UNM golf course improvements eyed

North Course could see changes in landscaping, drainage and trails

A public meeting this afternoon will focus on the future of the University of New Mexico North Golf Course and Urban Open Space.

Consultants will discuss potential upgrades to landscaping, fencing, vegetation and the trail that circles the course.

The ideas include new drainage and wetland areas to help manage storm runoff; a smaller one-mile trail; restoring and enhancing the tree canopy; and replacing the fence that runs along Stanford Drive.

The university itself, meanwhile, is completing a water conservation project that could save 14 million gallons of water a year. The plan is to use recycled water to irrigate the golf course.

“This is an opportunity for the public to see what is being proposed and give feedback,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins said.

The state has approved about $430,000 in funding to carry out improvements at the 79-acre golf course and open space.

The area is protected from development under a 25-year agreement between Bernalillo County and UNM, approved in 2012. The university owns the property, but the county has paid for improvements.

The course lies just north of the UNM law school, roughly between Stanford and a floodcontrol channel. It’s surrounded by a two-mile trail popular with joggers, walkers and people out with their dogs.

Today’s meeting is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the county Office of Health and Social Services, 1111 Stanford NE.