Residents urge Tempe Council to preserve Shalimar Golf Course, citing urban heat and community value

Several Tempe residents urged the City Council on March 11 to preserve Shalimar Golf Club as open green space rather than permit rezoning for higher-density housing.

Speakers told the council Shalimar provides a large cooling “halo” in the city, supports wildlife and community programs, and is a unique gathering place for residents across ages. None of the speakers said the council voted on rezoning at this meeting; instead, they asked council members to oppose rezoning if and when a rezoning decision comes before them.

Amanda Clark, a Tempe resident, said Shalimar “is beloved by the people of Tempe” and described the course as one of the valley’s coolest large green spaces on satellite data. “Vegetation and green spaces serve to mitigate the effects of urban heat island,” Clark said.

Ramon Arrowsmith, also a Tempe resident and long‑time golfer at Shalimar, told the council vegetation acts as a “natural air conditioner” and cautioned that replacing large permeable green space with impervious surfaces would reduce groundwater infiltration. He acknowledged arguments that apartments could use less water but said that comparison is “spurious” because impervious surfaces behave differently than vegetated land.

Kathleen Ross, who said she lives on the ninth hole at Shalimar, asked council members to visit the site before making decisions and to “say no to rezoning.” Suzanne Nee, another longtime golfer, described wildlife sightings on the course and said Shalimar hosts youth cross‑country races, clinics for people with disabilities and charity tournaments that would be affected by redevelopment.

Speakers framed the issue primarily as a local environmental and quality‑of‑life concern: preserving tree canopy and open water on the site, maintaining recreation and charitable programming, and protecting habitat for birds, foxes and turtles reported by course users.

City staff or council members did not present a related rezoning proposal or take formal action on Shalimar during the March 11 meeting. The public‑comment appeals were heard during the open-call portion of the agenda; under the Arizona Open Meeting Law, council members may not discuss or take action on matters not listed elsewhere on the agenda, though they may ask staff to study a matter or place it on a future agenda.

For now, speakers asked only that the council weigh the site’s environmental and community benefits if a rezoning or development request is later scheduled for council consideration.