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Home My WebLink About08-12-25 Public Comment - L. Harris - Audubon letterFrom:Chris Saunders To:Alex Newby Subject:FW: Audubon letter Date:Tuesday, August 12, 2025 10:45:25 AM Attachments:SAS Letter to Bzn City Comm 8.1.25- Bird Safe Windows Building Codes.pdf A letter addressed as public comment to the Commission. Chris S From: Jennifer Madgic <jmadgic@BOZEMAN.NET> Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 7:51 PM To: Tom Rogers <TRogers@BOZEMAN.NET> Cc: Chris Saunders <csaunders@BOZEMAN.NET> Subject: Audubon letter See attached letter from Sacagawea Audubon August 1, 2025 Bozeman City Commission 121 N. Rouse Ave Bozeman, Montana 59715 Dear Commissioners, There is no doubt that window collisions kill birds. Over a billion are killed annually by window strikes in the U.S. This is not a sustainable number by anyone’s standards. Birds don’t see glass as we do. They perceive glass reflections of vegetation, landscapes, or sky to be real. They will attempt to reach habitat, open spaces, or other attractive features visible through either glass surfaces or free-standing glass. This is a human-caused problem, and the good news is there is a human solution. The adoption of bird-friendly building codes is part of a broader movement to create more sustainable and wildlife-friendly urban environments. It’s well-documented that using bird-friendly glass and other window treatments can significantly reduce bird deaths. Since 2008, more than 20 U.S. cities and municipalities have enacted bird-friendly building policies. Some notable examples include Madison, WI, San Francisco, CA, Washington, D.C., and New York City, NY. Bozeman has a great opportunity to be on the leading edge of this movement to help birds by upgrading our city’s building codes to include bird-friendly requirements for new construction. Please read the attached example of a bird-friendly building requirement proposal created by the American Bird Conservancy (https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/legislation/), using the latest research. Sacajawea Audubon Society hopes that you will take a serious look at this issue and adopt some or all of the building requirements included in the example. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the email addresses below. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Lou Ann Harris Paulette Epple Co-Conservation Chairs, Sacajawea Audubon Society Email: louann@sacajaweaaudubon.org, pauletteepple@sacajaweaaudubon.org A Local Chapter of the National Audubon Society Sacajawea Audubon Society PO Box 1711 • Bozeman, Montana 59771-1711 Sacajaweaaudubon.org PROPOSAL NUMBER: PROPOSAL NAME: Bird-Friendly Building Design Requirements SPONSOR(S): PURPOSE: This building ordinance has been created to address the role of the CITY OF BOZEMAN’s built environment in the annual loss of up to 1 billion birds due to glass collisions in the United States. WHEREAS, birds provide valuable and important ecological services, WHEREAS, the CITY OF BOZEMAN has recorded 263 species of resident and migratory bird species, WHEREAS, birding is a hobby enjoyed by 46 million Americans with an annual $107 billion total industry output in the United States, WHEREAS, as many as 1 billion birds may be killed by collisions with windows every year in the United States, WHEREAS, new buildings can be designed to reduce bird deaths from collisions without signiﬁcant additional cost, WHEREAS there exist strategies to mitigate collisions on existing buildings, WHEREAS witnessing a collision is an upsetting, sad event, WHEREAS no person wants to live or work in a building that kills wildlife, WHEREAS façades with more than 30% glass usually increase costs and CO2 emissions from heating and cooling, WHEREAS, bird-friendly practices can go hand-in-hand with energy efﬁciency improvements, NOW, THEREFORE, the CITY COMMISSION of the CITY OF BOZEMAN does hereby ordain as follows: 1.Section (XX.XXX) of the CITY OF BOZEMAN’s General Ordinances is created to read as follows: a.DEFINITIONS i.Glass: All glass, including spandrel glass. ii.Reﬂective and/or Transparent Non-Glass Materials: Any non-glass materials that are transparent or highly reﬂective, including but not limited to plexiglass and polished metal. iii.Bird Activity Zone: The zone between 0 and 100 feet above grade. iv.Auxiliary Structures: Structures that pose signiﬁcant collision risks to birds wherever they are found, including but not limited to: 1.Transparent or highly-reﬂective: a.Railings, including balconies b.Noise barriers c.Wind barriers (including in parking structures) d.Transportation or weather shelters, including both private and public bus and train stops 2.Small, stand-alone buildings that present conditions that can be both transparent and reﬂective: a.Gazebos b.External ticket booths c.Any other free-standing glass, plexiglass, or other clear, transparent, or highly-reﬂective free-standing structure v.High-Risk Building Features: 1.Skyways/skywalks 2.All ﬂoors of building connectors 3.All outside corners where a bird can see in one side of the building and out the other (“ﬂy-through conditions”) within 30 feet of the corner 4.All interior corners within 30 feet of the corner 5.Glazing adjacent to courtyards 6.Atria, open and enclosed 7.Three ﬂoors of glazing adjacent to any green roof or partial green roof vi.Major Renovations and Additions Involving Glass: Any renovation in the Bird Activity Zone that: 1.Replaces at least 25% of a structure’s existing glass or other transparent or reﬂective materials, or 2.Adds any new glass or transparent or reﬂective materials vii.Bird-Friendly Glass: Glass or materials that meet any of the following conditions: 1.Any product with an American Bird Conservancy Material Threat Factor Rating ≤ 30. Visit birdsmartglass.org to view the continuously-updated database 2.Any product that follows American Bird Conservancy’s Prescriptive Rating Criteria (abcthreatfactor.org) 3.Glass with exterior surface (surface 1) obstructed and effectively covered by building-integrated structures that do not have gaps larger than 12” in any dimension, including non-glass double-skin facades, metal screens, ﬁxed solar shading, exterior insect or solar screens, and other features as determined by the (BUILDING DEPARTMENT OR SIMILAR) that meet these conditions. 4.Continuous-surface materials, including spandrel glass and polished or brushed metals, whose surface 1 gloss reading follows the ABC Prescriptive Rating Criteria (abcthreatfactor.org) to ensure that they do not produce strong reﬂections). b.REQUIREMENTS i.100% of the glazing for all building types must be Bird-Friendly Glass for the following projects: 1.All new construction in the Bird Activity Zone. 2.Major Renovations and Additions Involving Glass and Reﬂective and/or Transparent Materials in the Bird Activity Zone. 3.All Auxiliary Structures regardless of whether the rest of the building or project triggers these bird-friendly building requirements. 4.All High-Risk Building Features regardless of whether the rest of the building or project triggers these bird-friendly building requirements.