Next Tuesday, August 23, the San Jose City Council will consider riparian corridor protections and bird-safe design guidelines. Please join me and support these protections and request the Council apply the voluntary bird-safe design guidelines to all riparian corridors, not just north of Highway 237.
What’s Happening
For years we have advocated with other groups for San Jose to officially adopt the city’s Riparian Corridor Policy Guidelines. The Council will now consider an official policy and Zoning Code amendments incorporating those guidelines and encouraging bird-safe design in new construction north of Highway 237.
CGF supports the proposed Council policy and Zoning Code amendments with regard to riparian corridors. However, we are urging the City Council to apply the voluntary bird-safe design guidelines to all riparian corridors within the City, not just the area north of Highway 237.
Why This Is Important
Riparian corridors are vital habitat and migration areas for most wildlife species, especially in urban areas. Creeks provide an important water source and support a greater species diversity than elsewhere. Approximately 80% of animals use riparian habitat at some point in their life cycles.
Hundreds of millions of bird deaths occur in North America each year due to collisions with windows, one of the primary causes of bird mortality. As birds typically concentrate in riparian corridors, encouraging bird-safe design near creeks just makes sense.
San Jose’s bird-safe design guidelines are entirely voluntary and any developers with new projects in mind should receive them. Developers are merely asked to submit a “Bird Friendly Design Checklist” indicating which bird-safe design elements they have chosen for their project. Opening up a dialogue about how to build with nature in mind is a win-win for developers and environmentalists.
Please join us in urging the San Jose City Council to adopt the proposed Council policy and Zoning Code amendments with regard to riparian corridor protection, and adopt the bird-safe design guidelines with the alteration that such guidelines should apply to all riparian corridors within the City, not just to the area north of Highway 237.
We’ll keep you updated as this issue moves forward. In the meantime, please contact Legislative Advocate Alice Kaufman at: [email protected] if you have any further questions.
Thanks for speaking up to protect creeks and wildlife in San Jose.
Thank you for your interest in this issue. We are no longer asking people to send emails since the meeting date has passed. Please contact Advocate Alice Kaufman for more information on how you can get involved.
For an update on this issue please see our blog post: Win for creeks & wildlife in San Jose
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