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Public Notice
Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report
September 22, 2026
Project Title: Witter Rugby Field Renovation Project
CEQA Lead Agency: The Regents of the University of California
Project Location: University of California, Berkeley, Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area within the Hill Campus West zone, on Centennial Drive and Stadium Rim Way, east of California Memorial Stadium, west of Cal Softball Field, Strawberry Canyon Pool, and Haas Clubhouse.
County: Alameda County
Notice is hereby given that the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) will prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) tiered from UC Berkeley’s 2021 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse Number 2022240078) for the Witter Rugby Field Renovation Project (project or proposed project), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). When the decision to prepare an SEIR has already been made, CEQA states that an initial study is not required (State CEQA Guidelines Section 15063(a)). Accordingly, an initial study has not been prepared. This notice of preparation (NOP) has been prepared pursuant to Sections 15082 and 15083 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
UC Berkeley has prepared this NOP to provide responsible and trustee agencies and other interested parties with a description of the proposed project and information on potential environmental effects of the proposed project, pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15082(a). The NOP is available for public review on UC Berkeley’s Capital Strategies website: https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/environmental-review.
Project Description
UC Berkeley proposes to renovate and improve the existing Witter Rugby Field (Witter Rugby Field or field), which is home to the UC Berkeley Varsity Rugby Program (Cal Rugby). The project site is the existing Witter Rugby Field, located in the Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area. The project is located within the LRDP EIR Hill Campus West land use zone; renovation of the Witter Rugby Field is consistent with the uses and proposed actions contemplated in the LRDP and LRDP EIR. In addition to hosting Cal Rugby, the field serves as a primary recreational use field for the UC Berkeley campus community and hosts competitions for a variety of club sports.
Surrounding uses include Cal Softball Field, Strawberry Canyon Pool, and the Haas Clubhouse, which are located directly east of the project site. California Memorial Stadium is located west of the project site, across Stadium Rim Way. Centennial Drive is located to the north and the Panoramic Hill residential neighborhood is immediately to the south.
The project would preserve and upgrade the existing Witter Rugby Field to enhance the experience for all users, including spectators, student-athletes, and staff. The project seeks to modernize the facility by providing basic amenities such as permanent seating, bathrooms, and food service, as well as permanent locker rooms, and office and meeting space. The project would include new broadcasting locations by replacing a temporary camera stand with a permanent broadcast booth with multiple camera locations. The project would also upgrade site infrastructure and accessibility through ADA-compliant features (i.e., paths, ramps, and lifts), improved circulation, and connections throughout the surrounding area.
The primary physical changes associated with the project would include providing a permanent spectator seating concourse, with steel superstructure and canopy, in place of the current temporary bleachers. The concourse would also provide concessions and restrooms on the first floor, and improved press and broadcast facilities on the second floor. The project also includes a new two-story team support building consisting of locker rooms, a hospitality room, and office and meeting rooms. Other improvements include new fencing, landscaping, access improvements, and improvements to field lighting, such as adding a light array to the spectator canopy and installing new LED fixtures throughout the facility that minimize light spillage and pollution; additional lighting will include ground and emergency lighting.
The existing public address system – four speakers on the three light poles located to the south – would remain in place except the southwest pole and speaker will be relocated. The proposed project will remove approximately 25 parking spaces in the existing Witter Lot, but would replace the lost parking with 8 spaces, including 2 parking spaces at the existing Doc Hudson Field House and up to 6 new spaces along Centennial Drive, for a net loss of 17 parking spaces.
The project will be developed in two phases: Phase 1 would construct the seating concourse and associated improvements; Phase 2 would consist of demolishing the existing Doc Hudson Field House and replacing it with a two-story team support building.
Future use of the field would be similar to the current athletic programming: the facility is typically open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Nighttime use is currently limited to intramural games, with few to no spectators, and other student recreational uses. During the fall, the facility would continue to be primarily used for practices, intramural play, campus/clinics, and other occasional weekend competitions. During the rugby season, which occurs over the spring semester, generally January through April, the facility would be used for home games, typically 6 regular season home games and up to 4 post-season games. While intercollegiate rugby games are currently not played at night, in the future it is possible that rugby or other future athletic competitions with spectators could make use of the lighted facility at night (beyond the current intramural club sports that currently use the facility in the evening); up to a total of 10 future rugby or other athletic events with spectators per year could occur during the evening; any such events would not begin after 7:00 p.m. and would not overlap evening use of the adjacent football stadium or softball field (in other words, there would never be more than one nighttime sporting event in the immediate area). During the summer, the facility would continue to be used for intramural recreation and recreational sports youth summer camps.
