Spring Break
Protesters rally to preserve golf course from development
Jeremy Hunt
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: News
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Daily Lobo
About 700 people rallied at the North Golf Course on Sunday to protest its possible development and petition for its preservation.
Sara Koplik, president of the North Campus Neighborhood Association, said residents became concerned after a story in the Albuquerque Journal stated the Board of Regents was interested in building a retirement community on the property.
"As we started to talk more about organizing, we found that there are other plans for building," she said. "There seems to be a lot of ideas going around to build on the golf course."
Koplik said the residents got serious after the regents issued a request for information Feb. 12, which is one step below a request for proposals. All of North Campus is being evaluated for its potential uses.
On the request, the golf course is labeled as a potential site for the development of retirement housing, offices, health care, parking structures and recreation. Developers will submit ideas for the property to the regents.
"That really got us very worried," she said. "We understand if the regents are looking into redoing the Real Estate Master Plan, and of course, the University has to prepare for the future."
In response to the request for information, the neighborhood association organized a walk around the course to raise support and collect signatures. The petition was signed by 695 people between noon and 3 p.m.
Koplik said the turnout was phenomenal.
"In this part of the city, this is a really big issue, and people are concerned and passionate about it," she said. "This golf course is beloved. It's the largest green space of the city. There's nothing else like it."
Jamie Koch, president of the regents, said there are no plans to develop the golf course. Koch said he doesn't know why the community members are getting agitated.
"For some reason, this thing is taken off as if, at any moment, we're going to close or do something with the golf course, but we're not," he said. "It's just gotten a life of its own."
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