HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-09-15 Sustainability Commission CorrespondenceFrom:danachaban@aol.com
To:City Clerk
Cc:Christopher Hadwin; Jeffrey Bernstein; Scott Stiles
Subject:Message for Sustainability Commission - Regarding Reflective Glass Causing Bird Deaths.
Date:Sunday, September 15, 2024 1:35:57 PM
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Good morning, City Clerk and Staff -
May I request that you forward this email to every member of the Sustainability
Commission, as I do not have their email addresses, and any other individuals whom
you deem appropriate or whose email addresses I don't currently have.
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Good morning Commission Members and Others:
Hundreds even thousands of birds die each week across the planet, especially during
this massive migratory season, by slamming into windows and doors (residential,
retail and commercial, in particular high rise buildings.)
This morning (Sunday, September 15), CBS SUNDAY MORNING aired an important
segment on this very topic, that thousands upon thousands of birds of all kinds, small
and large, are killed by flying into glass windows, which they confuse as open or
accessible passage. You can go on line to bring up this segment. They referred to
this as a Sustainability issue.
For many decades, I worked on a Mayoral committee in San Francisco to mitigate
this problem with appropriate agencies. So it holds special interest for me.
Developers in many cities (Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.)
have adopted a method to prevent this, installing non-reflective coatings or special
"visuals" that prevent birds from this tragedy. Sustainability agencies in those cities
have had full cooperation with Building Permit or Architectural Review boards as well
as developers to adopt this as municipal code or law. Several major architectural
firms have also adopted this method by including the special (inexpensive) material in
their punch lists.
May I ask you as Commissioners to be pro-active here in Palm Springs as well,
especially as we have some multi-story hotels, etc., to work with our Building
Department and other related departments and/or commissions to adopt this one
additional item? And also broach this with CVAG as well as the other 9 cities here. I
am confident that it would not cost the city anything at all to add this wording into
code. Thank you. I would be happy to hear back from each of you.
Cordially,
Donna Chaban (Chaban-Delmas)
Palm Springs
(760) 449-0021
Former Commissioner, Trustee Palm Springs Public Library
Former Board, RCENO