Currently, the maximum spectator capacity of the field is approximately 2,000 persons. This is accommodated by a mix of temporary bleachers and standing-room only areas. Over the last five years, this capacity has been reached only once or twice per season, typically during a playoff game or a key rivalry game. The average attendance at rugby games, based on the previous five years of ticket sales, is 1,027 persons. The project would include a future maximum capacity for 2,500 spectators, including 1,804 permanent concourse seats and space for approximately 700 standing-room only.
The renovated facility would be constructed within the boundary of the existing Witter Rugby Field; the total project site area is approximately 4 acres. The project could alter the field to make it level, but its size and configuration would remain the same. The existing project site includes synthetic turf grass on the field, the Doc Hudson Field House, developed impervious surfaces, a scoreboard, and existing landscaping. The project site is relatively flat with elevation ranges from approximately 473 feet above mean sea level in the southwestern corner of the field, near the Doc Hudson Field House, to approximately 486 feet above mean sea level in the northern extent of the project site, at the Witter Lot.
Probable Environmental Effects of the Proposed Project
UC Berkeley has determined that an SEIR will be prepared for the proposed project. Consistent with the requirements of Public Resources Code Section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 and 15163, the SEIR will analyze the environmental impacts of (1) substantial changes in the proposed project, (2) substantial changes that have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project will be undertaken, and (3) new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known at the time the previous EIR was certified. The proposed project includes renovation of the Witter Rugby Field which was analyzed in the LRDP EIR at a program level. The SEIR will be “tiered” from the LRDP EIR, per CEQA Guidelines Sections 15152 and 15168, and will focus on project-specific effects with the potential to result in new or more severe significant impacts than those disclosed in the LRDP EIR. In the event that new, or substantially greater, project-level impacts are identified, the SEIR will identify feasible mitigation measures to avoid or reduce those effects, along with a reasonable range of potentially feasible alternatives to the proposed project. In addition to the analysis included in the LRDP EIR for the development of Hill Campus West, the SEIR will examine site- and project-specific effects for the following topics:
Aesthetics
The SEIR will assess potential impacts to scenic vistas and resources, existing visual character, and light and glare that may occur as a result of the proposed construction and operation of the renovated facility. The proposed field lighting will be assessed to evaluate potential impacts from light and glare to the surrounding areas, which will be evaluated in comparison to existing conditions.
Air Quality
The SEIR will quantify the project-specific emissions of criteria air pollutants to ensure they are within the scope of the LRDP EIR impact analysis. A construction health risk assessment, as required by the LRDP EIR (Mitigation Measure AIR-3), will also be prepared to evaluate the effects of construction-related air emissions to nearby sensitive receptors (such as residences). If new project-specific impacts are identified, then additional mitigation measures will be incorporated into the SEIR.
Biological Resources
Potential impacts to biological resources could occur as a result of the proposed construction and operation of the project. The SEIR analysis will address both direct impacts from habitat removal and indirect impacts from noise and lighting and other disturbances, as a result of the proposed construction and operation of the project. The SEIR will consider implementing continuing best practices (CBPs), and mitigation measures included in the LRDP EIR to avoid or substantially avoid project-specific impacts to special status species and sensitive habitats.
Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources
Potential impacts to cultural and tribal cultural resources, and paleontological resources could occur as a result of proposed construction and ground disturbing activities. It is possible that underground cultural resources could be present within the project site. As such, these impacts will be assessed by conducting a California Historical Resources Information Systems (CHRIS) records search update and conducting a field survey of the project site. Results of the records search and field survey will be incorporated into the SEIR analysis. Additionally, potential indirect off-site impacts on the adjacent Panoramic Hill National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed historic district will also be addressed in the SEIR.
