WALTHAM, MA — Waltham City Council voted to take the Stigmatine property by eminent domain to use for the new High School.

The vote on Monday night to take the 46 acres of land owned by the religious order came after the years of controversy surrounding the property's future. City Council members went into a closed-door session, the last such session scheduled before the summer, to discuss strategy related to the high school. They were supposed to come out by 7:30 p.m. to hold an open session. Instead, after three hours in executive session they came out with an announcement. There would be a vote in open session. The final vote was 10 to 4. And the room went wild. Many of the people who had packed the room three hours earlier to show they were eager for an outcome, mostly in favor of the Stigmatine Property on Lincoln Street, cheered, giving the news a standing ovation.

The four councilors who voted against the proposal were Councilors Diane LeBlanc and Bob Logan along Dan Romard and Carlos Vidal. This comes after years of back and forth on just where to place the new high school and multiple clear statements from the Stigmatines saying they did not wish to sell.

Throughout the process, the School Committee studied and eventually dismissed a number of other locations, including the Fernald property which is owned by the city but has environmental concerns. They also dismissed expanding in place at the current high school spot, saying it would not only disrupt learning at the high school, but also that space would be better served to use for other needs as the entire district grows. In addition, an ambitious, state-of-the-art education plan developed by the school department calls for a campus-type of experience so other spots around town wouldn't work, the groups studying the spaces available argued.

While the Stigmatine property has been the number one choice for the School Committee and sub committee and the mayor and a number of families and community members for a while, not everyone is happy about taking it by eminent domain.

The Stigmatines described the process as coercive in a statement.