CARLSBAD — Carlsbad Unified School District has been delayed in the building of a new high school on the nearly 60-acre site at College Boulevard and Cannon Road.

A number of environmental and other challenges impacting the construction of the new high school was presented to and discussed by the district’s board of trustees at its meeting Aug. 13.

Response to 60 pages of comments from multiple

agencies regarding the project’s June 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Report will result in at least a one-year delay in the start of construction. Grading had been scheduled to commence in November of this year. According to the district, estimated increases of at least 3 percent to 4 percent in construction costs are expected to result from the delay.

Acknowledging that the obstacles are wide-ranging and significant, District Superintendent John A. Roach said, “The issues can be resolved. We need to work through them with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the city of Carlsbad, Preserve Calavera and other agencies, as well as with several neighboring property owners. We need to weigh our options in terms of the new high school’s design for amenities such as parking and the proposed stadium.”

“The district is determined to deliver a high-quality educational facility to the community, in keeping with the $198 million Proposition P bond measure passed by taxpayers in November 2006,” Roach said. In addition to providing $95.4 million to build the initial phases of the new high school, Proposition P, buttressed by an anticipated $25.2 million in matching funds from the state, provides $86.8 million for the renovation of Carlsbad High School currently under way. It also provides funds to modernize older elementary and middle schools and upgrade information technology systems district-wide.

Roach said that the district has tried hard to be environmentally conscientious from the new high school project’s inception.

“We began our evaluation of the property after the passage of Prop. P, once we secured the funding to proceed.” Additionally, “the architectural firm of RNT is renowned for its sensitivity to environmental issues,” Roach said. “As a local company well-versed in building educational institutions, it is well aware of our area’s habitat priorities; it considers itself, as does the district, a stakeholder in our community’s sustainability.”

“The new high school is being conceived with a strong life sciences focus that will enable us to develop graduates who are stewards of the land,” Roach said of the curriculum. “We are resolved to working through the issues raised during the EIR process and pondering many alternatives so that we can be successful in achieving this goal, while remaining mindful that implementing mitigations and accommodations will add considerably to the cost and possibly detract from desirable campus features. As we go through the process, we intend to remain totally transparent with the agencies, our staff, students and families and with the general public.”

City of Carlsbad-generated issues include stormwater management/control and the city’s General Plan provision for a district-financed Cannon Road extension through the school’s originally planned parking lot. The district has requested that the city amend the General Plan to remove the road extension, which some believe is not a necessary circulation element for Carlsbad.

Environmental issues raised by agencies revolve primarily around protected species discovered at or near the site. Animal species include the Coastal California Gnatcatcher and Least Bell’s Vireo; the former is on the Federal Threatened Species list and the latter is on the State and Federal Endangered Species list.

EIR comments include the necessity for a 100-foot wildlife buffer zone along the perimeter of conservation areas, limitations on noise and light levels that impact the protected species and mitigation measures due to disturbance of sensitive plant species such as Coastal Sage Scrub, as well as questions about unstable ground at the site’s northern edge.

At its Aug. 13 meeting, the board directed Roach to study the comments in detail and to evaluate viable options, stressing that options resulting in extreme delays and/or skyrocketing costs would be unacceptable. Many major issues, and corresponding options, involve the proposed stadium, which initially was designed to feature lights for night games, 3,000 east-side home bleachers and 1,000 west-side visitor bleachers. A 100-foot-wide buffer zone would eliminate the visitor bleachers and could affect adjacent ball fields and reduce parking, originally slated for a total of 1,000 spaces. Noise and light studies can be conducted to determine decibel level impact. Measures such as the construction of an 8-foot-high wall behind the visitor bleachers and/or limitations on stadium lighting and nighttime activities could be undertaken. The district could also apply for an “Incidental Take” permit to mitigate for protected animal species and pay the mitigation costs.

If a full stadium is not constructed, the district would have to consider holding the new high school’s football games and other outdoor activities at the Carlsbad High School stadium, which is being renovated, and/or offering families high school enrollment based on choice rather than boundaries.

Roach confirms that he is perusing the EIR comments and investing in a long-term view of the options. “The issues are significant and will impact our students, their families and the Carlsbad community,” he said. “I am reminded of the traditional Native American admonition to think seven generations into the future. We are at a key threshold in the life of our district and of Carlsbad. We need to ponder the alternatives wisely. The sustainability of protected species is at stake. So is the sustainability of our District’s quality of education and the quality of life in our community.”

The district’s draft EIR and public comments are available at the district office at 6225 El Camino Real, Carlsbad. Excerpts are posted at www.carlsbadusd.k12.ca.us. District officials can be reached at (760) 331-5000.