One year after approving bird-friendly construction rules, city looks at scrapping them

The City of Winnipeg will consider deleting building requirements that aim to prevent birds from fatally colliding with windows, amid pressure from developers who say the rules create a barrier to getting more homes built.

Experts fear removing the rules would put the animals at greater risk.

City council will consider removing bird-friendly window requirements for developments within mall and major transportation corridor sites during a Dec. 18 hearing, about a year after the city first approved the rules.

“It’s a surprising… backward move because we know that windows pose a huge problem for our bird biodiversity. We have a major migration flyway here, tens of thousands of birds are passing through on migration every spring and fall,” said Kevin Fraser, associate professor of biological sciences for the University of Manitoba.

The city rules were added to help ensure certain windows are built or retrofitted to break up reflection, which helps birds recognize window glass as a solid object. This can be achieved by adding patterned films, decals, glazes or coatings.

Specifically, the City of Winnipeg’s bylaw requires buildings to be designed with exterior window treatments for glass up to 16 metres (52 feet) above ground, or to the top of the mature tree canopy, whichever is higher. The treatments must be designed to withstand “exposure to the elements and window cleaning,” with visual markers that contrast the transparent or reflective glass surface.

“Being able to treat windows with something that breaks the reflection, which was part of this new bylaw, was a nice step forward for our city,” said Fraser.

The professor said studies show such treatments are very effective at reducing fatal window strikes, which kill as many as 25 million birds in Canada each year.

Fraser said the guidelines provide an easy way to protect the animals.

“We’re going to have to pay, at some point, to support biodiversity. There may be costs sometimes, but it’s worth it,” he said.

A request to speak with someone from the city’s property and development department was not granted on Wednesday.

In an email, a city spokesman said the proposed change follows feedback that the bird-friendly rules act as a barrier to some housing projects.

“By recommending these bylaw amendments, we’re hoping to provide flexibility so that these measures do not overly constrain or halt development. We recognize the importance of bird-friendly design and intend to work with developers and other key stakeholders to find the best way to do this,” wrote Adam Campbell.

The head of a developers association said his members experienced significant challenges with similar bird-protection rules in other cities, such as Ottawa.

“Our members shared with us… those requirements were problematic,” said Lanny McInnes, executive director of the Urban Development Institute of Manitoba. “It added… costs and supply-chain issues for projects, with negligible benefit in terms of reducing bird strikes.”

He noted many other factors can affect the potential of bird strikes, including tree location, lighting, blinds, interior paint colours, wind patterns and shadows.

While decals might be expected to offer a simpler option to prevent bird strikes, interior ones could easily be removed once a building is occupied, McInnes said.

“It’s not a silver bullet in terms of avoiding bird strikes,” he said.

In late 2024, city council approved the rules, along with sweeping zoning changes intended to make it easier to develop multi-family housing projects at malls and major transportation corridor sites. The key changes removed the need for many projects to go through zoning and variance applications or public hearings.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said he would like to find a compromise that allows the city to attract more housing while still protecting birds.

“I don’t want to delete it and just do nothing… I certainly think other cities have done (this) without destroying the development industry,” said Mayes.

The councillor said he hasn’t heard about a specific construction project that didn’t proceed due to the rules.

“I’m sure we’ll require a number of things for developments that would have a cost, but they’re also making a huge profit (through the new zoning rules),” said Mayes.

Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood), chairman of the property and development committee, said he’ll seek more information before deciding how to vote on the issue.

“We do have to keep affordability in consideration, but we also have to understand… the impacts to wildlife,” said Duncan.

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), who originally asked city council to add the bird-friendly requirements, declined to comment prior to the public hearing.

City rules aside, Fraser said members of the public can also help protect against bird strikes, such as by drawing patterns on their own windows with washable markers.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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