Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Open Space topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge Tempe City Council to preserve Shalimar Golf Course, oppose rezoning
Summary
Multiple Tempe residents spoke during public comment urging the council to oppose rezoning of the Shalimar Golf Course and preserve the property as open green space, citing urban heat mitigation, groundwater infiltration, wildlife habitat and community uses. No council vote on rezoning was recorded at the meeting.
Several Tempe residents told the City Council on March 11 that they want the city to preserve the Shalimar Golf Course rather than approve rezoning for denser development.
The callers raised environmental and community-use reasons for retention. “Vegetation and green spaces serve to mitigate the effects of urban heat island,” said Amanda Clark, a Tempe resident and professor of earth sciences, who told the council the golf course and other large parks are among the coolest places in Tempe. “I request that the mayor and the city council consider my thoughts when deciding the fate of green spaces and, I respectfully ask that you help preserve the land that hosts Shalimar Golf Club as if you can and help us as a community to preserve large green space preferably with a golf course.”
Ramon Arrowsmith, who also identified himself as a Tempe resident and professor of earth sciences, told the council that the site’s “mature vegetation” provides a cooling effect that extends beyond the property itself and argued that development would reduce groundwater infiltration compared with vegetated surfaces. “I urge you to not only oppose, but also preserve the Shalimar property as a city park or golf course,” Arrowsmith said.
Other speakers described Shalimar’s community uses and wildlife habitat. Kathleen Ross, who said she lives on the course’s ninth hole, urged council members to visit the site before acting: “Go there, visit, and then make your sound decision to say no to rezoning.” Suzanne Nee, a longtime golfer, described foxes, birds, turtles and school cross‑country meets and asked, “If Shalimar is no longer an open green space, where would all these living creatures go?”
The speakers urged council members to consider both present-day recreational programs—youth clinics, charity tournaments and school events—and climate-related benefits such as reduced local temperatures and increased stormwater infiltration on vegetated surfaces compared with impervious development. One commenter disputed a water-use tradeoff, saying apartments’ lower irrigation needs do not replicate the hydrologic and cooling functions of large greenspaces.
The remarks were made during the meeting’s public-comment period. The transcript and the council’s agenda for March 11 include no final council action or vote on rezoning for the Shalimar property; public commenters repeatedly asked the council to consider the rezoning question when it comes before the body.
Speakers emphasized the property’s value to Tempe and nearby communities and asked the council to preserve it as open space, ideally maintaining a golf-course use. The council did not discuss or vote on any rezoning ordinance during the public-comment segment recorded in the transcript.
