CAL POLY - More traffic and air pollution would result from Cal Poly's ambitious plan to build a 2,700-bed housing complex on campus.

Earlier this week, the university released an environmental assessment of the housing project, which Cal Poly officials say will be the largest in the California State University system.

The report looks at how the apartment complex will affect the environment and quality of life in 12 ways in and around the campus. Two impacts stand out as unavoidable and significant.

The most long-lasting effect will be additional traffic and congestion on roads and intersections around the campus. In particular, the areas at Santa Rosa Street and Foothill Boulevard, Santa Rosa and Highland Drive, and California Boulevard south of Foothill will be affected.

These problems will likely be minimal at first but will intensify as the university continues to implement its master plan, which calls for 3,000 more students by 2020, said Joel Neel, Poly's facilities director.

The report calls for improvements to offset these impacts, such as road widening, turn lanes, more crosswalks and better lighting. But these measures will not be able to compensate for all the additional traffic the project will create.

The other significant impact will be air pollution caused by the use of heavy equipment during the construction of the apartments. Such equipment emits smoke and other components that create smog.

Planners anticipate that the project may improve air quality in the long run, said Chris Clark, one of the consultants who prepared the environmental report. By housing more students on campus and providing sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrians, the project could reduce some traffic volume.

All of the other 10 potential impacts of the project were judged either insignificant or capable of being prevented or offset by other measures, Neel said. Other impacts examined included noise, public services and biological resources.

"Overall, this shows that this is a good project and, with some mitigation measures, it will have minimal impacts," he said.

Recent campus meetings showed that employees of the university are concerned that the project will harm Brizzolara Creek, which runs along the south side of the planned complex. The creek is home to numerous sensitive plant and animal species and is a wildlife migration corridor.

The employees said they want uniform setbacks. Designs call for setback of 50 feet from the top bank of the creek.

The project, officially called Student Housing North, calls for clusters of residential buildings for 2,700 students and 1,900 parking spaces on 40 acres at the southern entrance to Poly Canyon. Community meeting and retail facilities as well as open space are also included.

Full occupancy is expected by 2006.

The environmental review is open to public comment until July 28.

The project will cause the loss of some agricultural land and will force several facilities to be relocated. The Bull Test, a livestock pen, will be moved to Chorro Ranch, on Highway 1 north of San Luis Obispo.

A feed lot, feed mill and slaughter houses will be moved west of the housing project.

To offset these losses, a deal was reached in which the university will obtain 1,254 acres in Edna Valley to be used by the College of Agriculture as a horse ranch and vineyard. The acquisition is not expected to significantly affect traffic in Edna Valley.