The plan has been in the works for years: A prestigious private university with some 6,000 students and a potential economic impact of more than $105 million a year could be built on 1,157 acres just west of Roseville.

Drexel University of Philadelphia is considering investing as much as $400 million on the university site, on land donated by developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and several partners.

And with the school in place, about half of the land would be sold for commercial and residential development, with proceeds benefiting the university.

Opponents, however, say it represents leapfrog development and would spur urbanization of other nearby agricultural parcels -- including thousands of acres owned by those donating the university site.

Placer County supervisors will take up the plan at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Auburn. The hearing's timing -- Election Day -- was coincidental but preferable to the next opportunity, two days before Thanksgiving, county staffers said.

The plan was unanimously approved by the county Planning Commission in September.

In 2005, before Drexel surfaced as the first choice, 61 percent of county voters approved an advisory ballot measure that asked if the site should be designated for a university.

Forces on both sides agree on one thing: A private university - Drexel or a comparable institution - would be a valuable asset for the region.

A 2004 study by the Sacramento Regional Research Institute said that even a smaller university -- about 4,000 students -- could generate $105 million a year and more than 2,000 jobs.

"The economic impact would include money that spins out in salaries, goods and services that are purchased ... and it can attract research money and collaborative partnerships with industry," said Barbara Hayes, executive director of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization, the region's chief economic recruiter.

Said Terry Davis, coordinator of the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club and the leading opponent of the plan: "What county would not want such a university?"

The opposition from Davis and others is focused on the site -- and the rest of the surrounding Curry Creek Community Plan area, which could accommodate 56,000 more people, according to county planners.

Critics also say the county already has enough land for urban growth.

"I just think you shouldn't sell your soul to get (a university)," Davis said. "Do you abandon all your planning principles ... and let a major real estate speculator manipulate the land use planning process to get it?"

Former county Supervisor Harriet White, who was on the board when a similar plan surfaced seven years ago, said, "The site still bothers me."

"If it were just the university, it would be fine. ... But you have to put a stop somewhere," she said.

Rex Bloomfield, another former supervisor, said he fears donors "will lean on the board to allow more homes ... on the acreage they own" and that taxpayers will foot the bill for public services far from existing population centers.

But Supervisor Robert Weygandt, whose district includes the university site, said, "The reality is there aren't any other people stepping up ... and offering this kind of donation."

"Concerns about this plan creating other development opportunities in that area are valid," he said. "But Michael (county Planning Director Michael Johnson) and staff have assured me that the university site can stand alone."

Weygandt said the board must weigh future development in the area against the importance of the county's conservation plans, which include preserving agricultural land.

Johnson said the university site is adjacent to part of west Roseville that is targeted for development and will bring roads, sewer, water and other services to the area.

The 1,157 acres -- south of Pleasant Grove Creek and north of Base Line Road -- are owned by the Angelo K. Tsakopoulos family, Bill and Claudia Cummings and Wayne and Mary Prim.

Under the plan -- when Drexel or another university signs on -- the land would become an irrevocable gift from the owners, and the university zoning could not change for 50 years.

About 600 acres would become the university campus. The rest would be sold by the university and developed as 3,232 residences, 1,155 university dwellings, 22 acres of commercial space and 220 acres of park, open space and public land.

All proceeds from the sale of acreage adjoining the campus would go to the university.

Julie Hanson, project manager for Tsakopoulos' KT Development and the other donors, stressed that no development plans have been prepared for other adjacent land.

"Every acre that is being considered in this plan is being donated," she said.

Development of the university site would not happen quickly.

Drexel has five years to pull the trigger if the Placer site is approved.

The 117-year-old university is investing at least $10 million to create the Drexel Center for Graduate Studies in downtown Sacramento. The center will open in January, offering five master's degree programs.

Meanwhile, Drexel will continue to study the Sacramento region, said Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III, Drexel's executive vice president.

The university has no timeline for deciding when to build, Oxholm said.