Cal Poly Cuts West Campus Plan to 18 Acres

The university reduced land identified for development after community pushback, excluding a lemon grove and prime farmland.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Agriculture

Rows of lemon trees in a grove stretch toward open farmland under a clear sky, with low hills on the horizon. — Cal Poly reduced its west campus development plan from 30 acres to 18 acres after community pushback, sparing a lemon grove and prime farmland near Highway 101 and Highland Drive. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Cal Poly reduced the land identified for west campus development from 30 acres to 18 acres, excluding the lemon grove and prime farmland at Highway 101 and Highland Drive. The original proposal to convert around 40 acres into housing, an events center and other uses drew significant pushback from students and alumni, especially in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science.

Why it matters

The revision reflects community feedback on the loss of agricultural land in San Luis Obispo. The university's decision to pursue a more-focused mixed-use project weighs those concerns against potential benefits to Cal Poly.

Cal Poly now identifies 18 acres for potential development, down from 40 acres in the original proposal, with a separate 18-acre spray-field parcel slated for agricultural restoration. The final layout of the west campus development has not been set.

The players

Cal Poly

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is a public university whose College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is central to the farmland debate.

Jeffrey Armstrong

Armstrong is the president of Cal Poly who issued the statement to the campus community outlining the revised west campus plan.

The details

The revised plan excludes the prime farmland housing the lemon grove at the corner of Highway 101 and Highland Drive, while a neighboring 18-acre parcel south of Highland Drive remains in the development plan. The university will fund the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences to restore the spray-field parcel, and it has committed to limiting development of other farmland north of Highland Drive.

May: Cal Poly presented an early-stage proposal to convert 40 acres.
September: University President Jeffrey Armstrong identified around 30 acres for potential development.
Early November: The university scheduled a decision on whether to move forward with the plan.
Wednesday: The development land was reduced to 18 acres and the lemon grove was excluded.
Coming years: Planning and pre-development tasks, including environmental reviews, are expected.

Season Trajectory

The revision narrows the 40-acre west campus proposal first presented in May to 18 acres, a shift driven by the College of Agriculture's objections to losing prime farmland. The university's replacement of spray fields with restored agricultural land is a concrete counter-move in that ongoing dispute over land use at Cal Poly.

San Luis Obispo residents and campus community members will see less farmland converted to development, with the lemon grove and prime farmland preserved. The restoration of the spray-field parcel to agricultural use could expand farming land near the campus.

The takeaway

The shrinking development footprint shows that community input on farmland can change a university's campus plans. Residents tracking land use in San Luis Obispo should watch the upcoming environmental reviews for details on the final west campus design.