The Chapala City Council has given a thumbs up for the donation of a 20-hectare parcel of land destined to house the Centro Universitario de la Ribera, a local campus for the University of Guadalajara (UdG).
The plot to be titled to the UdG – Mexico’s second largest public university – has been carved out of a huge undeveloped property called Las Parras located north of the city proper, above the Las Brisas subdivision. The landowner agreed to cede grounds for the campus in exchange for unencumbered rights for the eventual urbanization of the bulk of the remaining property, broken up into a dozen large-scale plots. Another portion located at the top elevation, officially designated as a Natural Protected Area, will be left untouched.
The proposal was initially approved by the council’s urban development commission on Saturday, February 17. It was ratified the by majority vote at the council’s February 19 session.
Councilor Paola Ivette Gómez Valencia of the Movimiento Ciudadano party voted against the measure, noting that while she supports the construction of the UdG campus as a worthy benefit for the community, she is not satisfied with the terms established for the landowner regarding future development.
Her party colleague and 2018 mayoral candidate Moisés Anaya Aguilar was not present for the vote, citing improper and belated notification of the session as the motive for his absence. Weighing in on the matter during an interview with local reporters the following day, he agreed with Gómez and raised additional questions about the potential burden on municipality’s finances in terms of its obligations to provide essential infrastructure and services to such a large student population.
Shortly after the council adjourned, Mayor Javier Degollado led a party of UdG personnel and local officials to the site for a quick walk about. Outgoing UdG Rector Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla is scheduled to attend a dedication ceremony of the land on Saturday, February 24, 10 a.m.
Many among the local populace are hailing the realization of the UdG campus as another feather in Degollado’s cap, just as he heads towards his reelection campaign. However, considering that Bravo revealed back in January that there is no earmark in the university’s 2018 budget to begin construction, it is apparent that it may take years for the project to crystalize.