Voters approve $1.3 million in spending and several zoning changes at Town Meeting

Voters at the Monday, Oct. 27 Town Meeting held at Wareham High School approved nearly $1.3 million in community preservation spending as well as a zoning change to make Wareham compliant with the MBTA Communities Act.

The MBTA Communities Act requires towns with or near a commuter rail stop or any other MBTA line to adhere to several zoning guidelines that promote development of multi-family housing. 

To meet the act’s requirements, Director of Planning and Community Development Josh Faherty proposed amending the “commercial general district” to allow for multi-family housing.

The “commercial general district” is a 306.5 acre area that Faherty said sits between 400 and 600 feet off Cranberry Highway on either side excluding Main Street in downtown Wareham. 

Prior to Town Meeting, all multi-family housing in the district had to be built on top of a store or other retail space. 

On Monday, voters approved a change allowing multi-family housing to be built in the district without any connection to retail space. 

Faherty added many other towns face difficulties with the MBTA Communities Act due to the required housing density. But the commercial general district allows for 16.6 housing units per acre which exceeds the 15 units per acre needed under the MBTA Communities Act.

“We allow a far greater density of housing than what the MBTA law would require,” Faherty said.

Faherty added there was some urgency to become compliant because the state threatened to start withholding money beginning in June 2026 if the town failed to meet the law’s requirements.

Voters also unanimously approved three community preservation projects; putting up new light poles at Spillane Field, restoring Fearing Tavern and restoring a building owned by the First Congregational Church.

The total cost for all three projects is just shy of $1.3 million. The money comes from the Community Preservation Fund, money collected through a surtax on property worth over $100,000. The fund can be used for historic preservation, affordable housing, community recreation and preservation of open space.

Fearing Tavern at 11 Elm Street is an aging building with portions dating back to the 1600s. The Wareham Historical Society purchased and has maintained the building since the 1950s and asked voters to allocate $640,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to restore much of the historic building’s exterior.

Society Director Angela Dunham said the cedar shake siding of the building is falling apart and the windows, windowsills and thresholds are rotting away. 

"We need to preserve this building because it is one of the most historically important buildings in this town," Dunham said.

The First Congregational Church at 1 Gibbs Avenue sought $19,000 to restore the historic Groezinger Hall located behind the church. The hall serves as a community event location for a variety of gatherings. 

Moderator of the church Nancy MacNeill said that coastal weather has impacted the paint and wood on the building's exterior.

The $19,000 would be used to hire a contractor to restore the exterior of the building using materials from the time the hall was built. The church will also be putting up funds to help in the restoration. 

"The proposal is about repairing historical community resources, not funding a worship service space," she said. 

The Wareham Gatemen and the Wareham School District sought $620,000 to replace the current lights at Clem Spillane Field where many of the high school’s teams play including football, soccer and baseball as well as the Gatemen in the summer.

The 35-year-old lights and connecting wooden poles are dangerous and expensive to maintain, according to President of the Gatemen, Matt Merrick. Eight new aluminum poles and LED lights were proposed to be erected. 

"The 'do nothing' option here is pretty bleak,’" Merrick said. "Those lights will need to be turned off and the community loses out on the opportunity for nighttime activities at Spillane Field."

Merrick said that the Gatemen were prepared to help fund the project with $100,000 of their own money in partnership with the Community Preservation Fund.