Consider Adopting a “Bird-Safe Buildings” Ordinance.  (Vice Mayor Vella and Councilmember Oddie) [Not heard March 21 or April 4, 2017]
Yeah, go ahead. So. Who wants to present. So I think that I think that a number of us have met with, as well as our city planner, has met with the Golden Gate, Audubon Society. They've done a lot of work here in Alameda, and specifically with our leashed terns and other bird sanctuaries in Alameda and have done a great job working towards conservation and wildlife care standards in other cities, including San Francisco and Richmond. And they have put forward just basic language that would help advise potential developers, people building anything here in Alameda, different practices that could make their buildings bird safe. And I've I've also spoken with a number of other individuals who are architects, planners and developers. And a lot of these things end up coming up later in the process, in particular during the sequel process and other things. And so this would just codify it and put them on alert earlier on to some of the best practices and basic things that they can do to make their buildings bird safe. All right, so then. Well, here. Question member matter. So we're not giving people ideas. The purpose of this referral is to establish an ordinance that people have to follow, make buildings burn safe. Correct. Thank you. All right. Speakers. Marjorie Powell. Then. DeCarlo Annie. Patricia McCann and. Cindy Margolis. And then they are a fat, skinny. Go ahead. All right. Thank you. Mayor Spencer, members of the council. My name is Marjorie Powell. I've been a resident of Alameda. Now for just over. Three years. We selected. Alameda out of the Bay. Area because of its. Wildlife friendly reputation. And because, frankly, I was familiar. With the LC. Romer Bird Sanctuary. Which is now. Across the street from where we live. Across the street from it, I guess I should say. I'm also a member of the Golden Gate, Audubon. Society and the. The Friends of the Alameda. Wildlife Reserve, which. Focuses on the least tern colony up at. Alameda Point. But I want to. Urge the Council to adopt an ordinance that in that requires. Planners to make their buildings bird safe. There are several reasons for this. First. If it is. An ordinance, then planners. Know ahead of time what they have have to comply with. And a number of planners have told. Golden Gate Audubon, as you will hear later in. Our testimony, that knowing ahead of. Time this is in fact. Not expensive, it there are many options that will make the building easier to heat and to cool. So it eventually. Saves money in the long run. But it's also important to note that there are three potential factors that would be involved in making buildings bird safe. Depending on the height of the building and the nature of the design of the structure. One is what you do with windows. Birds don't see glass, so they will fly into windows. That's important both for tall glass buildings, but also for lower buildings that have large glass. Because many areas in Alameda have nesting, breeding birds, and they're the ones who will crash into the building's windows that are lower down because they're moving quickly, particularly the smaller birds. So windows are one concern. Lighting is another concern. The lighting shouldn't be directed where it's not needed, particularly on to water, but also landscaping. If the building is a large building designed with an interior courtyard, you don't want windows that are going to. Be attracting birds. To fly into a landscaped interior courtyard. Speakers coming behind me will highlight many of these issues. But I did want to say that we think this is very important. It's not particularly difficult for architects to including in planning if they know ahead of time what they need to do. Thank you. Thank you. Linda. First, I want to thank you so much for spending 2/1 for. Staying so you could hear our request. We are really. Appreciative. So I'm Linda Colonia, a village in Alameda, about six years. I'm a member. Of the board of the Golden. Gate Audubon, and I'm the co-chair of the Friends of the Alameda Wildlife Reserve. And I just want to urge. You to adopt this referral to establish. Building standards to protect our birds. So glass in our built environment is a significant. Hazard to birds. 300 million birds are killed in building collisions. Each year in the United States. More birds. Are killed by collisions with buildings than. Any other single source other than free. Roaming cats. And Alameda is really a critical place for birds. We're right on the Pacific Flyway. We have these incredible. Shorebirds. And we have all. Kinds of birds that nest here. So it's really important for Alameda. And Alameda has a history. Of making. Environment and wildlife protection a priority from kind of creating the LC from sanctuary. To. Zoning, the wildlife reserve up on Alameda Point. So we think this is really the next step. As Marjorie said, it's competitive so long as you do it at the beginning. Both San Francisco and Oakland did this several years. Ago and Richmond just did. It. In November of last year. So we think it's time for Alameda to do this, too. Thank you for your time and I hope you'll adopt the referral. Thank you. I guess. Good morning. City council members. I'm Patricia again, and I also am a member of Golden. Gate Autobahn. And the friends of. The Alameda Wildlife Refuge Reserve. And I also. Just strongly endorse. This bird building. Anti bird safe building ordinance. This would establish Alameda as credentials. As a bird friendly. City and could encourage nearby communities. To do the. Same. Please move forward. And while I am here, I am also supporting the city, exploring taking title to the uncompleted strip of Shoreline Park, which also would be good. With. An