The proposal, put forth by A.D. Makepeace & Co., a locally based developer, includes 3,500 to 6,000 units of housing, approximately 3 million sf of commercial, retail, and office space, a resort hotel and conference center, and four golf courses. The company needs zoning changes for its project to go ahead so a three-town task force was created to deal with the development.

But local activists and town officials object to the proposal because of concerns over density, traffic and lack of open space. "Its utterly ridiculous," Charles Gricus, director of planning for Wareham, tells GlobeSt.com. "They want a zoning bylaw with no restrictions." According to a statement released by the Coalition, the parcel on which Makepeace wants to develop its project, "is currently home to globally rare pine barren forests and habitats, cranberry bogs, ponds, rivers and streams, and one of the largest aquifers in New England that directly affects the quality of area drinking water."

Representatives of Makepeace did not return calls by presstime, but in its own released statement, Makepeace insists that its plan will preserve 70% of the parcel as open space by minimizing lot sizes and concentrating on open space. Gricus, however, contends that what the developer calls open space is open to debate. "Of course its 70% open space if you count golf courses, pools and those type of things," he notes.