NAHANT ― The town has filed a petition with Essex Superior Court to take by eminent domain a contested 12.5 acres of land known as East Point from Northeastern University.
During a Board of Selectmen meeting on Sept. 8, the board voted unanimously to approve an order of intention to take East Point from Northeastern University for the purpose of turning it into town-controlled conservation land.
For more than 50 years, the fight for the land on East Point ― located at the end of the island of Nahant ― has gone in circles. The town is taking a step by filing this petition, which received enough signatures to ask a judge to grant the 12.5 acres to the town via eminent domain and also control how much Northeastern will be compensated for the loss. The petition was filed last Thursday.
As of right now, this land is being used by the university’s Marine Science Center, where Northeastern has conducted lab and research work for decades. The Town’s concern is that the land is not being protected and will not be preserved in the manner expected by Nahant residents.
On May 15, at an annual Town Meeting, residents voted, 647-241, to allow the Board of Selectmen to enact eminent domain and allow the land to be used by the public.
The order of intention is a legal document that stresses the importance of this property not only to the people of the town but to the ecosystem of Nahant.
As summed up by the order, the town’s interest in East Point is related to “the protection of the scenic and natural beauty and character of the East Point Easement Areas, the protection of public access to the sea, the protection of wildlife habitat, wildlife connectivity and biodiversity, the reduction of pollution and improvement of air quality, the provision of a buffer to sea level rise, the promotion of resiliency and protection against climate changes, and the protection of the public passive recreational use of the land.”
Northeastern’s Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul expects the disagreement between Nahant and Northeastern to be settled in court at this point and not in the court of public opinion.
“We’ve spent the past three years working with the community, modifying our plans, and offering significant financial benefits to the town,” Nyul said. “Those steps were unsuccessful, so now we’re eager to move to the legal phase.”
The building currently on East Point used to be a military base during WWII known as Murphy’s Bunker. Back in the 1960s, the town asked if the school would like to use the land to conduct research. In more recent years, the school proposed adding more teaching and lab space to allow the public to become more involved, which would add 55,000 square feet to the bunker.
“This (expansion) project will advance science and research to protect our environment, particularly coastal communities. It is surprising and disappointing to see these ongoing efforts to block it,” Nyul said.
Many residents were opposed to the project because they say a larger structure on East Point would obscure the view of the coastline and the natural beauty of the area, a relied-upon tourist attraction in town.
Northeastern now has two to four months to file an objection in Essex Superior Court.
Hannah Chadwick can be reached at [email protected].
