Update January 23
Please continue to oppose construction of the 14-story, all-glass, illuminated Carvana Car Vending Machine Tower proposed to be built next to the protected nature preserve - Harms Flatwoods in Skokie, IL and in the path of millions of migratory birds. Here are some action steps you can take to help in this effort:
NEW: Email Skokie's Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC) at elizabeth.zimmerman@skokie.org before their meeting on Tuesday January 25th and ask that this Commission make a formal recommendation to the Skokie Board of Trustees and Skokie Mayor George VanDusen that they reject the Carvana Tower project. With their mission "to be a resource for the Mayor and Board of Trustees, informing them how their actions and policies may impact the Village of Skokie on an Environmental basis," tell SEAC it is their responsibility to advise the Village of Skokie to reject the Carvana Tower (proposed across from the protected Harms Flatwoods nature preserve) which does not provide adequate design and lighting mitigation for the elevated threats it poses to resident and migratory birds.
NEW: Send a copy of your letter to US Representative Jan Schakowsky’s District Director, Leslie Combs, at
Leslie.Combs@mail.house.gov
AND, if you haven’t already done so:
Submit your written comments to the Skokie Board of Trustees via publiccomments@skokie.org . Comments from Skokie residents are especially appreciated but all are welcome. Please cc any correspondence you generate to Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) at info@birdmonitors.net
Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/ProtectSkokieBirds
Update January 13
At the meeting last week, the Skokie Planning Commission was not willing to take a stand against the insufficient bird strike mitigation that Carvana offered after advocates raised concerns about the dangers of allowing an all-glass tower that will be lit all night to be built in such close proximity to a natural area used by tens of thousands of migratory and resident birds. The Planning Commission decision moves final approval to a vote by the Skokie Board of Trustees that may come as early as January 17th.
Advocates are continuing to make the case for bird protection with Village officials insisting that approval to build the Carvana tower at this location should be denied or if allowed it is insisted that Carvana be required to provide complete bird strike mitigation involving treatment of all glass and turning all lights off during spring and fall nighttime migration periods.
Keep sending your objections to this project to publiccomments@skokie.org and sign this petition created with our input by Skokie supporters:
The Village of Skokie and Carvana's proposals are unacceptable and fail to meet the higher level of protection they could achieve. A top tier threat simply MUST include top tier bird strike mitigation. Skokie has an obligation, if indeed it is a progressive Village, be a steward of the interconnected Harms Woods Nature Preserve and the beleaguered birds that are rapidly disappearing from the planet.
Please be a voice for the thousands of birds that could be killed or injured over the life of this building. Ask the Members of the Skokie Plan Commission and the Board of Trustees to Vote NO on the Carvana Car Vending Machine Tower NOW in advance of the Plan Commission meeting tomorrow night.
Please voice your concerns about this project today to the Skokie Plan Commission and the Village Board of Trustees at publiccomments@skokie.org and Carvana representative Bret Sassenberg at bret.sassenberg@carvana.com Copy your social media or share our posts. Please CC your correspondence to Chicago Bird Collision Monitors at info@birdmonitors.net
Background: An all-glass structure with all-night interior and exterior illumination will pose a significant hazard to birds that inhabit the surrounding natural areas as well as the millions of birds that pass through the north shore migratory pathways along Lake Michigan; and Skokie Lagoons, the Chicago Botanic Gardens and other preserves along the Chicago River. Night-time lighting from within and around the tower will draw birds to an invisible glass danger. Significant daytime risks will be posed by the tower's glass that can appear clear or reflective in different lighting conditions and that will either fool birds to fly towards reflections of trees and sky or fly through areas of transparency.
Other such glass buildings adjoining natural areas in this and other locations in the Chicago area have documented significant numbers of bird strikes. The Carvana Tower poses deadly risks to birds and should either not be approved for this location or... at the very minimum... be required to meet the highest bird-safety standards in its design and lighting practices.
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) is working with concerned Skokie residents including Robert Kusel, who brought this matter to the attention of birders throughout the Chicago area, to coordinate a response.
Photo credit: Robert Kusel - cedar waxwings at Emily Oaks in Skokie
Thanks, as always, for your avian advocacy!