Feb 22, 2021
To the Editor:
The resurgence of COVID-19 has created new economic and financial uncertainty for cities and towns. Communities that succeed in an increasingly competitive contest for revenue-producing development will be those that prepare now for future opportunities. Projections of COVID-related revenue losses to Wareham provide a clear warning that we must act now to secure our financial future. FXM Associates, a Mattapoisett economic research firm, estimates that Wareham will lose $930,000 to $1,500,000 in revenue over the next five years due to COVID.
A 275-acre parcel off Glen Charlie Road presents Wareham with a unique opportunity to create new, sustainable revenue. Because it is zoned for residential use, however, the town cannot currently depend on the parcel to generate sustainable net revenues. An amendment to be considered by a special town meeting on March 13 would expand options for the site to also include commercial development.
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While Notos Group developer Tom O’Connell says he doesn’t know exactly what he wants to build on land up for rezoning at the Jan. 16 Special Town Meeting, he knows whatever it is will be big.
O’Connell hopes that the proposed “Economic Opportunity District,” which he claims will “invite incredible opportunities for the future,” will receive the ⅔ vote needed to pass at Town Meeting. Critics have decried the overlay district’s large size, a lack of clarity within the proposal, and the ties to the Wareham Park casino proposal, which O’Connell has not sworn off.
Right now, he said, the only legally permissible use for the 275-acre parcel of land on Glen Charlie Road in East Wareham, abutting Route 25 is housing. If the zoning change passes, O’Connell said, he will sit down with his team and discuss what it “wants to be.”