NAHANT — A Superior Court ruling Wednesday denied Nahant Preservation Trust’s request for a temporary injunction that would have stalled Northeastern University’s plans to build a 55,000 square foot coastal sustainability institute on the town’s East Point.
The decision means Northeastern is free to resume pre-construction site testing required by the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency.
First announced in early 2018, the university’s proposed building project includes space for academics, research, and additional parking, as well as an updated seawater intake system. These plans have been hotly opposed by Nahant residents, however, who say their small town and local wildlife can’t handle so much development.
In a response on behalf of the university, Northeastern spokesman Michael Ferrari praised the ruling.
“We are pleased by the Court’s decision and encouraged that the judge affirmed that the university never made a dedication to the public of any portion of its Nahant property,” he said. “We look forward to completing required site testing and moving forward with the permitting process.”
Jeff Musman of Nahant Preservation Trust said his organization was disappointed with the court’s decision.
“We will continue to take whatever steps necessary to ensure the preservation of East Point as a wildlife/ecological preserve and open space for … recreation as it has existed for more than 50 years,” he said.
This latest legal battle between Massachusetts’ smallest town and one of the state’s largest universities began last summer. In August 2019, Northeastern filed a suit in land court after it received a letter from residents that allegedly threatened to sue the university.
The letter also allegedly claimed the property the school planned to develop on had been dedicated to the town as public land and could not be altered without a two-thirds vote of the town legislature.
Three weeks later, a 36-page lawsuit filed by 28 Nahant taxpayers seeking an injunction stated the university had cleared an access road through an ecological preserve, causing what the lawsuit referred to as “irreparable damage” to a 50-year-old wildlife preserve and migratory bird habitat.
In its findings, the Memorandum of Decision and Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction stated: “Northeastern has provided various detailed affidavits, including at least one from an individual who can only be characterized as an expert in the field, that the environmental impact of the investigations will be minimal, with no lasting environmental consequences.”
It went on to say: “The Nahant Plaintiffs assert conclusions (based on assumptions) that the Woodland Area will be irreparably harmed by the investigations, and they ask the court to make inferences from these assertions without the benefit of expert testimony.”
Musman said NPT and other Nahant residents involved in the lawsuit plan to appeal the ruling.
“We simply believe the court misapplied the law to the facts,” he said.
