Bill Proposes No Hotels, Golf Courses for System Schools

An amendment to the N.C. House's budget would prevent the system and its 16 campuses from using system-owned land to build and profit from a golf course or hotel on the property.

Facilities built before July 1, 2002, are excluded from the restriction, including Finley Golf course, which is owned and operated by UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Carolina Inn, also on the UNC-CH campus, will not be affected because it is privately owned.

The legislation states that the UNC-system Board of Governors must refer all building plans for hotels and golf courses to the N.C. General Assembly for approval.

The amendment resulted largely from strong lobbying efforts by the state's travel and tourism industries, said the amendment's sponsor, Rep. Gene Rogers, D-Martin.

Rogers said he expects the legislation to help North Carolina recover from one of its worst budget crises in history.

The state is facing an approximate $2 billion budget deficit for the 2002-03 fiscal year.

"I think this will have a positive effect on the state economy," he said. "This is another tool in the bag."

But some system officials are concerned the state is overstepping its bounds.

Teena Little, vice chairwoman of the BOG, said that while the legislature has the authority to oversee the system, the body that governs day-to-day operations should have oversight.

"You must accept that ... the legislature funds you," Little said. "(It) makes certain rules and regulations -- (you) might agree or disagree."

But Little said the BOG should have oversight over building projects because construction affects individual campuses.

"(The BOG) is given authority to make those decisions by the legislature," she said. "We ought to be able to."

She said that if the legislation passes, the legislature will send a message to the UNC system that it does not want any state government entity in competition with private industry.

The amendment was prompted by plans at N.C. State University to build a hotel and golf course on the Centennial Campus. N.C. State is developing the Centennial Campus to serve as an area of high-tech industry.

Jonathan Howes, special assistant to UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser, said he thinks the amendment is a result of the situation at N.C. State rather than any construction plans at UNC-CH.

But the amendment could also limit UNC-CH's ability to develop the Horace Williams tract, located in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

But Rogers said the proposed restrictions are not as large as some people perceive. He said, "In a budget crisis somebody comes out with a grand scheme and everyone gets spooked."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.