Groups ask for better bird protections on Statesman PUD

The Travis Audubon Society is urging Austinites to contact their City Council member and ask them to include extra protections for birds in the Statesman planned unit development on Lady Bird Lake. A hearing on the development is scheduled for Dec. 1 after many months of discussion. While the PUD remains controversial, particularly because of how much it will cost taxpayers, the Audubon Society wants to make sure birds are not left out of the planning process. According to the group, the developer of the PUD intends to use bird-friendly glass with 15 percent reflectivity only on the lower floors of the building – but that’s not enough. Millions of songbirds are killed every year when they collide with glass windows and glass-clad skyscrapers. Bird-friendly glass is glazed with a special coating that enables birds to see the glass as a solid barrier and avoid it. The Audubon Society is asking Council “to require 15 percent reflective glass for all building glazing systems at the Statesman PUD project, no matter the height, as recommended by the American Birding Conservancy.” Find your Council district by entering your address in this map.