Crowds Pack Skokie Village Meeting To Address Carvana Glass Car Tower; Many Say It Has No Place In Skokie

SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) -- Neighbors packed into a village meeting Monday night over a plan by the company Carvana to build a 14-story glass tower to dispense and showcase cars.

As CBS 2's Marie Saavedra reported, neighbors and nature lovers say the towers has no business in their backyard.

Discussion on the topic at the village trustee meeting at 8:20 p.m. They finally got to public comment after a five-minute break at 10 p.m., and there were at least 20 people in line – all of whom were to get at least three minutes to share their views.

The majority of speakers were opposed to the plan and are saying as much.

"Where's the independent analysis from the Village of Skokie – looking at the economics, looking at the environmental issues, looking at the safety issues?" one man said. "You've been given a one-sided process."

The glass tower would be the tallest one so far. It would be built alongside a nature preserve just west of the Edens Expressway.

Over the last few months, Critics of Carvana's development said the 14-story tower threatens several habitats. The first habitat of concern is that of a residential building - the Optima apartments that sits near the development near the Edens and Old Orchard Road.

Critics are worried this is going to be essentially a bright billboard creating more traffic.

The site for the Carvana tower is also right next to Harms Woods nature preserve. Members of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors said it within a major migratory route, and they're concerned sound, light and that birds will die crashing into that glass.

CBS 2 spoke with the director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors about her concerns.

"In addition to its location, which is just a few feet away from a protected nature preserve, the Harms Woods, Flat Woods Nature Preserve, as well as being in a chain of green space that stretches from the Chicago Botanic Gardens down to those Skokie Lagoons along the Chicago lakefront, which is a major migratory route for millions of birds every year," said Annette Prince of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.

Once Skokie resident Kim Polka heard about the potential danger, she took action. She got residents to write letters, and she's gathered thousands of signatures -- even from passionate kids.

"You have to think about the environment and the environmental impacts and the impacts of the ecosystem on development decisions that you're making. So this to me immediately sounded absurd in the location that it was in. And because of the damage that I knew it would call because for birds, because it would be a death tower is what I'm calling it," Polka said.

At the meeting, one opponent even showed up in a bird mask and lay on the ground outside Council Chambers at the Skokie Village Hall, with a sign reading, "Don't harm Harms Woods, Carvana."

Still, Skokie's Planning Committee greenlit the proposal.

Carvana said it is trying to be responsive - adjusting its proposal to limit the hours of deliveries and trucks passing through. The village said the company also committed to treating the glass in the tower up to 63 feet high to help deter bird strikes.

There are Carvana Towers across the country. One is already up in Oak Brook, and a second is going up in Schaumburg.

This would mark the third tower in the Chicagoland area.

After the public comment period Monday night, it was expected that village trustees would want to discuss the issue themselves afterward. It was not certain whether a final vote would happen Monday night.