CHICOPEE — The Conservation Commission recently approved the installation of chain-link fencing in the southwest region of the Westover Metropolitan Airport property, but residents are still fighting to stop the project.
The commission met on Aug. 5 and Sept. 2 to discuss the fence proposal.
Gregg Cohen, senior environmental analyst, and Josh Weiss, wetland scientist, of Stantec Consulting Services Inc., appeared before the commission on Aug. 5 on behalf of the property owner, Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation, to explain the project.
The fence will be 8,000 linear feet and sit five feet tall.
Aside from the fence, Cohen stated that the project also includes clearing vegetation within a 10-foot corridor on both sides of the fence line, resulting in an estimated 3.7 acres of total vegetation removal.
Tree clearing will be performed by experienced, vetted arborists and planned for the fall or winter months, when ground conditions are typically frozen to minimize disturbance, according to Cohen.
Stantec Consulting also submitted a request to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program for a Massachusetts Endangered Species Act review. This request asked whether the proposed work lies within mapped Priority Habitat and whether any additional permitting or conditions would be required.
Cohen stated that the business wants to install a fence for public safety reasons.
After tabling the topic until Aug. 19, the commission moved the discussion to Sept. 2 since the NHESP report had not been filed yet.
Many residents and some city councilors filled the first Conservation Commission meeting to express their opposition to the fence. The fence would be installed along a 57-acre conservation corridor known as the Slate Road Conservation Area.
The land abuts the Massachusetts State Park, and it is one of Chicopee’s last connected natural corridors, according to residents.
Residents said they fear the fence could interrupt wildlife mitigation, fragment habitats, block public access and connections, limit recreation and outdoor learning, reduce natural beauty and create a barrier for generations to come.
City Councilor Sam Shumsky, who stated his opposition to the project at the Aug. 5 City Council meeting, said in a statement on Facebook in July that once he learned about this project, he spoke with WMDC Executive Director Andy Widor and spent hours at City Hall to understand the situation. Shumsky stated that there are no plans for development at this property and that the fencing is solely for insurance and Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
At the time, Shumsky said the plan must go through the proper public process.
The Conservation Commission approved the proposal during its Sept. 2 meeting, but some residents joined the Sept. 3 City Council meeting to try and get the council to step in and prevent the fence from being installed.
Tina Collucci said she was there on behalf of the Slate Road Conservation Area group, whose mission is to protect the 57 acres of land in the Slate Road corridor. She said that four years ago, the group fought against a zoning change on this land and gained 100% support from the City Council.
“Now, once again, this land, which has been utilized for over 50 years for recreation by so many residents and people in the surrounding communities in Western Mass., in addition to serving as a link in an expansive wildlife corridor, is being threatened to be fenced off,” Collucci said. “Our ultimate goal would be to have this great city of Chicopee purchase the land back and permanently place it into conservation.”
Collucci also said the group found evidence that in the 1960s, 42 of the 57 acres, formerly known as Buena Vista, was placed in conservation. However, because this was before Article 97 of Massachusetts law, which became effective in the 1970s, the group was told there is no formal record of the area ever being recorded in the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection databases. According to the state, Article 97 establishes a right to a clean environment, including its natural, scenic, historical and aesthetic qualities for citizens. It also establishes a right to a clean environment, including its natural, scenic, historical and aesthetic qualities for the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Four years ago, the Slate Road Conservation Group obtained over 1,100 electronic signatures in support of protecting the Slate Road corridor, Collucci stated.
“We’re confident that the interest in this land has only gained more momentum since then,” Collucci said. “West Springfield was able to do it with Bear Hall. Why not Chicopee?”
City Councilors cannot respond directly to residents during public comment, but any future updates will be covered at thereminder.com.
