Nabours said he tries to meet with the members of the Board of Regents whenever they are meeting in Flagstaff. He also said the board has an opening for a regent from northern Arizona, and said he has several recommendations for Gov. Doug Ducey to consider.

Nabours said NAU houses a larger percentage of students on campus than any other state university, and said many upperclassmen do not want to live on campus even when they do have the option.

“That is part of being a college town,” he said. “You’re going to have that spillover. It is worth it to have the university in Flagstaff.”

McCarthy said he wants to see NAU grow, but said he wants to see the growth happen in areas that can absorb the influx of people, unlike the Southside neighborhood and the Hub, he said.

“We love NAU, and we want it to grow,” he said. “But the growth has to be controlled. You can’t just dump whatever you want in our city and expect us to absorb it.”

Brewster said the university has space constrictions concerning how much can be built on NAU property, and said decisions made for NAU are a reflection of the Board of Regents, not the university.

Shimoni agreed with McCarty, and said he would like to see NAU-related development occur in areas that are appropriate and sustainable.

The reporter can be reached at cvanek@azdailysun.com or 556-2249.

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