Somerville drops legal challenges to Wynn Boston Harbor

No more legal hurdles stand in the way of Wynn's long-delayed Boston-area casino after Somerville announced Monday it was withdrawing the last of its challenges.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced the city north of Boston won't appeal a decision last month by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that granted Wynn a crucial environmental permit for the $2 billion Everett casino complex. Monday was Somerville's deadline to appeal the permit in state court.

Curtatone said the city will also drop four other legal actions against Wynn since some but not all of its concerns were addressed in the environmental permit given to the company.

Among the concerns addressed in the permit, he said, was a requirement that Wynn provide a ferry service from Boston to the waterfront casino in order to ease car traffic in the notoriously congested region.

A settlement reached by both sides spells out the legal challenges Somerville is withdrawing.

It also includes language stating that Somerville and the Las Vegas casino company have agreed to work on the city's other transportation, health and environmental concerns going forward.

"This is not a financial settlement, but rather a commitment to be good neighbors and to work together to solve the issues that impact both the people and the economy of our region," Curtatone said in a statement.

A Wynn spokesman said Monday that no other legal challenges stand in the project's way. The casino was granted a state casino license in 2014. Work resumed on the project, known as Wynn Boston Harbor, earlier this month. It's now projected to open in June 2019.