Energy
The SEIR will quantify the energy consumption for construction and operation of the project to ensure the use of energy is within the scope of the LRDP EIR impact analysis. If new project-specific impacts are identified, then additional mitigation measures will be incorporated into the SEIR.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The SEIR will quantify the project-specific greenhouse gas emissions to ensure they are within the scope of the LRDP EIR impact analysis. If new project-specific impacts are identified, then additional mitigation measures will be incorporated into the SEIR.
Noise
Potential temporary construction and demolition noise and vibration impacts to sensitive receivers (residences) in the vicinity of the proposed project will be assessed based on noise measurements taken at the project site and review of construction phases and equipment usage. Noise impacts from operation of the renovated field will be analyzed using a 3-D sound prediction model to quantify combined noise levels at the closest noisesensitive uses from game activity, spectator participation, and public address system use. Results of the noise analyses will be incorporated into the SEIR analysis.
Transportation
Potential construction and operational transportation impacts of the proposed project will be assessed with a qualitative transportation assessment for the surrounding street network in the project area. Impacts associated with vehicle trips generated from operation of the renovated field will be assessed in terms of vehicle miles traveled. In addition, the SEIR will assess the project site plan for vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit circulation against campus and/or City of Berkeley transportation infrastructure plans and policies. The SEIR will also assess the project to determine whether impacts to emergency vehicle access would occur.
Wildfire
To assess the potential wildfire impacts associated with construction and operation of the project, the SEIR will include a review of prior wildfire prevention and evacuation studies for the project vicinity, as well as publicly available fire hazard and fire history information from CAL FIRE, the City of Berkeley, the City of Oakland, UC Berkeley, and the County of Alameda. The analysis will summarize emergency response resources and the existing fire environment in the project area, including slopes, climate/weather, fire history, and fuel sources on and surrounding the project site. The SEIR will review applicable federal, state and local plans, policies and regulations governing wildfire hazards and will determine whether construction and operation of the project is in compliance with these plans and regulations.
Impacts Adequately Addressed in the LRDP EIR
The SEIR will briefly describe other effects analyzed in the LRDP EIR that would not result in new or substantially greater impacts as a result of the proposed projects. These topics are likely to include Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, and Utilities and Service Systems.
Other Sections
The SEIR will include additional topics as required by the CEQA Guidelines including growth inducement, cumulative impacts, and alternatives. The SEIR will describe and evaluate a reasonable range of potentially feasible alternatives to the proposed project that would feasibly attain most of the proposed project’s basic objectives while avoiding or substantially lessening any significant effects of the proposed project. The “No Project” alternative will also be evaluated as required by CEQA.
Project Comment and Scoping Session
UC Berkeley requests comments and guidance on the scope and content of the Draft SEIR from interested public agencies, organizations, and individuals. With respect to the views of Responsible and Trustee Agencies as to significant environmental issues, UC Berkeley needs to know the significant environmental issues and reasonable alternatives and mitigation measures that are germane to each agency’s statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed project.
Due to time limits mandated by State law, your response must be sent at the earliest possible date, but no later than the close of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) review period at 5:00 p.m. October 23, 2026. If you submit comments on the scope of the SEIR, you will automatically be added to UC Berkeley’s distribution list to receive future notices and announcements about the environmental review process for this and all other capital projects. If you do not wish to submit comments on the scope of the SEIR but would like to be added to UC Berkeley’s Capital Strategies mailing https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/subscribe.
Responses to this NOP must be received by 5:00 p.m. on October 23, 2026. Please e-mail or send your written response to:
Raphael Breines, Senior Planner Physical & Environmental Planning
University of California, Berkeley
1995 University Avenue, Suite 530
Berkeley, CA 94704
Email: planning@berkeley.edu
Please include “Witter Rugby Field Renovation SEIR” as the subject. Public agencies providing comments are asked to include a contact person for the agency.
UC Berkeley will host an online public scoping session to receive public comments on the scope of the SEIR. The scoping session will be held exclusively through Zoom videoconference. Meeting information is as follows:
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Meeting Link: https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/public-meetings
For instructions to access and participate in the Zoom meeting by telephone or from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device, please visit: https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/public-meetings
To request a paper copy of this notice or if you have questions regarding this project and associated environmental review, please contact Raphael Breines, Senior Planner, Physical & Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley, at planning@berkeley.edu.
Download: Notice of Preparation (PDF)
Project Inquiries: planning@berkeley.edu
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