Skokie lawmakers have given the ok for Carvana's request for a zoning change and have cleared the way for the used car dealership to build a 14-story glass tower next to the Harms Woods Forest Preserve.
The approval came despite the protests of activists who said that thousands of birds would die by crashing into the tall glass structure near a wooded area.
The Chicago Tribune stated that the other opposition came from the residents of the nearby Optima Condo complex giving the following reasons:
- The light from the tower would flood the area at night
- Vehicle delivery trucks would create noise
- The building would lower property values in the area
- Sales and property tax revenue promised by Carvana was not realistic
The Skokie Village board voted 7 to 1 to allow the company to build the vertical used car dealership in an area that is currently zoned as an office research district and to also allow the company to display more signage than is currently permitted.
WTTW News reports that hundreds of people emailed trustees and thousands signed onto a petition against Carvana stating that the project was nothing more than a "glass display case."
Carvana was founded in 2012 and has already built 30 such towers in 18 states, including one in Oak Brook, though the Skokie tower will be among its tallest.
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The company came to the meeting having made a number of changes to its original proposal, addressing concerns over truck routes, lighting and the potential for deadly bird strikes.
In response to the complaints from the community, Carvana agreed to the following:
- Wrapping the tower in a bird-friendly pattern up to a height of 63 feet, 10 inches
-Turning off the building's lights during spring and fall migration
- Carvana will participate in a research study which would last for at least one year, into the tower's impact on the birds
Opponents of the project were not satisfied with that and a member of the village's Sustainable Environmental Advisory Committee was never asked to weigh in on the Carvana tower.
The Chicago Tribune states that in voting in favor of the Carvana tower, some trustees have said the village could receive around $9 million in tax revenue from the project and that another much larger building could be constructed on that site without zoning relief. The Skokie Plan Commission also signed off on the project.
Mayor George Van Dusen commented that the village has worked with Carvana to reduce bird strikes. He stated that the mitigations on this project was as strict as anywhere else in North America.
The company has agreed to turn off all lighting on the four sides of the glass cube tower from March 15 to June 15 and from August 15 to November 15 each year between midnight and 7 am when birds are typically migrating through the area.
