A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Northeastern University over the Town of Nahant and town residents who have fought Northeastern’s Marine Science Center East Point expansion.
If Northeastern administrators think the fight at the end of the Causeway is over, they don’t know Nahant.
“The town will consider all options moving forward. We maintain that the continued preservation of the site by the town as vital open space and a vibrant habitat is in the best interests of our community,” the Board of Selectmen said in a statement.
In his ruling, Judge Jeffrey Karp swept away the protected open space argument the town has employed as its primary strategy to block the Marine Science Center from expanding.
“Northeastern University has not dedicated, and the public has not accepted, the land on top of and to the east of Murphy Bunker at East Point, Nahant, Massachusetts, to the public for use as an ecological preserve and for passive recreation,” Karp wrote.
Town officials and hired attorneys are undoubtedly poring over that statement and additional language in Karp’s ruling to deduce how the town can continue its legal battle against Northeastern.
Odds are great that the legal options are limited and that the Center’s planned 55,000 square foot project will proceed even as town officials attempt new tactics to block its construction.
Although it prevailed in Superior Court, Northeastern met defeat where it really matters — in the town where it wants to expand its research facility. A ham-handed public relations effort turned perceptions of the university from a quiet, almost-unobtrusive neighbor in Nahant into an ogre intent on gobbling up open space.
Town residents and officials are also losers, not only on the legal front, but also on the legal side of the equation. Intense opposition by town residents left officials with little-to-no wiggle room when it came to negotiating or reaching a compromise with Northeastern.
Where do both sides go from here?
Northeastern has extended olive branches to the town, including an offer to grant the town an easement to “ensure continued public access to Canoe Beach from the adjacent municipal parking area.”
In addition to a proposed conservation restriction and easement, the university has offered the town a multi-million-dollar financial package to offset any impacts the center expansion project would have on town infrastructure, help improve the town’s water and sewer system, and assist the town with operating and capital budget needs.
Anyone who knows Nahant residents realizes the town isn’t going to cry “uncle” and accept peace offerings from Northeastern. The fight is still going to continue and common ground will continue to elude town officials, residents, and university administrators.
