Upper Darby environmental advisors and tree groups press to save 15-acre forest amid rezoning proposal

Peggy Kowalski, chair of the Upper Darby Environmental Advisory Committee, told members the planning commission had recommended mixed-use zoning for a roughly 15-acre parcel but that several township committees and residents oppose rezoning and want the tract preserved.

"The environmental advisory committee does not support the rezoning of the [tract]," Kowalski said, urging the group to prepare a collaborative, evidence-based statement for township council. She said Councilwoman Melissa D'Onofrio Bizon had introduced a resolution to formalize the EAC, which the council would consider the following day.

Jamie Watts, an EAC member who cited research by TreeTenders, said aerial imagery suggests the forest contains trees approximately 65 years old and that Upper Darby has less than about 6% open space—well below the national average. "Preserving that tract would give Upper Darby its best shot at having a healthy 100-year-old forest in the near future," Watts said.

Members recommended the EAC obtain and review the developer's arborist report—reported to sample eight sites inside the parcel—so the committee could present precise information on tree counts, species, protected designations and the parcel's ecological value rather than rely on general assertions. Kristen Cooper, the committee cochair, emphasized the need for accuracy: "We should go in there with accuracy and specifics about what this 15 acres really entails."

Mike Atwell, chair of the Upper Darby Shade Tree Commission, read a letter urging preservation and calling the parcel "an unrivaled reservoir of trees and wildlife," and recommended township efforts to find ways to preserve it as parkland and an environmental learning place.

Bonnie Hallam, identified in the meeting as a TreeTenders leader, described local organizing—a petition and a Facebook page she said had gathered about 500 signatures—and urged the township to consider land-preservation options. Several members said they would work with tree tenders and community groups and refine the EAC's draft letter before presenting it to council.

The committee debated whether to submit the draft to council before the council's July 15 meeting; Councilwoman Melissa D'Onofrio Bizon said the rezoning item was not on the immediate council agenda and offered to shepherd the committee's research to other council members. The EAC members agreed to collect additional data, tighten the letter's points and present a revised version for a future council submission rather than rush an incomplete statement.

Next steps recorded during the meeting include the EAC's plan to obtain the developer's arborist report and other site data, coordinate with TreeTenders and the Shade Tree Commission, and circulate a revised letter to committee members prior to sending it to council.