BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Boynton Beach residents are continuing their fight to preserve a nearly 10-acre forest along city and county lines, pushing back against a developer's proposal to build 72 townhomes near their neighborhood.
The land sits near Quentin Avenue and Nickels Blvd., where a boundary line separates two adjoining parcels — home to gopher tortoises, grey foxes and other wildlife. Residents say the two parcels together represent some of the last remaining green space in the area.
Michael Zwierzyna has lived in the neighborhood since 2020 and said the forest has become part of his family's daily routine. "Being able to have this local to your house is great," Zwierzyna said. "My children love being able to see a tortoise.”
He is among a group of residents who gather every Wednesday to discuss the latest developments on the land. "When you zoom out on an aerial map this is like the last of our green space in our local vicinity," Zwierzyna said.
The proposal is a revised plan from an earlier submission. Developers with Mizner Global purchased nearly 10 acres of county land in March 2025. Directly next to it, divided only by the city-county line, sits city-owned land. Developers also eyed purchasing the city's portion of Nickels Forest for $5 million, a move the city halted.
Developers are now proposing 72 townhomes, up from a previously proposed 34 single-family homes.
During Tuesday's city commission meeting, city leaders agreed to discuss the item at a later meeting. Commissioner Thomas Turkin voiced support for preservation.
"Our land in my opinion should be preserved. I think that's the sentiment of this issue. You've seen so much rapid development throughout the whole state of Florida and that when you look at this little site of land. I can understand that you have to grow, but you not have to grow every single time. You can look at growth responsibly. What mechanism are we willing to discuss that will help prevent that from happening and where do we draw the line as far as — we're gonna preserve this piece of land?" Turkin said.
Resident Susan Oyer said the support from commissioners has been encouraging. "It's been great. They been very supportive of we hear you, its complex issue between county, city, outside of city limits," Oyer said.
Oyer acknowledged the legal reality facing residents but said their goal remains full preservation. "In a perfect world we don't want to see this project happen at all — it needs to stay perfect for us," Oyer said. "The reality is the developer does have permission to put in 34 single-family homes.”
Residents have also raised concerns about stop work order signs posted on the property, pointing to trees they say were disturbed without proper permits. "You're not supposed to touch these trees without permission and without permits and you can see them laying on the ground and all broken up," Oyer said.
Developers were contacted for comment and had not responded yet. Meanwhile, the group's petition on Change.org has gathered more than 1,500 signatures.
"This forest matters and there's so little left in our county we need to protect it," Oyer said. "This is just a piece of heaven and let's not lose that.”
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