February 17, 2010
Dear President von Arx,
We, the faculty and student leaders of the environmental movement on campus, are writing to call your attention to a matter of great importance. The University plans to remove a sizeable piece of hardwood forest by expanding the Quick Center Parking Lot as part of the Village Complex Project. This planned degradation of the natural landscape of campus has led us to contact you. We take our responsibility to speak for the environment on campus seriously and are taking steps that we feel are needed to bring attention to the issue.
Faculty members with expertise in evaluating the importance of different habitats on campus universally agree that the area to be impacted is the most injurious location for development on campus and that loss of this habitat will be detrimental to the campus in terms of biodiversity, student education, and faculty-student research.
The expansion of the parking lot will completely remove the last remaining piece of intact upland hardwood forest on campus; this area is valuable in its own right due to the unique biota residing there. The upland area to be removed is also a component of the larger forest complex on the Southeast corner of campus; this forest complex is the largest natural area on campus and the parking lot expansion reduces this area by approximately 20 percent.
The area to be impacted serves as our most important reservoir of biodiversity and is the central hub for wildlife movement on campus. The current plans are the latest in a series of projects resulting in the destruction and degradation of campus natural areas (e.g., construction of the Co-Gen Plant and the new Jesuit Residence).
We are saddened that this construction is slated to occur and gravely concerned that the project was planned without our input given that our attempts at engagement over the past few years were specifically intended to avoid this situation.
In Oct. 2007, following discussions with Executive Vice President Billy Weitzer, a group of faculty met with Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Reed. The events that led to these discussions included the habitat degradation in the Co-Gen Plant conservation easement and destruction of faculty research sites near Bellarmine Pond.
We asked to be informed early in the planning stages of projects that impact the natural areas on campus so that we could offer input based on our expertise. We were assured by Reed that we would be notified of all future projects that would impact campus natural areas.
We specifically communicated the importance of the woodlot in question to Reed when we walked the campus with him and Facilities Management staff members in Oct. 2007. We have subsequently learned that the Village Complex plans were finalized approximately one year later, in Oct. 2008.
It was not until Jan. 2010 that we first viewed the finalized plans for the Village Complex Project. Faculty members that have been involved in discussions with the administration on other sustainability issues were surprised that the project includes plans to develop a parking lot within the sensitive natural area.Subsequent to this revelation, it has been stated by administrators that the faculty share responsibility because development plans have been mentioned in several venues since Oct. 2008.
Those faculty members involved do not agree that informal mention of construction plans constitutes sufficient notification as promised. The Village Complex project was never formally discussed with environmental stakeholders. If consulted during the planning stages of this project, we could and would have reiterated the importance of this area and suggested alternatives.
On Feb. 12, faculty, students, staff and senior administrators met to discuss ways to move forward. After reflecting on that meeting, we ask the following:
We ask that the University reevaluate the plans for parking on the south end of campus to find a solution which preserves the forest bounded by the existing Village Complex, the Quick Center Parking Lot and St. Ignatius.
We ask that the University develop and publicly present a campus conservation and preservation plan that will preserve a significant portion of the remaining natural areas on campus. Environmental stakeholders on campus should be involved as decision makers in that plan.
We ask that the University create a formal step in the campus planning process in which the environmental stakeholders on campus are presented all plans for campus development for their review and discussion. Environmental stakeholders on campus should be involved as decision makers in that process.
We ask that the University create a formal structure capable of addressing the full range of environmental concerns on campus. This structure must include representatives from the faculty, students and staff as well as administrators responsible for these areas and must serve as a decision-making body. The extant Campus Sustainability Committee could be part of this structure if its purpose is re-defined and formalized beyond an advisory role. The addition of a full-time Sustainability Coordinator would greatly facilitate the integration of all activities and initiatives.
In the past few years, Fairfield University has undoubtedly become a more sustainable institution. It has been inspiring to see students, staff, faculty and administrators (notably David Frassinelli and Jim Fitzpatrick) devoting considerable time and resources towards the goal of minimizing the University’s impact on the planet. Cutting down a stand of forest to build a parking lot would be a huge step backwards.
Sincerely,
Jen Klug, Associate Professor, Biology
Tod Osier, Associate Professor, Biology
Dina Franceschi, Associate Professor, Economics and International Studies
Jim Biardi, Assistant Professor, Biology and Chemistry
David Downie, Associate Professor, Politics and Director, Program on the Environment
Mariann Regan, Professor, English, Emerita
Kraig Steffen, Associate Professor and Chair, Chemistry
Brian Walker, Assistant Professor, Biology
Dana August ‘11, President, Student Environmental Association
Zach Gross ‘12, Secretary & Treasurer, Student Environmental Association
Alex Roem ‘10, Director, Green Campus Initiative
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