Town Planner John Charbonneau said that the best part of his job is the diversity of tasks: and he certainly has many different tasks.   And not just tasks in Wareham.  Charbonneau's position is shared between Wareham, where Charbonneau works Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and the Town of Rochester, where he works Tuesdays and Thursdays.  So between the two communities, he is kept pretty busy.  But Wareham Week caught up with Charbonneau while he was between some of his many tasks, and asked him about the planning issues facing Wareham.

First impressions of town:

"There's a lot going on in town," Charbonneau said. He specifically mentioned Walmart's moving from East to West Wareham, the Bog Wind proposal to erect six wind turbines on cranberry bogs, concerns about the amount of nitrogen in coastal waterways, the redesign of Cranberry Highway, and the goal of attracting businesses, all of which somehow affect his role as a planner.

"It's so diverse," Charbonneau said about Wareham as well as the tasks facing a Town Planner, something which attracted him to the position. Plus there's the day-to-day things that need to be done.  "That takes up a lot of time," Charbonneau said.  "You never know what fires you have to put out," he joked.

Wareham's strengths in the eyes of a planner:

Highway network: Charbonneau said that Wareham has easy access to Interstate 195 and 495 which connects it to not only major cities such as Providence and Boston, but also easily connects it to regional hubs New Bedford, Brockton, and Fall River, and regional markets such as Cape Cod, which is a large, but hard-to-reach market.

Waterfront: Wareham not only has prominent waterfront along both of its "downtowns," Main Street in Wareham, and Onset Avenue in Onset, but it has many "tucked-away" waterfront areas that are nevertheless easily accessible by 195 and Route 6.

Wareham's challenges in the eyes of a planner:

Revitalizing Rt. 6 and 28 Cranberry Highway:

Charbonneau said that, like many towns, Wareham's former commercial corridor has changed over the years. The state is redesigning the highway - it is now in the 25% design stage, which Charbonneau said suggests that the project could start within the next year - by widening it and adding sidewalks to make it more pedestrian friendly.  Charbonneau said that he envisions mixed-use commercial/residential development as the future of the corridor, meaning first floor businesses with apartments above.  As to why the state paved the road before major changes were made, "I have no idea," Charbonneau said.

Promoting Wareham:

"[Wareham]" is off the beaten path," Charbonneau said.  "Getting people to realize how much Wareham has going for it is a major challenge."

The perception of Wareham:

Charbonneau said that "every city goes through cycles." So what is the perception of Wareham?

"From what I've heard talking with people, it's pretty low on the cycle and has a way to go...but it's on the upswing."

Ideal type of community for you to live:

Rural/suburban college town.  Charbonneau said that he loved the interaction of colleges with towns: the campus architecture, the types of businesses it attracts, and the energy of its young people. He specifically mentioned Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia, and the improvements made in Worcester since he graduated from Clark University.

One small zoning change that would make a huge difference in Wareham:

Expanding the uses in the business-development-overlay district.  There are no warehouses or trucking terminals allowed, which is limiting considering that the district is so close to the highway, Charbonneau said.  For instance,the plans for a Sysco distribution center that Lakeville recently rejected, and which The Standard-Times reported that Wareham is courting, would not currently be allowed in the business-development-overlay district although that district would be an ideal location for the distribution center, Charbonneau said.

Wareham has been without a planner for two-and-a-half years: What impact has this had?

"Some procedural things got out of the way that they should have," Charbonneau said.  But he had nothing but praise for his fellow employees Brenda Sampson and Kelly Barasso for "keeping things afloat," when the town did not have a planner.

"There's some tightening up to do, and catching up to do, making sure that applicants are protected and that the town is protected," by following the proper protocols.  For instance, Charbonneau mentioned that the office needs to re-establish a consistent procedure, with associated paper trail, for putting somebody on the agenda for a planning board meeting.

Bog Wind Project:

"It's controversial," Charbonneau said.  "You can find five scientists who think that wind power is the best thing in the world on one day, and the next day, you can find five who say it's a horrible thing."

But he doesn't think that Bog Wind, whether approved or not, will be the last wind development proposal that the town sees.  "It's not going away," Charbonneau said, but he imagines that in the future, we will see smaller-scale wind turbines.  He mentioned a Walmart he visited that had wind turbines topping their light towers.

Ultimate loyalty:

"Wareham and Rochester are such different towns and attract different types of businesses," said Charbonneau.  I don't see a situation where a business would ask me to tell them they should locate in one over the other."