Skokie tells Carvana it must reapply to build glass tower; must meet new bird protection standard

The Skokie ordinance that would have allowed used-car seller Carvana to build a glass tower near a forest preserve in the suburb has expired and Carvana must reapply and meet stricter conditions, including greater protections against bird deaths due to striking the glass, according to village documents.

Skokie’s Director of Community Development Johanna Nyden wrote to Carvana officials last week saying the company would need to start over in the approval process because more than six months have passed since the village green-lighted a Carvana proposal to locate there. She noted any new building would need to comply with two ordinances the village has passed recently, an updated building code and a measure that requires stronger bird-strike mitigations. The letter was sent last week after Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias reached a settlement with Carvana for violating Illinois law, according to previous reporting.

The Skokie Village Board originally approved Carvana’s plan to build one of its signature “vending machine” glass towers, in which car buyers can view their car descend to ground level on a lift, last Feb. 7. In the weeks preceding that vote, numerous residents and bird lovers attended Village Board meetings to protest the proposed Carvana brightly-lit glass tower, which some said would unnecessarily kill large numbers of birds. Others worried it would increase traffic, depress property values and flood residents with light at night.

A few months later, after then-Secretary of State Jesse White’s office halted Carvana sales in Illinois on May 10 due to what they said were irregularities in transferring vehicle titles, Michael Lorge, Skokie’s village attorney, sent the company a May 16 letter ordering them to cease any building plans in Skokie.

The state objected to what it said was Carvana’s practice of misusing out-of-state temporary vehicle registration permits and its practice of failing to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold, according to previous reporting.

That left the Skokie-Carvana deal in what Village Manager John Lockerby called “a holding pattern” until last week.

On Jan. 24, Carvana and the state reached a settlement agreement after Carvana admitted to violating state law by failing to transfer car titles in a timely manner, officials said.

The following day, Skokie’s Nyden wrote in her letter to Carvana officials,“Since a period longer than six months has lapsed (since Skokie gave approval for Carvana to build a glass tower) with none of this activity undertaken, the site plan approval ordinance has become invalid and will be repealed. A new request for site plan approval will be required at this time and the process to start anew.”

This time, she noted, Carvana will have to meet the standards outlined in two ordinances passed since then; an updated construction code and an ordinance that adds bird strike mitigation guidelines to the village’s building code.

According to Skokie’s website, Skokie will require the bird strike mitigation measures for certain new construction including residential buildings over three stories.

The agreement announced Jan. 24 between the secretary of state and Carvana calls for the used-car company to abide by Illinois law going forward, surrender a $250,000 bond and allow inspections by secretary of state police to ensure compliance, according to a news release from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. Illinois can suspend or revoke Carvana’s license again if the company does not act according to the agreement, or if it violates the law.

Talia Soglin contributed to this article.