Placer County supervisors Tuesday unanimously endorsed a plan that could spawn the capital region's first major private university on 1,157 acres of farmland just west of Roseville.

The board voted to support a series of agreements and environmental documents that would allow a group led by developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos to give the land to Drexel University of Philadelphia.

Drexel has five years to accept the offer and begin a process that could result in a university with 6,000 students, 800 professors and staff members and potential economic impact of more than $105 million a year.

"We welcome you to Placer County and look forward to having a great university here," board Chairman Jim Holmes said after a nearly three-hour hearing and vote that appeared to settle a question that has been debated in Placer for more than five years.

Final action on the measures must wait until Dec. 9 because of new information, mostly related to transportation, that was presented Tuesday, County Counsel Anthony La Bouff said.

"I don't think it likely will change anything, but I can't say for sure," he said after the meeting.

The board's endorsement came after a long line of speakers spoke in support of the project and despite opposition from Sierra Club officials Terry Davis and Marilyn Jasper.

They argued that the deal would convert valuable farmland into an urban island that is far from existing population and transit centers. Davis and Jasper also said the deal would lead to development of nearby agricultural land and enrich Tsakopoulos and his partners, who own much of the adjacent land.

Supervisors, however, enthusiastically voted to support the plan and vowed that it would not weaken the county's conservation or transportation strategy.

"To see that kind of support, from the audience and the supervisors, is remarkable," Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III, Drexel's executive vice president and second-ranking official, said after a parade of supporters spoke to the board.

Oxholm has been working to establish the Drexel Center for Graduate Studies in downtown Sacramento. The center will open in January, offering five master's degree programs, and a taste of Drexel for the capital region.

Approval of the university plan will spur a "humongously long and complicated" process of determining whether Drexel can pull off an expansion that is "three time zones and 3,000 miles from Philadelphia," he said.

It also would involve an investment of more than $200 million, he said.

Aside from the five-year deadline, Oxholm said, there is no timeline for a decision.

Under the plan endorsed Tuesday, the 1,157 acres – south of Pleasant Grove Creek and north of Baseline Road – would be an irrevocable gift from the Tsakopoulos family, Bill and Claudia Cummings and the Wayne L. Prim family.

About 600 acres to the west would become the university campus, including faculty housing, sports facilities and open space. The rest of the land would be sold for development of 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 that sale would go to the university – Drexel or another institution – to finance the university.

Julie Hanson, project manager, said the plan represents "a unique opportunity for Placer County and one that is unprecedented. Hanson, a third-generation Placer resident, said "the donors hope we all will look back on this day as a historic one."

Call The Bee's Bob Walter, (916) 478-2860.