Document

Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) procedures for implementing NEPA, N...

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[NASA Document No: NASA-26-023; NASA Docket No: NASA-2026-0199]

AGENCY:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION:

Notice of availability; notice of meeting; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) procedures for implementing NEPA, NASA, in cooperation with the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), have jointly published an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park. The EIS is a joint EIS/environmental impact report (EIR) that fulfills the requirements of both NEPA and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed project under consideration by NASA ( i.e., the proposed action) is the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, which would be located at the NASA owned and operated Ames Research Center in Santa Clara County, California. This notice opens a 45-day public comment period during which the public and other interested parties are encouraged to submit comments. ADDRESSES . The public comment period is for a period of 45 days from publication of this notice.

DATES:

To ensure consideration of your comments, we are requesting submission of your comments no later than June 10, 2026. UC Berkeley and NASA will hold one joint online public comment meeting to provide agencies and the public with an opportunity to provide oral and written comments on the joint EIR/EIS. The public comment meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Information regarding public comment meeting and the location of project materials is found under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

ADDRESSES:

Viewing and Obtaining Documents:

Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: You may view this notice on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (under Docket Number NASA-2026-0199); or
NASA's Website: You may obtain copies of the draft joint EIR/EIS on NASA's website at https://environment.arc.nasa.gov/NEPA.html.
In-Person: Copies of the draft joint EIR/EIS are also available for public inspection and review at the following locations: Mountain View Public Library at 585 Franklin Street, Mountain View, CA 94041, and Sunnyvale Public Library at 665 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Submitting Comments: Advance registration to attend or provide a comment at the virtual public meeting described under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION is not required. Public meeting attendees may submit comments during the public meeting, or by other means described below throughout the 45-day comment period. Please provide your comments no later than June 10, 2026, to ensure consideration in the final joint EIS/EIR. You may submit written comments and materials by one of the following methods:

U.S. mail: NASA Ames Research Center, Attn: Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, M/S 213-07, Moffett Field, CA 94035-0001.
E-mail: arc-nepacomments@nasa.gov.
Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Please note that NASA will post all comments on the internet without changes, including any personal information provided.

We encourage you to submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If submitting your comments electronically, it is not necessary to submit a hard copy. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment—including any personal identifying information you provide—may be publicly available at any time. While ( printed page 22867) you may request, in your comment, to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that your request will be granted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andrés Estrada, Center NEPA Manager, NASA Ames Research Center, arc-nepacomments@nasa.gov. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The publication of EPA's notice is the official start of the comment period for an EIS.

Background

The scoping process for the EIS was initiated when the notice of intent (NOI) was released for the proposed action from June 25, 2024, for a 30-day public review period through July 26, 2024. Public scoping meetings were held via Zoom on July 10, 2024, and July 15, 2024. In addition, the NOI was published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2024, under Docket Number NASA-24-039. A summary of comments provided during the scoping period is provided in Appendix 1-1 of the draft joint EIR/EIS.

Proposed Action and Alternative

The proposed project under consideration by NASA ( i.e., the proposed action) would include academic and research facilities, consisting of offices, laboratories, research-and-development (R&D) uses, and related amenities (collectively, “Research and Office Uses”); conference center and related amenities (“Conference Uses”); ground-floor retail, food and beverage, maker spaces ( i.e., collaborative work spaces for using various tools and materials), and other complementary accessory uses that would be publicly accessible (collectively, “Active Uses”); student/faculty housing, including associated amenities (“Student/Faculty Housing”); short-term lodging, including associated amenities (“Short-Term Lodging”); transportation networks; and open spaces, as well as landscaped spaces, to create a state-of-the-art research and education hub that shapes the future of technology and innovation and advance the UC Regents educational, scientific research, charitable, and other exempt purposes (within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code). The proposed project would facilitate the development and long-term operation of a collaborative research environment at the NASA ARC that supports NASA's position at the forefront of technological innovation and as a catalyst for space and aeronautical research.

The following two build alternatives and the NEPA No-Action Alternative are evaluated in the Draft EIS/EIR.

CEQA Proposed Project (NEPA Build Alternative 1), which would create approximately 2.3 million square feet of Research and Office Uses, Conference Uses, Active Uses, Student/Faculty Housing, and Short-Term Lodging for visitors and conference attendees. This alternative would include approximately 2 million square feet for Research and Office Uses, 25,000 square feet for Conference Uses, 90,000 square feet for Active Uses, 130,000 square feet for Student/Faculty Housing, and 75,000 square feet for Short-Term Lodging.
CEQA Reduced Density Alternative (NEPA Build Alternative 2), which would create approximately 1.4 million square feet of Research and Office Uses, Conference Uses, Active Uses, Student/Faculty Housing, and Short-Term Lodging for visitors and conference attendees. Compared to NEPA Build Alternative 1, this alternative would provide less space for Research and Office Uses. The NEPA Build Alternative 2 would include approximately 1.1 million square feet for Research and Office Uses, 25,000 square feet for Conference Uses, 90,000 square feet for Active Uses, 130,000 square feet for Student/Faculty Housing, and 75,000 square feet for Short-Term Lodging.
NEPA No-Action Alternative, under which the proposed action would not be constructed and operated at the Project Site. The buildings within the Limits of Work that are currently operational would continue to be operational. The buildings within the Limits of Work that are currently vacant could be reoccupied consistent with the prior uses of the buildings (e.g., ancillary buildings that supported Navy operations as well as industrial, storage, and utility facilities); reoccupying the vacant buildings would not require construction activity. The NADP, which established NASA's vision for long-term development of NASA ARC, also allows other types of uses at the Project Site. The NEPA No-Action Alternative could result in approximately 185,600 square feet of mixed uses, resulting in approximately 668 employees. The NEPA No-Action Alternative would not result in the reoccupation of any buildings formerly used for lodging; thus, the NEPA No-Action Alternative would not generate any new full-time residents or short-term occupants ( e.g., summer interns) within the Limits of Work.

Environmental Impact Statement Public Meeting

This notice of availability initiates the 45-day comment period for the draft joint EIR/EIS. UC Berkeley and NASA will hold one joint online public comment meeting to provide agencies and the public with an opportunity to provide oral and written comments on the draft joint EIR/EIS. The public meeting will be held exclusively through Zoom videoconference. Members of the public will be able to provide written comments during the meeting in the chat or verbally during an open mic session. The information for the public comment meeting is as follows:

Public Comment Meeting

Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

Time: starting at 12:00 p.m.

Meeting Link: https://capitalstrategies.berkeley.edu/public-meetings.

Denise Thaller,

Assistant Administrator (Acting), Office of Strategic Infrastructure, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

[FR Doc. 2026-08210 Filed 4-27-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510-13-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 22866

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park,” thefederalregister.org (April 28, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-08210/draft-environmental-impact-statement-for-the-berkeley-space-center-at-nasa-research-park.