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If North Portland’s Colwood Golf Course rezones from open space to light industrial, Portland International Airport stands to gain about 50 acres for the reserve of land the agency could tap into for future expansions while another 100 acres of property would become fair game for industrial businesses.

But not everyone is happy with the plan.

The city has set a late March date for the golf course’s rezoning hearing, which has garnered attention from neighborhood residents who’d rather see the land stay lush.

The Port had expressed interest in about 50 acres of the 144-acre course nearly a decade ago, and in 2005, owners of Colwood first expressed interest in re-zoning and selling to the Port and other private investors.

“We are very excited in owning the land,” said Kama Simonds of the Port of Portland, “(although) right now we don’t have any adoptive plans for it.”

Sheila Frugoli, a senior planner with the city of Portland, says her office will be moving ahead with Colwood’s application, which will have a hearing on March 24. She says the zoning change is contingent on a number of objective factors, including whether the new use would be consistent with the area’s needs.

For some business leaders, the hope is that the zoning change will create a full-bore push for business development on formerly inaccessible land, but residents of the neighborhood feel as if the city is ignoring their need for parks and recreation in an area that’s already predominantly industrial.

Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association, says the city has to look at the course as an investment for the future: As an industrial park, it is added back to the tax rolls. But as a park, the city has to pay for it.

It makes business sense to re-zone, he said.

“But that’s B.S.,” said Erwin Bergman, a Cully resident. “It ignores the human need.”

While residents around the golf course don’t oppose the proposed Port sale, Bergman said, they want the remainder of the property to become a city park with a canoe launch on the Columbia Slough, which runs through the property.

Cully currently is one of the most underserved park-land neighborhoods in the city, Bergman says. According to statistics from the city’s Bureau of Planning, Cully’s access rate is 2,780 people per park acre, compared with a citywide average of 40 people per park acre.

Even as debate about rezoning the property heats ups, however, the golf course stays focused on the immediate future. Brad Downey, Colwood spokesman, says that although rumors of its sale have persisted for years, the course continues to keep its tee times.

“Right now, we’re just operating full throttle as we always have, as a golf course,” Downey said. “Every time this stuff comes up it just kills our business. People think our restaurant is closed, but we’re still buying fertilizer for our course like we always have.”