NAHANT — A group of residents disagree with the Board of Selectmen’s decision to ask voters to rescind the newly enacted Wetlands Protection bylaw at a Special Town Meeting in December.
“As residents of the town, we seek to preserve the democratic process of our Town Meeting governance and direct the Board of Selectmen to move on from this activity and focus on more important town priorities,” the residents wrote in an open letter and petition that is circulating around town. The Item obtained the document through an email from Keep Nahant Wild.
The Keep Nahant Wild Movement is a part of The Nahant Preservation Trust, Inc., an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, whose mission, like that of Keep Nahant Wild, is to preserve the scenic landscapes, open spaces, historically significant properties, and conservation lands. Its members are vocal in their opposition of the proposed expansion of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center.
The petitioners plan to present the letter to the board at a meeting Thursday night, said resident Michelle Capano.
The Wetlands Protection bylaw was adopted at a Special Town Meeting in August. Last month, selectmen scheduled a second Special Town Meeting to decide whether the bylaw should be rescinded, citing the heat and lack of space in Town Hall at the first meeting that lasted more than 3½ hours and left not a single chair — or square inch of floor space — unoccupied. A yes or no ballot was handed out, as voted by the body, and 285 returned the slip in favor while 278 were opposed to an amendment to the town’s bylaws to change the permitting process for projects within the town’s wetlands.
The bylaw, which was approved by Attorney General Maura Healey on Sept. 13, in essence prohibits the removal, filling, dredging, building upon, degrading, discharging into, or otherwise altering the listed resource areas (freshwater or coastal wetlands, marshes, etc.) except as authorized by the Conservation Commission. The bylaw establishes a permit application, notice and hearing, and determination procedure.
“I’ve gotten several complaints about the Special Town Meeting, the heat, the lack of information that was out there about how many people were going to be affected by this,” said selectman Enzo Barile. “So there’s a book of them — of complaints from people who were not happy with the way it was handled.”
Selectmen voted, 2-1, in favor of the meeting, with selectman Richard Lombard opposed.
In addition to honoring the votes that were cast by 583 registered voters who attended the meeting, the petition calls for selectmen to refrain from spending more money on town meetings, and to instead address the other priorities of the town that need the Board of Selectmen’s time and attention.
“We, then, the signatories below, citizens of Nahant, respectfully request the Board of Selectmen to rescind their vote made on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018 to hold a Special Town Meeting on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018,” the petition reads.
According to an email blast sent by Keep Nahant Wild, more than 430 residents signed the petition by Wednesday morning.
