District Adopts Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act

The District's Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-337, the Law) became effective on March 22, 2023, and requires that building permit applications submitted on or after Jan. 1, 2025, must incorporate bird-friendly materials for specified projects. See also B25-0576, the Protecting Historic Homes Amendment Act of 2023 , which pushed the Law's implementation date from Oct. 1, 2024, to Jan. 1, 2025, to give the D.C. Department of Buildings (DOB) more time to issue implementing regulations.

Under the Law, building permit applications submitted on or after Jan. 1, 2025, for new construction – or for alterations involving the replacement of all or substantially all exterior glazing on commercial buildings, multi-unit residential buildings, institutional facilities, or District-owned or operated buildings – each façade of the exterior wall envelope and any exterior fenestration must be constructed with bird-friendly materials up to 100 feet above grade, provided that other materials may be used to the extent that they do not exceed an aggregate of 10 square feet within any 10 feet by 10 feet square area of exterior wall below 100 feet above grade. Each of the terms "commercial buildings," "multi-unit residential buildings" and "institutional facilities" is defined in the Law. Substantial replacement is defined as at least 75 percent.

The Law will be codified in a new Subchapter IV of Chapter 22 of Title 8 of the D.C. Code. However, regulations have not yet been issued by DOB. The implementing regulations should be more specific regarding materials and construction standards that will be considered bird-friendly.

For more information or questions, please contact the authors.