the Faculty Association and other groups and did not provide the requested information on a timely basis. The original post regarding the archery facility is at:http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/shooting-arrows.html The Urban Wildlands Group has filed a lawsuit against the Regents regarding…