At last night’s meeting of the Project Area Committee and General Plan Advisory Committee, Isla Vista residents were given a chance to question and comment on the forthcoming I.V. Community Center.

Held at St. Michael’s Church, the meeting revolved around the center’s feasibility study, as presented by task force member LuAnn Miller. The building’s conceptual design, operation and funding were the main topics of the presentation, supplemented by brief introductions of the center’s three main prospective tenants: I.V. Teen Center, Isla Vista Youth Projects and Senior and Intergenerational Care.

Parking was a concern among residents who said there was a lack of parking in the design plan. Miller said the center’s basketball courts would double as a parking lot for community and private events at the center.

I.V. resident Steve Music encouraged the PAC board to examine the $3.3 million cost of environmentally friendly materials and to “price shop” before settling on such a high price. Music and other residents still endorsed the use of “green” materials.

Junior Chicano and global studies major Gloria Sanchez spoke about the center with an urgent tone.

“It would be easy to sit here and talk about mundane details, but the residents in I.V. have been waiting for years,” Sanchez said. “This community center is extremely necessary.”

Sandra Pizano, I.V. resident and mother of four, represented local parents of I.V. Elementary School students. She said she valued the importance of the new teen center to kids who might otherwise become involved in illegal activities.

“I’m really proud to say we have a place like this, to know they’re safe,” Pizano said.

At the meeting, I.V. Master Plan project manager Jamie Goldstein also discussed the planned widening of El Colegio Road and the construction of the San Clemente apartments for UCSB graduate students.

Goldstein said the study, which was funded by UCSB and I.V. Public Works, has been completed and its findings will be discussed at a public scoping hearing at 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Embarcadero Hall.