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Residents urge council to protect Bow Lane open space, cite deed covenants and aquifer risk
Summary
Neighbors and conservation advocates told the council the 91‑acre parcel was intended for recreation and open space, warned the site is inside an aquifer recharge zone and cited studies that they say show cemetery leachate can reach groundwater. They asked the council to deny the sale and seek alternative sites.
Multiple residents appearing in person and on WebEx told the Common Council they oppose selling the Bow Lane parcel to the State for cemetery use, arguing the property was deeded to the city decades ago with restrictions limiting development to agriculture, recreation and natural uses.
Attorney and long‑time residents described the deed language and urged the council to uphold it. Neighbors also raised technical environmental concerns: testimony cited posted signs marking the site as an aquifer recharge area and presented material from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control warning that cemetery materials and embalming fluids can leach metals and formaldehyde into soils and groundwater. "Putting in a cemetery would result in loss of vegetation, addition of paved surfaces, roads, and parking lots," said one resident, who asked the council to "study this proposal much more thoroughly" before acting.
Speakers also noted lengthy local open‑space planning documents and a 2005 transfer they say designated the land for active and passive recreation and wildlife habitat; several urged the council to retain the parcel for those uses and to work with the state to identify alternative sites for veterans. Some residents asked the council to form a joint committee to evaluate options and preserve neighborhood trust after what they described as limited prior notice.
