CARLSBAD – The discovery of two endangered birds on the site of a future high school in Carlsbad will delay the opening of the campus at least a year past the scheduled fall 2011 start date, officials said.
The birds were discovered as part of an environmental review of the 57-acre site at College Boulevard and Cannon Road. The Carlsbad Unified School District is building the new campus to reduce overcrowding at Carlsbad High.
“We're trying to be as positive as possible and see what good can come out of this,” school board President Elisa Williamson said.
Two nests of least Bell's vireo, which primarily inhabits riparian woodlands, scrub, and thickets for breeding, were found on city property between the high school site and College Boulevard, district Superintendent John Roach said.
It's not surprising. The city created a special habitat there for the bird after Corky McMillin Cos. upset least Bell's vireo habitat at its nearby Robertson Ranch housing project, Roach said. McMillin paid the city to establish the habitat as part of a mitigation agreement, he said.
Separately, at the north end of the high school site, a California gnatcatcher was spotted, although no nests were seen, Roach said.
In coming weeks, the school district will conduct sound tests to determine how the routines of high school life could affect the birds.
The district may have to abandon plans to build a football stadium at the new campus. According to site plans, the visitors' bleachers border the least Bell vireo nesting sites.
“There's obviously concerns about lighting and noise, because bleachers (during sporting events) are very noisy,” Williamson said.
The school board will discuss how to proceed with the new high school in early October, after administrators have conducted more studies and consulted with biologists and project managers.
In the meantime, portable classrooms at Carlsbad High will stay on campus for longer than expected, to accommodate an excess number of high school students past 2011.
Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com
