NAHANT — The state’s highest court ruled Thursday that Nahant has the right to pursue conservation and public-access easements across approximately 12 acres of Northeastern University’s East Point property, reversing a lower-court decision that found the town acted in bad faith.

In a unanimous decision written by Justice Elizabeth Dewar, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that preserving open space, protecting scenic and natural resources, and providing public recreation are constitutionally permissible reasons for exercising eminent domain.

The decision allows the town to continue the process of acquiring two conservation easements and an access easement on Northeastern’s property. The conservation easements would prohibit new construction in the affected areas, preventing the university from building a proposed 55,000-square-foot facility there, while allowing the continued maintenance and use of existing structures. The access easement would give the public the right to access and use Canoe Beach for outdoor recreation.

Town Administrator Alison Nieto said the town “is pleased that the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the previous judgment and ruled that the town has the right to take the property to preserve open space, recreation and conservation uses, as voted on by Town Meeting in 2021.”

“The town looks forward to moving forward with this process,” Nieto said.

Attorney Harley Racer, a shareholder at Rachmay PC in Boston, who represents the Nahant Preservation Trust, called the ruling a “total vindication” of the town’s efforts to preserve East Point.

Racer said he and attorney David Lurie have worked on the case since the dispute began eight years ago, with the trust supporting the town throughout the process.

“This was a real David versus Goliath case,” Racer said. “Northeastern University has near-endless resources, and the town of Nahant is a small town. But through dedication and perseverance, and not giving up, we came out on the other side.”

Northeastern expressed disappointment with the ruling and warned that the proposed taking could affect the work conducted at its Marine Science Center.

“Given the evidence of improper motive behind this potential taking, we are deeply disappointed by the SJC’s decision,” Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president for communications, said in a statement. “Moreover, the decision could have a devastating impact on the ability of Northeastern’s Marine Science Center to conduct cutting-edge research that would benefit Nahant and other coastal communities around the world.”

Nyul urged town officials to seek an agreement with the university “before Nahant taxpayers bear the steep cost of eminent domain.”

The case will return to Superior Court for an order establishing the town’s right to take the easements. Because Nahant pursued the action under a form of eminent domain known as “straight condemnation,” no taking has occurred yet.

Under that process, a judge will appoint a panel of commissioners to determine the compensation and damages owed to Northeastern before the town takes the property interests. Racer said the case will now move into that compensation phase.

The SJC emphasized that the easements may be taken only upon payment of just compensation.

The dispute dates to 2018, when Northeastern announced plans to expand its Marine Science Center campus at East Point. In addition to the new building, the project included new parking areas and an approximately one-acre geothermal wellfield containing 80 wells.

The proposal drew strong opposition from town officials and residents, who raised concerns about traffic, municipal services, wildlife habitat and the property’s scenic character.

In 2021, Town Meeting voted 647-271 to authorize the Select Board to pursue an easement interest in the property. Residents also voted 655-14 to appropriate $1.5 million in Community Preservation Act funding toward the taking.

The Select Board later approved an order declaring the town’s intention to take the three easements and petitioned the Superior Court under Chapter 80A of state law to establish its right to do so and determine compensation.

Northeastern challenged the action, arguing that the town’s stated conservation goals were a pretext and that its actual purpose was to stop the university’s development. A Superior Court judge agreed, granting summary judgment to Northeastern and dismissing the town’s petition in May 2025. The judge also awarded Northeastern more than $1 million in attorneys’ fees, expert fees, and costs.

The SJC reversed that judgment Thursday, concluding that Northeastern had “no reasonable expectation” of proving the town’s action was invalid.

The court acknowledged that Nahant began considering eminent domain after the university announced its expansion and that officials and residents had vigorously opposed the project. But the justices found that preventing construction did not conflict with the town’s stated conservation purpose.

“Preventing development is the very purpose of imposing such an easement on land valued as an open space resource,” Dewar wrote.

The justices distinguished the dispute from Pheasant Ridge Associates v. Burlington, a 1987 case in which the SJC invalidated Burlington’s taking of land proposed for a housing development. In that case, town officials developed purported public uses for the property shortly before the Town Meeting vote, and the record showed the town did not genuinely intend to use the land for those purposes.

In Nahant, the court found a longstanding municipal interest in conservation and recreation at East Point. The town established the neighboring Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Memorial Park in the 1980s, included Northeastern’s parcel in a natural-resource zoning district in 1991, and identified the property in several open-space and recreation plans.

The court noted that those plans did not specifically recommend acquiring Northeastern’s property. However, they documented residents’ interest in conserving East Point, protecting coastal access, and using the area for recreation.

The proposed easements were also tailored to those purposes, the court found.

“The town’s stated public purpose for the taking is a proper public purpose; this public purpose is consistent with past town actions evincing interest in the area of the taking; the town did not deviate from its usual practices in proceeding with the taking; and there is no material dispute that the taking in fact will be used for the town’s stated public purpose,” Dewar wrote.

Racer described the ruling as a landmark decision that confirms municipalities may use eminent domain to protect open space for environmental and recreational purposes, even when doing so prevents proposed development.

The court also rejected Northeastern’s argument that the taking was improperly influenced by private residents and the Nahant Preservation Trust, which donated $3 million toward the proposed taking and made additional donations for the town’s legal expenses.

A taking serving a legitimate public purpose does not become invalid because private parties requested, advocated for, or helped finance it, the court ruled. Nor is it invalid merely because those parties may receive an incidental benefit.

The justices found that the easements would establish public recreational access and preserve the affected land for conservation and open-space purposes, rather than divert it to private use.

Northeastern also argued that Nahant was attempting to circumvent the Dover Amendment, a state law that limits municipal zoning restrictions on property used by nonprofit educational institutions.

The SJC rejected that argument, finding that the Legislature has not similarly exempted land used for educational purposes from otherwise lawful eminent domain proceedings. The Dover Amendment restricts municipal zoning authority, the court said, but does not prevent a town from taking educational property for a constitutionally permissible public purpose.

Thursday’s decision reversed the judgment granting summary judgment and more than $1 million in fees and costs to Northeastern. The SJC also denied the university’s request for attorneys’ fees related to the appeal.

The post Nahant wins eight-year NU battle appeared first on Itemlive.

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