The story behind the Hospitality District letter sent to all voters

Mar 9, 2021

A letter in support of the proposed Hospitality, Recreation, and Entertainment District was mailed to every registered voter in town this week with a few notable signatories, including four Selectmen and various business owners.

The letter was mailed by the Notos Group, the developers behind the rezoning proposal, in what a spokesperson described as an attempt to “clear up rumors and misconceptions about the zoning change.” The Notos Group proposed building a horse racing track and casino on a parcel of land on Glen Charlie Road back in 2019 — a proposal that seems to have been dropped, although the company has undisclosed plans in-the-works for the new district, if it is approved.

The zoning change would create an overlay district encompassing nearly 1,000 acres of land between Rte. 25 and Glen Charlie Road. The district would allow a variety of uses including hotels, conference centers, multiple family dwellings, hospitals and riding stables. All projects would have to include an “indoor and/or outdoor commercial recreation facility or place of amusement and residential uses.”

The district requires projects on at least 100-acre parcels and would require all proposals to go through a special permit process with the Planning Board, which gives the town a fair amount of say about what is built.

Currently, the land is zoned only for single-family homes on several acre lots.

The letter makes an economic argument in favor of the zoning change, based in part on a study conducted by FXM Associates in Mattapoisett predicting significant losses to town coffers over the next five years due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. The group estimates that the town may lose out on between $900,000 and $1,500,000 over the next five years.

However, the report, which is preceded by a lengthy “caveats” section, is careful to note that it is “extremely difficult” to make these predictions.

“With no real precedents, too many variables, and too much uncertainty over the duration of the virus and the attendant restrictions on businesses and governments, employees and consumers, forecasting the pandemic’s effects on local economies and finances is not a  straightforward process,” the report reads.

The letter also argues that commercial uses for the land would be more profitable for the town than residential uses, as new homes mean more people using town services like schools. If 90 single-family homes were built on the land rather than a commercial development, FXM Associates estimated that would mean an annual loss of $800,000 for the town.

There is no current proposal to build single-family homes on the site.

The letter was signed by four Selectmen: Peter Teitelbaum, Judith Whiteside, Alan Slavin and Patrick Tropeano. The members individually decided to sign on and were contacted outside of board business. 

A number of business owners also signed the letter: John Salerno, owner of Glen Cove Hotel and Marc Anthony’s La Pizzeria; John Cornish, owner of Atlantic Boats and Stonebridge Marina; Mark St. Jean, owner of Stone Path Malt; John Churchill, owner of the Fan Club and JC Engineering; and Todd Mello, owner of A Slice of Heaven. 

Jared Chadwick and Damon Solomon, the president and director of the Wareham Tigers, respectively, also signed the letter. 

The Notos spokesperson said the business owners who signed the letter “are all interested in positioning Wareham for economic growth in a highly challenging and competitive landscape.”

The zoning proposal has also been subject to intense criticism, particularly from environmental advocates.

The letter sent to residents is attached to this article, as are the two FXM reports commissioned by the Notos Group: one about the town’s economic future and one about possible housing uses in the district.