By Carol Britton Meyer

During a nearly three-hour meeting this week, the Hull Redevelopment Authority hosted Wildlands Trust President Karen Grey to learn about how the land conservation organization could be involved in helping the board decide the best future use of the HRA property – with a focus on preserving open space and related funding opportunities and long-term sustainability.

“You have a great opportunity here,” said Grey, who previously met with the HRA in May 2025.

The high school exhibition room where the in-person meeting took place was full of interested citizens. There was considerable discussion, many questions from the board and audience – with nothing yet decided.

The Wildlands Trust works throughout Southeastern Massachusetts to permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep communities healthy and their residents connected to the natural world. For more information about the Trust, visit www.wildlandstrust.org.

While the HRA is far from in agreement about overall best uses for the property, there appears to be a general consensus in support of creating open space from the bay to the ocean. Another issue is the need for adequate parking, whatever the future uses of the land might be.

The question of what to do with the property has existed since the redevelopment authority was formed in the 1960s under a federal program to revitalize urban and suburban neighborhoods. The HRA’s original footprint – designated Town Center No. 1 – encompasses the land between the beach and bay from Water Street to Phipps Street; at one time, the authority planned to expand its territory into three additional districts that stretched south toward Atlantic Hill.

Much of the HRA land has been vacant since the 1970s, when homes and businesses were taken by eminent domain by the authority and bulldozed, burned, or relocated in anticipation of development proposals that never materialized. The HRA has been working for the past several years to create a set of guidelines for the property’s future.

Charles Dwyer, Spinnaker Island resident, referred to the overall process as the HRA “going around in circles for some 30-odd years,” while at the same time urging them to take action to put together a “high-level” conceptual plan for the property to help the community visualize different options for their consideration and feedback.

“This land has been vacant for 60 years, and nothing has been done,” he said, noting that he feels it’s too early for the “nitty-gritty conversations that have been taking place.”

Grey explained that the Wildlands Trust could help Hull develop a phased plan, possibly including conservation restrictions.

“The town will feel good as different phases are achieved,” she noted. Grey also emphasized the importance of planning in the grant application process.

In response to a question, she confirmed that protected open space can benefit communities in a number of ways, including local businesses, when areas such as newly created parks become destination points.

“The board will decide with the community regarding any conservation restrictions and different potential uses for the property and how to fund them – including potential grants, any available Community Preservation Act funds, and how the HRA can augment those,” Chair Bartley Kelly said.

Member Dan Kernan noted that the HRA has $2 million in its bank account.

The purpose of a conservation restriction is to “protect conservation values,” Grey said. “A conservation restriction is in perpetuity.”

She also asked, “How much conservation land would there be when you’re talking about so many potential uses [for the property]?”

Ultimately, “it will be the HRA board that makes the decision,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to find common ground and then move forward. [All the HRA members] are here for the same reason – we want to do the right thing for the town, whether or not we agree on how to get there.”

The HRA also considered whether to contract a design firm to explore various options for the property – a discussion that will be continued at the board’s next meeting on September 14.

Others at the meeting urged the board to work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation – which controls the Nantasket Beach Reservation, that abuts the HRA property, Kernan noted.

The DCR is in the process of developing a master plan for the Reservation and is also in the midst of a climate resiliency project.

“The most important thing to happen right now is for the HRA to sit down with the DCR and figure out what they are doing,” Grey said.

Resident Susan Mann agreed.

“If the DCR starts doing things before we get our act together, it will be a mess,” she said. “They do own that land along the beach. We can’t just do nothing.”

Hull’s Climate Adaptation & Conservation Director Chris Krahforst noted that the DCR resiliency plan “will change the nature of [the HRA property].”

The DCR will make a public presentation in late September, including an update on the resiliency project.

A replay of the meeting is available on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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