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Residents urge Holyoke to preserve Elmwood Forest as council reviews legal status
Summary
Public commenters told the council the Elmwood/woodland parcel on Martin Street should be conserved and not auctioned while its Land Court status is unresolved; council referred an order to the Development & Government Relations Committee to brief members on conservation steps.
Several residents used the council’s public comment period to press elected officials to conserve a small woodland known locally as Elmwood Forest and to clarify the parcel’s legal status.
Jordana O'Connell (56 Woodland St.) said the site (parcel Lot 120-00-011 on Martin Street) is a "rare pocket" of forest that provides air filtration, stormwater absorption and wildlife habitat in a predominantly paved urban landscape and warned that "once it's gone, it is gone forever." She urged the council to pursue conservation tools and highlighted state grants available for forest protection.
Jessica Montagna (79 Brookline Ave.) expanded the request and asked for information about where the parcel stands in Land Court. "If the city holds firm to the commitment to protect our air, water and land... then the proposed destruction of Elmwood Forest is in direct conflict with that commitment," she said, urging transparency and adherence to the city's Urban Initiative goals.
Councilors voted to refer item 56 (an order filed by Councilor Rivera) to the Development & Government Relations Committee and asked that conservation experts — including Kestrel Land Trust, the conservation department, and a planning-board representative — be invited to brief the committee on steps, requirements and timelines to designate the parcel as conservation land.
The council also agreed that interested councilors could be added to that referral; members noted there are grant opportunities (participants cited Commonwealth grants up to $500,000) and asked staff to report back with legal context and the Land Court status.
What comes next: The DGR committee will schedule a briefing with conservation staff and invited organizations to outline the process and possible funding paths for preservation.
