NORTHAMPTON — The city is planning to acquire 230 acres of land to expand the 800-acre Saw Mill Hills Conservation Area in Florence, and the public will get a chance to hear details of the project at a virtual forum on Monday.
“We’re incredibly excited about this open space opportunity,” said Sarah LaValley, the city’s conservation and preservation planner. “It would be the largest acquisition that the city has made in quite some time.”
After Monday’s 5 p.m. meeting, the city plans to apply for a $400,000 state land grant, which is awarded in late fall or early winter, and seek Community Preservation Act funding. Kestrel Land Trust is assisting the city with its efforts.
The city has a purchase-and-sale agreement with the land’s owner, the Pomeroy family, for $690,000. If the sale goes through, the Conservation Commission would become the new owner.
“This property has a lot of public benefits. Trails are one of them. If successful, we would like to connect the planned Northampton ONE trail, which will go all around the city,” LaValley said. “It is private, and those trails are not guaranteed unless it’s public.”
The property is also home to an endangered species of bird, as well as some endangered salamander and plant species, and provides climate change resiliency benefits through carbon sequestration.
Saw Mill Hills is already one of the city’s largest open space areas, “and this 230 acres is right in the middle of it,” LaValley said.
Located between Sylvester Road and Spring Street, the conservation area has grown for decades as the city acquired parcels from private owners. The city acquired 20 acres in 2020, 80 acres in 2000 and 24 acres in 1995, along with other purchases and gifts over the years.
The link to the meeting and instructions to join by phone can be found online at https://bit.ly/3P7jJe8.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.