On December 19, 2022, the Skokie Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved the first reading of a motion to add Bird Strike Mitigation Building Design Guidelines to the Building Code. This move positions Skokie as a leader in mitigating bird strikes in private development.
Modeled after the Chicago guidelines for bird-friendly development and similar to guidelines adopted by Evanston in September 2022, Skokie’s move supports the development of a regional approach to stopping bird collisions. Though unlike Chicago’s guidelines which are only recommendations, Skokie will require these measures for certain new construction including residential buildings over three stories above grade and for the rehab of building façades in which 70% or more of the façade is replaced.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, over 1 billion birds die each year in the United States because of collisions with glass. The vision that birds have result in the perception that glass reflections of sky, trees, other vegetation is real and is an area that they can access/fly into. These new guidelines aim to reduce that risk by implementing bird-friendly standards for high risk features on the façade, exterior lighting, and other exterior components.
The motion will be up for final approval at the January 17, 2023 meeting of the Village Board.