Senators concerned about hillock

A committee of students, faculty and administrators expressed concern with the decision-making process guiding the development of an area known as the Wooded Hillock yesterday but did not vote on the issue.

If the development project continues as planned, 9 acres of the 22.4-acre forest near the Comcast Center will be cleared away to make room for buildings displaced by the East Campus development, which will bring a movie theater, a supermarket and stores to Route 1.

Activists have argued the area should be saved for academic use and environmental conservation. The Campus Affairs Committee of the University Senate — which directly advises university President Dan Mote on policy decisions — decided a task force should examine the procedures used to make construction decisions, but did not vote on whether the project should go forward because it was not asked to. Though the project is set to go on as planned, financial uncertainty may delay the development.

"I think what comes out of the fact that this controversy arose is that there is a necessity at least to reconsider the present policies," math professor Joel Cohen said at the meeting. "At the very least it has an appearance of being flawed."

Committee Chair Edward Walters, an instructor in the music department, said Vice President for Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie said all protocols were followed in selecting the site. But some committee members listed a lack of transparency, limited student and faculty involvement, and the lack of a formal environmental impact assessment among their concerns.

"We don't have the information to say this is a good idea or a bad idea, because [a study] hasn't been done," journalism professor Deborah Nelson said.

The committee did not vote on whether to develop the Hillock.

"I know some of us probably feel very strongly one way or the other, but they didn't ask us to do that," Walters said.

The proposal that led to the committee's charge did not request an opinion on the matter, senate Chairwoman Elise Miller-Hooks wrote in an e-mail.

Urban forestry professor Marla McIntosh, who drafted the proposal, said she had requested the senate review the development. McIntosh said she was pleased with the recommendation to form a task force.

"This started with the Hillock, but it became very apparent that that was really not the major issue," McIntosh said. "The major issue is how we handle the environment on campus."

The committee will prepare a final report for the senate — which includes nearly 200 students, faculty and staff — by next week, and the Senate Executive Committee, which sets the agenda, will review the committee's report at its Oct. 29 meeting.

The development of the Hillock has been a magnet for controversy since the university community learned of the plan early this year, although the committee that selected the site was formed in 2005.

Some faculty members argue the area, which was struck by a tornado in 2001, acts as a one-of-a-kind "living classroom" for the study of rare plant species. About 1,000 students visit the site for class every year, according to information gathered by McIntosh.

A report prepared by the university's Office of Sustainability in the spring notes the development plan "appears to be inconsistent with the [Facilities Master Plan's] environmental conservation goals."

Administrators, however, have maintained that they explored alternative sites and the Hillock is the best available. A report on the university's East Campus website shows that the facilities committee considered cost, efficiency, aesthetic and environmental questions in selecting the area for their planned development.

Committee member and undergraduate senator Bob Hayes, who represents the engineering college, called the committee's recommendations an "important step" in the Hillock debate but said it is too early to gauge their effects.

"I really hope this is considered by the full senate. ... I'm not sure what the impact of the committee's discussions will be," Hayes said.

cox at umdbk dot com