Conservationists are raising concerns as the City of Winnipeg considers repealing a development bylaw meant to help save birds from being fatally struck by windows, less than a year after the rules came into force.
The City of Winnipeg said it will hold a public hearing on Dec. 18 to consider “removing” requirements for bird-friendly windows for various buildings along major corridors and near shopping centers.
“I'm kind of… shocked,” said Kevin Fraser, an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Manitoba who specializes in bird migration and ecology.
“[It's] moving backwards for the birds.”
On November 27, the City published a notice in the Winnipeg Free Press outlining proposed amendments to Schedule AB. Zoning Ordinance for Shopping Centers and Corridors 200/2006″.
Changes to the table include eliminating bird-safe window requirements.
A bird-safe window is one that is constructed or retrofitted with elements such as patterned films, decals, glazes or coatings to reduce impacts.
Environment and climate change, Canada estimates between In Canada, 16 million and 42 million migratory birds die annually because of Window collisions.
Canadian study 2013 Houses found account for most of these deaths because there are generally more houses than other buildings.
But Fraser says that while these results suggest that each average residential building could be responsible for about two bird deaths per year, each low- and mid-rise structure could be responsible for about five, and each tall building could be responsible for 10 bird deaths per year.
Winnipeg the city council began to consider Bird protection guidelines developed by the Canadian Standards Association four years ago. The association recommends glazing, decals or other measures be applied to 90 percent of the glass within the first 16 meters of a building or to the height of adjacent mature tree canopies.
Last fall, the council voted unanimously in favor of Public Works Chairman Coun. Janice Lux will implement bird-friendly windows in select shopping centers and corridors, excluding downtown.
Her office declined to comment for this story.
Zoning rules for shopping centers and corridors called “planned development overlays” that include bird safety requirements went into effect in January of this year.
They were part of a series of bylaw amendments made as part of the city's past federal resolution. housing acceleration fund The app will help speed up the approval and construction of new housing around shopping centers and major road arteries.
The changes now being proposed come after industry representatives expressed the view that “prescriptive” bird-friendly requirements pose barriers to development.”mainly due to problems with finding appropriate materials and costs,” the city administration reports.
The spokesman said building measures such as fenestration that “promote bird-friendly design” are welcome, but the city supports amendments to allow “flexibility so that these measures do not overly restrict or stunt development.”
'IN“Small benefits” of coating: industry association
One industry body providing feedback to the city is the Manitoba Urban Development Institute, an association made up of developers from the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.
Executive director Lanny McInnes said some members with experience working under Ottawa's bird-friendly program said the coatings or treatments were “difficult to source” and said they “failed to achieve their intended purpose, which obviously protects birds.”
“But more importantly, there are other factors that influence the likelihood of bird attacks: window treatments, location of trees and foliage around the building, use of interior and exterior lighting, use of blinds, interior paint colors, wind patterns, shade, time of day,” he said.
“All of these things have … a significant factor in terms of potential bird strikes beyond the coating applied to the exterior window,” said McInnes, who is also president of the Manitoba Home Builders Association.
“There are very few, if any, benefits, and at the same time quite significant additional costs and supply chain issues.”
But a former Canadian Wildlife Service biologist, two national conservation groups and Fraser of the University of Missouri take a different view.
“They're definitely working to reduce the mortality of birds hitting windows,” said Ron Bazin, a retired Wildlife Service biologist who works on endangered species.
There are “dangers that [birds] will have to migrate,” he said, and “it seems a little sad that we’re influencing that.”
Autumn Jordan, a bird-friendly city organizer with Nature Canada, said window interventions are “one of the simplest ways we can help reverse the biodiversity crisis.”
Jordan pointed to 2022 study which demonstrated that the decal, developed by Canadian company Feather Friendly, could reduce the risk of collision by 95 percent. It was also found that the patterned UV-reflective coating could reduce impacts by up to 71 percent.
Last week, Nature Canada announced its latest list of Canadian municipalities that it has certified as bird-friendly. adding Calgary and more on a growing list that doesn't include a single Manitoba community.
“Grassland birds and aerial insectivores are the subgroups of birds that are declining the most in Canada,” Jordan said.
“Winnipeg can really play a critical role in reducing one of these threats…window collisions by meeting its bird safety design standards.”
Industry needs education: FLAP Canada
VALVE (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada, a non-profit organization that raises awareness of the problem of bird strikes in buildings, sets the average price for bird safety in a 40-story apartment building. one percent of the construction cost.
Biologist Brandon Samuels, FLAP's research coordinator, completed his doctorate at Western University on bird strike decisions and policies.
Bird-safe glazes use the same common manufacturing techniques as privacy window hardware and products used to reduce heat gain through glass, Samuels said.
“It's very important that we stick to the facts,” he said. “This does not delay construction time and does not significantly increase the cost of housing construction.”
However, there are “knowledge gaps” in the industry that need “regulatory certainty,” Samuels said.
“They also need training on what it takes to ensure they meet those standards.”
Although the federal government's Housing Acceleration Fund does not include any conditions requiring bird-friendly projects, Samuels suggested it should be done to comply with existing federal law.
The Migratory Bird Treaty of Canada Act states that it is illegal to kill migratory birds. “even from actions the purpose of which is not to cause direct harm to them,” for example, from collisions with windows.
The Species at Risk Act includes similar protections. for federally threatened or endangered species.
“My hope is that if the federal government gives money to municipalities to incentivize densification … what gets built will comply with federal regulations,” Samuels said.
“[It's] smart policy because you don't want to build things that expose building owners to liability when birds congregate on the sidewalk outside their buildings.”
Frazier said that when the city began revising its bird-friendly design ordinance in 2021, “it seemed like a huge advance, something big for our city.”
“And then probably before he really has a chance to have a significant impact on the birds crashing into our buildings, he [potentially] is cancelled.”