agenda. Okay. Thank you. These lips. I just noticed these lips we should actually had, like on hers. That has agenda item nine and nine city. Okay. And then Cindy's has nine A and nine. See also. And then the one's nine. Yeah. We combine nine B's. Okay. Well, we'll make another one. Okay. There's two of them. All right. Hey. Thank you all for hanging late. I really appreciate it. And so do all of us. The reason this is so urgent is because there are so many development plans in Alameda. And so it's very important that we get ahead of the development cycle so that we don't add additional costs to the developers who want to develop in an environmentally responsible way. In Alameda. As some of the speakers have told you, the wildlife cohort in Alameda is incredibly special. It's actually very special relative to all the other Bay Area. So we have more than 200 species which live just at the refuge alone, just in that little section of Alameda have been seen. So if you take the whole island and the cross-section of all the different varieties across the island, there's a lot of different birds. That includes endangered species, threatened species, species of special concern. These are birds you really don't want to lose. And we've used birds as a harbinger of the environment for all Alameda schoolchildren. So we've had a program for years where we're going into the schools and educating the kids about the birds. And they get so excited thinking that they're special birds in their own community. And it helps them identify with the community and with the nature that's around them. As this other speaker said, it's the second leading cause of bird mortality, and it's totally preventable with a smart ordinance. I am going to encourage that. The city of Alameda take a leadership role nationally on this topic, and it's actually not very difficult. So three other Bay Area cities within our catchment of Golden Gate Audubon have adopted these as well as some in the South Bay. But what you are able to do based on the science which was provided, which is in the referral packet from Cal Academy, that study establish that the standards for bird safe windows should be a little bit smaller in terms of single plate design. So you can have multiple plates, but each individual plate of a certain size should be mitigated in some way. It doesn't mean you can't use glass, it just means the glass has to be mitigated properly. If you do that, Alameda is able to take a national prominent role on this, which is a very important statement for a city that holds the most important protective colony of an endangered species in the nation. And the American Bird Conservancy has assured me that they will step up with Alameda and declare how important what you've done is. So I am going to ask that the planner take that additional step of the leadership position because of the bird life that is so special in the city, adopting the bird safe building would govern all new construction. And as we're looking at increased density of housing, one of the things that's going to make Alameda so special is our shoreline and our access to public space and birds become a way to connect people to those spaces. And what you don't want to do is build a bunch of buildings that are going to have dead birds outside their windows. So this solves a lot of problems for the city. It reconnects the city with its island heritage, with the wildlife around us, and with the beautiful shoreline that we enjoy as an island city. In addition, there were priority around dark-sky and lighting is another important factor. That's part of the bird safe constellation, if you will, part in the face of issues that were talked about. So there's buildings, there's lighting, and there's also the relationship of the landscape to the building as those things relate to each other. And this would solve that in the way that other cities have solved that. No up lighting, no downloading, no water lighting, but lighting for security. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. So she's our last speaker on the nine A, if I'm reading this correctly, your. Now are there's nine be. I'm sorry on this form. Good morning. I am not going to speak much because. You are sorry for this already. I'm sorry. Before you continue. So she's speaking on nine. B is. But the slip says. We agree to continue. So I didn't know that. Or is that okay? Work is perfectly fine, right? Yeah. Okay, then. Go ahead. Thank you. I just wanted to say I'm. Especially excited to see Almeida potentially join the growing list of people that are concerned about bird safe buildings and cities that have adopted ordinances already. And I think it's especially fitting to have this decision made in April when we have Earth Day and we have a lot of friends birthday and a lot of a lot of attention toward. Our natural resources. And I'm here tonight just to say hello and hope you support us. Thank you. Thank you. And hello. So she's our last speaker on. So we have other speakers online. So then do you want to hear about them or an online? Okay, Pat Lambrew, I'm 90 also. So if anyone was here on nine A or nine be. I did already call you. I wasn't sure. So we combined nine B, 99 D, I think we've probably said enough. Then I was going to just mention how important landscaping and trees are in conversations with folks who live right near a well-lit building. They have been in a long conversation to get ahead. There is some speaking up for the hedge. