by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
UNM President David Harris met with about 100 people at the law school Sunday to talk about the future of the North Golf Course.
The meeting was held because residents are concerned that UNM will commercially develop the golf course, said Sara Koplik, president of the North Campus Neighborhood Association.
"We've watched it change over the last 20 years," she said. "This place is beloved."
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The University published requests for information Feb. 12 for North Campus, including the golf course.
The requests for information are to determine the value and potential for UNM's property, but it does not suggest the golf course will be developed, Harris said.
The neighborhood association feels helpless because it wants to preserve the golf course, but it doesn't know how to approach the University administration, Koplik said.
Koplik said Harris was helpful and did a good job to address the association's concerns.
"He was so open," she said. "He explained how we can get involved in the University's decision-making."
Harris said the only North Campus project that the University is planning is a building for the state court of appeals, which will be connected to the law school.
It will not affect the golf course,
he said.
"Other than that, I don't know of any plans for construction in the area," he said. "I don't know of any plans that would disturb the golf course property."
The association asked if the University would establish a conservation easement on the golf course to prevent any development for the next 100 years.
Harris said he could not answer the question.
It is something the Board of Regents would have to do, because it is UNM's governing body, Harris said.
The regents might not be willing to commit to something that would have such a long-term effect, he said.
"I believe that would be off-putting to the regents," he said. "It'd be difficult for any policy-maker to do that."
The University should not even be looking at the possibilities for development, said Joe Goldberg, who attended the forum.
"Using the golf course for commercial health care or any other commercial use is stupid," he said.
UNM's Master Plan has the golf course listed as open space, and that's how it should stay, Goldberg said.
"The University has a master plan. It's supposed to guide the University," he said. "You don't create a master plan and then ignore it."
The association will meet with regents and try to open up a formal dialogue so the community has a say in what happens at UNM, Koplik said.
Koplik said the University and the community should work together to do what's best for everyone.
"We want what's in the best interest of all of us," she said. "We want to be environmentally friendly, but we also want to preserve the golf course."
