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San Francisco adopts bird-safe building standards
San Francisco's Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings promise to reduce bird collisions with buildings while saving money for building owners and operators.
By American Bird Conservancy
Published: December 22, 2011  BIRD-FRIENDLY: This bus shelter incorporates fritted glass, a material recommended in the new standards.
But in San Francisco at least, the threat will soon be reduced thanks to new building standards recently passed by the city’s board of supervisors and signed into law by Mayor Edwin Lee in October.
The new Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings describe simple, cost-effective means for reducing bird strikes. For example, fritting — the placement of ceramic lines or dots on glass in a certain pattern — increases the visibility of windows to birds while still permitting people inside to see out clearly.
The standards also address light pollution, which can impede birds’ ability to navigate by the stars. Lighted buildings and towers can draw birds off course and disorient them, resulting in exhaustion, injury, or death. The standards will reduce unnecessary interior and exterior lighting during migratory seasons.
Importantly, bird-safe buildings can have direct benefits for owners and operators. For example, fritting reduces heat gain through windows, thereby decreasing cooling costs. Turning off unnecessary lights can save thousands of dollars a year in electricity bills.
The standards split the city into two zones. Compliance with the new standards will be mandatory for new projects in so-called Blue Zones, which are located near nesting and feeding sites, in fog-prone areas where visibility may be low, along migration paths and resting areas, and in districts that are zoned to allow tall buildings. In lower-risk Green Zones, the standards will provide voluntary options for reducing risks to birds.
While Toronto, Ontario, Highland Park, Illinois, and other cities have passed bird-friendly provisions, San Francisco is the first to take a comprehensive approach. The standards represent a step forward in planning for wildlife needs and caring for resident and migratory birds.
On a national level, Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley has introduced legislation (HR 4797) that calls for each public building constructed, acquired, or altered by the General Services Administration to incorporate, to the maximum extent possible, bird-safe building materials and design features. |
American Bird Conservancy is a 501(c)(3), not-for profit
organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their
habitats throughout the Americas. You can read more about Red Knots and
horseshoe crabs at abcbirds.org.
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