NAHANT — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an order of intention, which would allow the town to take an easement by eminent domain in order to preserve 12.5 acres of conservation land owned by Northeastern University.
This approval comes on the heels of the annual Town Meeting that occurred in May, where residents voted 647-241 in favor of authorizing the Board of Selectmen to execute eminent domain as a means of preserving approximately 12.5 acres of land at East Point; this land is currently zoned as a natural resource area.
Board of Selectmen Chair Josh Antrim said the board is selected to represent the people of Nahant, and the Town Meeting vote clearly showed what residents wanted.
“Obviously it’s something that we have been thinking about for a long time,” said Antrim. “I think all three of us have been steadfast in our commitment to preserving this land as conservation land.”
Antrim said that there was a fair amount of legal work, which had to be completed to get to this point in the process. With this completed, the board was able to vote on the land taking this week. He said he looks forward to the open space becoming available to the public.
However, even with this decision, the road ahead isn’t exactly clear. For example, Antrim said Northeastern could challenge this decision.
“(The board) would like to think that they would share our commitment to preserving this as conservation land but we’ll see about that,” said Antrim.
While Antrim said he doesn’t know if it will be smooth sailing from here on out with Northeastern, he hopes that the town and university will have a better working relationship moving forward.
“We have demonstrated our commitment to preserving this land as conservation land and I think that it’s not an uncommon thing to use eminent domain for the public purpose of a conservation restriction,” he said. “That’s what our lawyers have been saying; that’s not an uncommon use of eminent domain so we think that we’re on solid footing with this process.”
The next step in the process is the formation of a three-person committee, which will determine the compensation value of the conservation easement under the guidance of a judge at Salem Superior Court. It is expected that the committee will take approximately eight months to determine the required compensation.
