2 SITES SHOW CAMPUS PROMISE HIGH DESERT-BASED CSU BEING SOUGHT.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

CALIFORNIA CITY -- Two potential sites have been identified for a four-year university in the High Desert: a section of Edwards Air Force Base or a parcel between Mojave and California City that a San Diego development company is offering.

Backers of an effort to bring a four-year California State University campus to the Antelope Valley said they have two possible sites for a main campus and an offer of land from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that might be suitable for a satellite research facility for a university. Securing a large chunk of donated land is considered a key step in trying to establish a campus.

Strata Equity Group is offering 640acres for a campus in an area between Mojave and California City, near Highway58.

``There's a tremendous community consensus this was needed,'' Strata President Jim Kozak said. ``This is an opportunity for us to step forward in a time of need to push this project forward.''

Strata owns an additional 2,000 acres in the area, which could be used for a master-plannned community. Kozak said it is too soon to discuss any details, but the company is looking at the concept of a university town where people would live, work and shop within the same development.

Strata has a history with such a project. The company was involved in the late 1980s with the creation of California State University, San Marcos, north of San Diego, Kozak said. The company owned part of the campus site, a former chicken ranch.

Federal officials have indicated they might allow use of a square-mile section of Edwards land located south of Rosamond Boulevard and west of the base's west gate.

``One of the things we would have to look at is the security aspect,'' said Bob Johnstone, a former Edwards official who is working on the education master plan.

The Bureau of Land Management has also offered land. The bureau has scattered land holdings in an area between California City and Ridgecrest.

``There's no infrastructure. It's just raw desert,'' Johnstone said.

The bureau's land is not practical for a main campus, but it could be used as a satellite research facility, perhaps for studies involving explosive materials, Johnstone said.

At least since the 1980s, business and civic leaders have tried to attract a four-year university to the Antelope Valley. Over the years, higher education offerings have increased. A satellite campus of California State University, Bakersfield, has been created locally.

In May, the Antelope Valley Board of Trade hosted a higher-education meeting to kick off the development of a master plan to bring in a full-fledged university. The meeting drew about 150 government and business officials and educators from around the Antelope Valley and from as far as Ridgecrest and the Victor Valley.

Johnstone said the goal is to complete the master plan in March.

james.skeen@dailynews

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