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. All right. So may I suggest may are you? You said there was a slight nuance difference. Maybe you can explain that. And then maybe we can dispose of this before. The night on 99. So I did a separate referral because I want to make sure I actually from reviewing the Golden Gate Audubon website, they have make the city safe for wildlife. And they have multiple things. They have the buildings standards for bird safe buildings, but then they also have tree care and bird safety tree care, and then they have lights as another thing. So the artificial light and referred speakers on all those. So I wanted to make sure we're looking at a comprehensive. Effort to protect our wildlife. So in addition to the word safe buildings and and I have previously done referrals for the artificial light and the trees. And I, you know, I I'm hopeful that we could. Look at the whole appetite for birds. And the other two, the artificial light and the trees were ranked as medium level on our priority thing. And I don't know where we're going to put this, but I would hope that we're providing a good habitat as well as looking , you know, the trees, lighting and build building safety together, which is why I yeah. And I did my seven to make sure we're doing a comprehensive effort here. And I think the sample basic draft for the Alameda Bird Friendly Ordinance Framework, which is one of the attachments, includes things on the importance of landscaping and feature related standards as well, including atriums, greenhouses, things like that, as well as the lighting aspect I think. I hope that that addresses some of the concerns, I think. My hope is that this this gets folded in with some of the other elements that we're looking at and so that we get something that's comprehensive instead of something that's piecemeal. That's why I was bringing it to you as a comprehensive effort. I appreciate hearing that. Vice Chair. I mean, I would agree with the vice mayor that I think the the draft ordinance from Richmond accomplishes that. I mean, I would like to be able to have us celebrate that we're nationally recognized for this effort. So to the extent that there's extra things that are not in that Richmond ordinance, then I'd be in favor of that. But, you know, not to pontificate for too long because it is late. But, you know, we do care about our wildlife here. And, you know, we've done a lot of work. Councilmember Matt Arrestee. I mean, taking the lead on protecting the SEALs. Mm hmm. So, I mean, that that's really strong. And I, you know, just real quick, I remember I was out there on first sight over the weekend, and I remember getting distracted by just watching this bird play in the sand. And I was supposed to be paying attention to the property owners. But so I do think this is an important thing. And I know it's kind of a small thing, but, you know, all of our wildlife is important. So I think it's important we take this the step. So it sounds like I may have heard that. So if you're agreeable to combining them somehow so that we are looking at a comprehensive partnership, and that's just that's what I want, but I want to try to make sure we're doing that. Yeah. And I mean, we're going to look at where this fits in the priority that we established. And also it will go to our city planner right to to look at. And we you know, I want to know what all the considerations are. And I have met with a lot of these ladies out here, the advocates. But we need to find out from a practical matter, what will that mean in terms of. You know what? More financial pressure on developers. We've had a little experience lately about how, you know, the changing landscape, but oftentimes you can meet a lot of criteria. But yeah, well, yeah, that's something that our planning department. Can take a look at. That's. Oh, yeah. So do you want to set a priority on where this fits in? And may I suggest that it's a medium just like the lighting ordinance. Yes. And I think it might. And I'm right. I move that we adopt a we give direction to a to consider a comprehensive. A bird friendly ordinance with protections for other wildlife as consideration is referred to. And I can be. I'll second. That. And and just by way of discussion, if we were looking at applicable criteria, I think that this is a referral dependent on other city projects or work efforts because I know we are there is an effort in planning to update a number of our codes. So oftentimes work product can be grouped together just saying sometimes it helps to look at applicable criteria. Thank you. The medium status. With medium. Priority. Yes, we have a second. Second. And so then I just want to clarify. So we're actually combining 99 versus. Yes, yes. All right. All those in favor. I motion carries unanimously and we've disposed of nine B now we can go to nine C. Consider directing staff to prepare for it. Thanks for waiting. On the city of Alameda acquiring. Taking title the uncompleted strip of Shoreline Park next to Harbor Bay. Parkway. All right. And I brought this referral. That's pulling up and we have one speaker on this and an and this is considered directing staff to prepare a report on the city of Alameda acquiring or taking title to the uncompleted strip of Shoreline Park next to the Harbor Bay Parkway. And some background is as the proposed hotel was being discussed at Bccdc, there was discussion of the strip and and it wasn't really clear it was being discussed as a benefit of building the hotel. But it really wasn't clear that this, in fact, is actually the city's as they are. This is something that the city could take possession of, is my understanding from the discussion. And so I brought the referral because I'd like us to consider taking possession of it just on our own and seeing what the if that's a possibility and the costs involved. And so that's why I brought this. Now we'll have our speaker, Pat Lamborn. Thank you all so much. Thanks to the entire city council for staying and including this and the nine, A, B, and C, thank you to the city staff for staying so late. And thank you to my sisters from the Golden Gate, Audubon Society.