EMILY REID/Arizona Daily Wildcat Physics sophomore Alex McCourt and undeclared freshman Jennifer Parrott relax on the Mall yesterday next to the Joseph Wood Krutch cactus garden. PADRAC, the university's planning committee, voiced its support to keep the garden on Friday.

The Alumni Heritage Plaza plan incorporating the Joseph Wood Krutch cactus garden and its more than 80-year-old boojum trees won the backing of the university's planning committee Friday.

The 13 members of the Planning and Design Review Advisory Committee unanimously voiced their support for keeping the garden but had differing suggestions as to the exact appearance of the plaza.

The Arizona Alumni Association was planning to have Hargreaves Associates - the designers of the garden - present to two plans of the plaza, one incorporating the garden and one that included relocating the garden.

But they decided that it was a waste of time to present the plan without the garden, said Jay Rochlin, associate director of the Alumni Association.

Although the cactus garden has been saved in the eyes of the Alumni Association and Hargreaves Associates, some people still question the Alumni Association's definition of preserving it.

"For those who are interested in preserving the garden, everything is still up in the air," said James Stevenson, a UA law school alumnus who opposes altering the garden.

The proposed design calls for taking some plants out of the garden and moving others in, so the garden would be more incorporated with the Alumni Plaza.

"It's always been a pot in the middle of campus and you have made it a much more creative pot," said PADRAC member Steve Brigham.

UA President Peter Likins recommended to Hargreaves that they "look forward for everyone," in regard to incorporating a cultural theme to the plaza.

"We need to make sure it is a multicultural space," he said.

Likins said he has been extremely frustrated at the process of developing the plaza. Likins has received numerous e-mails from people concerned about the garden's future, even though he said it was resolved in December that the garden would not be moved.

"I said again and again and again, we hear you, we are re-examining with Hargreaves," Likins said. "That word was never accepted as if we weren't listening. The dynamic of the protest grew and grew and grew before it was resolved."

The Alumni Plaza-Krutch Garden Working Group, which is made up of representatives from different groups on campus and from the Tucson community, will provide design direction to Hargreaves for the garden.

The plan offers strong ideas for the area including separating pedestrian and bicycle transportation for a smoother control of traffic.

"I think it's really a fantastic design opportunity to sort out the different speeds of moving," said PADRAC member Larry Morrison.

The 1,100,500 square foot area planned for the Alumni Plaza is working with will have more shade and seating for students, making the area much more tolerable during the hot months.

More than 51,000 square feet of the plaza will have a canopy keeping the sun off of the area. The design proposes 170 trees.

An estimated 1,300 seats will be accessible in the form of benches, seat walls and terraced rises.

Hargreaves will work with the planning committee and design a final plan to be presented for approval to PADRAC. Likins will have the final say after PADRAC confirms support of the plan.

"I think you've got the project," Likins said. "I hope you get the process right."

The estimated $2.7 million plaza will be funded by the Alumni Association's individual contributions.

This is the first visual project the UA alumni have put together in hopes of making students aware of the presence of the 200,000 alumni of the university who normally give their major contributions in scholarship dollars.

"Our mission is to raise the awareness of students to show them that the job of the alumni is to give something tangible, to raise awareness to future alum to give back in tangible ways," Kemmeries said.