Audubon Objects To Location Of Potential South Stamford School

STAMFORD, CT — The Connecticut Audubon Society and Audubon Connecticut released a joint letter earlier this week objecting to a potential new K-8 school that could be built in Cove Island Park.

Last week, a 10-year master facilities plan for Stamford Public Schools was presented by the architectural firm SLAM. The plan recommends the closure of four schools and the construction of a new K-8 South Stamford School. The city said Cove Island Park could be a possible location for the school, which would have a capacity of about 1,050 students.

"We are assessing several areas. Cove is one of those areas that we are looking at currently," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tamu Lucero last week. "That's a location that is part of the city-owned property that would be an ideal location for a south Stamford school, when you look at the neighborhoods the students would be coming from."

The Connecticut Audubon Society and Audubon Connecticut said in their letter that while they commend the Board of Education for undertaking a master facilities plan and the concept of a new school in the city, Cove Island Park should be off limits.

"Because Cove Island Park encompasses one of the most important urban bird sanctuaries in Connecticut, we ask that it be removed from the list of potential sites," the letter said. "The Cove Island Bird Sanctuary, created in 2006, has been designated by Audubon as an Important Bird Area, one of 28 in the state and the only IBA in Stamford. Important Bird Areas are just what the name denotes — the most important places in a region for the conservation of birds and the habitats they need to survive."

The Cove Island Bird Sanctuary has also been designated as a Long Island Sound Stewardship Site by the U.S. EPA’s Long Island Sound Study.

In North America, the number of birds has dropped dramatically over the last 50 years, the letter said. About 29 percent of the continent's birds have been lost — there are approximately 3 billion fewer birds than there were in 1970.

The Audubon groups said population changes can occur because of many reasons, including the loss of important bird habitats because of the encroachment of development.

"The construction of a school on a site that is essentially adjacent to the bird sanctuary would inevitably damage the sanctuary’s value to birds and lead to further local population declines," the letter said.

Board of Representatives member Megan Cottrell (D-4), who represents the Cove area, said last week during the facilities master plan presentation that her constituents are concerned about a potential new school going up in Cove Island Park.

Cottrell suggested the abandoned Fairway property on Canal Street as a potential location.

Lucero said in her weekly message to the school district last Friday that there are only recommendations at this point.

"The SLAM recommendations served as an exciting moment for the City of Stamford and our school district as a whole. Please remember that at this point these are simply recommendations that will be vetted through community engagement, which is the next step in the Long-Term Facilities process," Lucero said. "Not to mention the fact that the master facilities plan comes with a hefty price tag, which will also need to be discussed."

Over 12 years, if the plan is implemented in full, it would cost Stamford about $540.8 million.