University Senate intervention could change hillock debate

After months of lobbying the administration, student and faculty efforts to save forest land near the campus from development could get a boost if the University Senate backs their position.

A unanimous Student Government Association resolution and repeated protests have done little to budge the university from its position that nine of the 22.4 acres near the Comcast Center, in an area commonly known as the Wooded Hillock, need to be bulldozed to make way for buildings displaced by the East Campus development.

But with the senate — which directly advises university President Dan Mote on policy — examining the issue, activists now may have a chance to actually sway the administration. While the senate's decisions are not binding, Mote has only defied them once in his 11-year tenure.

"If the University Senate were to oppose the development of the Wooded Hillock for the East Campus relocation facilities, I know that President Mote would carefully consider their arguments and position," Director of Facilities Management Frank Brewer wrote in an e-mail.

Some students and faculty have said the Hillock is a valuable learning resource and the process to select the site lacked transparency and input from the university community. Administrators have maintained the selection process has already ended and that there were no good alternatives.

Last February, the SGA unanimously passed a resolution asking the administration to reconsider alternatives to developing the Hillock. But the senate — composed of nearly 200 students, faculty and staff — has a more direct link to university policy than the SGA, which serves primarily as a student advocacy organization.

At a meeting yesterday, the senate's Campus Affairs Committee charged five members — three faculty members and two students — with reviewing the planned development. The committee will report its findings to the senate by Oct. 26.

The issue was brought to the senate by urban forestry professor Marla McIntosh, who resigned her position running the university's arboretum in July partly to be able to advocate against the development of the Hillock.

"This is really much bigger than the Hillock," McIntosh said. "It is about how we are going to plan for a sustainable campus, and not just make sure that we observe the laws in place, but that we're at the forefront."

The site is valuable for classroom study because it contains ancient gravel deposits and a number of rare plant species, McIntosh said. Because the site was struck with a tornado a few years ago, students can study the ecosystem as it rebuilds itself, she said.

"If we're going to be educating our students about sustainability, here's something that we have that they can actually experience it," McIntosh said.

At least 14 faculty members have used or plan to use the Hillock for instruction, and about 1,000 students per year visit the site for class, according to information gathered by McIntosh.

Opponents of development also claim students and faculty did not have an adequate voice in the decision. The 11-person committee that selected the Hillock included one student — then-SGA President Andrew Rose.

According to a report on the university's East Campus website, the committee considered at least 12 alternative development sites, but each was found unsuitable. One of the primary concerns of the committee, along with reducing environmental impact, was cost. The entire cost of the $39.7 million building relocation will be paid for by the developer.

McIntosh and undergraduate senator Bob Hayes, who represents the engineering college, said other factors should have been weighed more heavily.

"[The developers are] going to make a killing on East Campus," Hayes said. "Why should the campus suffer to line their pockets?"

East Campus would stretch along Route 1 from Fraternity Row to Paint Branch Parkway. The 38-acre development would include a movie theater, a supermarket, stores and a Birchmere music hall. Funding issues have clouded the project's timeline, and Brewer said he did not know when development might begin.

The nine acres would be used to house several university facilities in the East Campus development area that would need to be moved before construction on the project could begin.

cox@umdbk.com