On Tuesday, June 23, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will vote on updated design rules for new buildings in unincorporated areas of the county. The update includes bird-friendly building standards to protect birds from colliding with windows and other structures. Using the form below, please urge the Board of Supervisors to adopt the updated design rules and protect Bay Area bird populations.
What’s Happening
San Mateo County is currently in the process of updating its Design Review Ordinance. As part of this update, the ordinance will for the first time require bird-friendly design standards for buildings in unincorporated areas of the county, including the Midcoast, Pescadero, and the Emerald Hills, Palomar Park and Devonshire neighborhoods. These standards would require buildings and other infrastructure to incorporate bird-friendly glass and design features that reduce the risk of bird collisions. The Board of Supervisors will vote on this issue on June 23.
Several cities across the region have already adopted bird-friendly design ordinances, demonstrating that communities can successfully balance the need for new development with protecting our region’s birds. The adoption of bird-friendly design standards would align San Mateo County with a growing number of jurisdictions that have recognized the importance of incorporating bird-friendly design practices into new development and redevelopment projects.
Why It Matters
Bird populations in North America have been declining at alarming rates since the 1970s. Populations are down by nearly 30 percent, which is about 3 billion birds. The effects of this dramatic loss are becoming increasingly visible in our region.
The Bay Area is a critical stop in the Pacific Flyway, a migratory route that millions of birds use yearly to reach food sources, warmer temperatures, and breeding grounds. Our shorelines play an important role for the 300,000 to 400,000 birds that land here, providing a space for birds to rest over winter. Studies of bird populations that use this migratory route and depend on habitats in the Bay Area have documented substantial declines over the past twenty years. Shorebirds have experienced particularly sharp reductions in population numbers. Some suffered as much as an 87 percent decrease in population. These patterns call for us to work towards environmental policies that protect birds and bolster population sizes.
Bird-friendly standards are essential for reducing bird collisions with glass, which research has identified as a major source of bird mortality. Across North America, hundreds of millions of birds are killed annually due to glass collisions. The American Bird Conservancy estimates that number to be even larger, at more than one billion birds. The problem arises when transparent or reflective glass mirrors the surrounding environment, creating an illusion of the open sky or adjacent vegetation. The birds are unable to distinguish these reflections from the actual trees and sky, and, as a result, may attempt to fly through the glass. Even relatively small or low-lying features like glass railings, transparent corners, and fly-through designs can disorient birds as they move across the landscape.
These types of collisions happen anywhere birds are present, so it is imperative to adopt bird-friendly design techniques anywhere there is infrastructure that could negatively impact bird movement.
What You Can Do
Using the form below, please email the Board of Supervisors by June 22 and tell them to adopt the updated Design Review regulations with the bird-friendly design standards.
