The New York Times reports that San Francisco’s mayor has signed into law new bird-safe building standards. Chicago and Toronto have similar building standards for new construction and major renovations.
According to San Francisco’s Planning Commission’s policy document for Section 139 of the Planning Code, “Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings,” research has documented that buildings and windows are the top killer of wild birds in North America. The two primary hazards of glass for birds are reflectivity and transparency. New construction must use bird-safe glazing techniques on the portions of buildings that are most susceptible to bird crashes (“the bird collision zone”) to reduce the impact of the glass on migrating birds. Builders are also encouraged to incorporate latticework, grilles, and other devices into glasswork.
