BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A fight that Boynton Beach residents thought they won five years ago is back.
Nickels Forest, a nearly 15-acre, densely wooded area just outside Boynton Beach city limits, is once again facing potential development after city commissioners took a key step toward selling the land to a private developer.
Local residents are finding themselves mobilizing again, saying the city is already lacking in green space, and this forest should be preserved, not paved over.
Oyer is an organizer of the group Save Boynton's Forest.
"This land is pristine," Oyer said. "The thought that they just want to get rid of this is just mind-blowing."
Oyer has been leading the fight to preserve Nickels Forest since 2020 when the City of Boynton Beach first considered selling the land to a developer. At the time, city commissioners unanimously rejected the plan.
But in May 2025, the commission voted to declare the property "surplus," allowing the city to enter into negotiations with Mizner Global, LLC, a developer that recently purchased 10 adjacent acres from the Palm Beach County Housing Authority.
According to city records, Mizner Global submitted an unsolicited letter of intent on March 31, offering more than $5 million to purchase the forest land. The company says it plans to build single-family homes and not apartments. A representative also told WPTV that environmental impact studies would be conducted, and wildlife like gopher tortoises would be relocated, just as they were on the previously acquired property.
But neighbors like John Kohn, who lives adjacent to the property, say that's not good enough.
"If they did build on top of this, we'd be living right next to a construction site for God knows how long," Kohn said. "Then once it's done, the traffic would increase like crazy."
He also raised concerns about displacing wildlife such as the gopher tortoise, which is protected under Florida law.
"I think we should keep (the gopher tortoises) there as long as we can," Kohn said.
For Shannon Prieto, a mother who moved to the area after searching long and hard for a home, she fears for how these instances of development can impact her children.
"If we don't fight for these green spaces, we're not going to have much left for future generations—like my son," Prieto said. "We do not want this. This land should become a preserve."
In a statement to WPTV, the City of Boynton Beach said:
"First and foremost, the land in question is outside of city limits, and any negotiations would involve a thorough environmental impact study before decisions are made. The interested party approached the city with an unsolicited offer of more than $5 million for land that currently generates no revenue for the city. Given the fact that the Palm Beach County Housing Authority recently sold the land surrounding and adjacent to the property in question, that the site is basically unused and is not in the City of Boynton Beach, the city would be financially remiss if it didn't seriously consider this multi-million dollar offer on behalf of its taxpayers."
Oyer says the city needs to take a longer view.
"We do not need that money so desperately that we have to sell our present—and our future—away from our residents," Oyer said.
A Boynton Beach City Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, and residents say they plan to show up in force.
Until then, the fate of Nickels Forest and the community's vision for its future hangs in the balance. Saturday May 31st, the community is planning a forest cleanup at 8 a.m.
