Two meetings at the Gorham Municipal Center this month drew the attention of residents seeking more information about Amazon.com Services LLC’s plans to construct a 146,280 square foot, 24/7 operation “last mile” warehouse and distribution facility on Main Street (Route 25), east of the town center.
The Gorham Planning Board held a public hearing at a July 20 meeting focused on ongoing review of the applicant’s site plan. The meeting, which took place in the Municipal Center’s council chambers, drew an audience approaching 100 members of the public. Six members of the committee were present (Absent: Crisafulli).
Following a summation of the project by Town Planning staff, a project overview was presented by Chris Taylor, P.E., from Sebago Technics, and Alex Escamilla, executive vice president and head of development at Bluewater Property Group, the project developer. The presentation focused on proposed revisions to the site plans made in response to prior Planning Board and public comments and concerns.
A total of 34 local citizens addressed the board during the public hearing; 27 spoke against the project, 5 spoke in favor, and 2 were neither for nor against the proposal but made comments relating to, respectively, inadequate communication with abutting property owners about meetings relating to the subject parcel and the need for connection between access points for public safety purposes.
Comments in support touched upon workforce opportunities for construction trades, site-plan modifications that attempt to address abutter concerns, and the potential to realize financial return and tax revenue benefits from the property, which had been purchased by the Town following a November 2019 voter referendum.
Gorham residents commenting in opposition highlighted the traffic, environmental and safety impacts of the project; questioned the actual value of promised tax revenue benefits; and raised concerns about applicant business practices and the impact of a project of this type and scale on the character of the town. A number of speakers stressed the importance of transparency and dialogue, and urged the board to delay action pending required project review by Maine DOT and Maine DEP. Given the limited time allotted to each commenter, several speakers voiced their intent to submit to the board detailed questions regarding environmental, noise, and land use issues.
By unanimous board consent, the matter was continued to a Planning Board workshop, scheduled for August 3, for additional discussion. No public comments or votes will be taken during the workshop. The board voiced its intent to put the item on the agenda for its September meeting, scheduled to take place on September 14.
On July 22 the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) held a public meeting for the purpose of receiving public comments on the proposed Amazon facility, pursuant to Amazon’s application to DEP for a Site Location of Development Act (SLDA) and a Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) permit. The meeting was scheduled to be held in the Gorham Municipal Center’s Conference Room A but was moved to the council chambers due to the large crowd size, which was comparable to the Planning Board crowd. Many of those in attendance had also attended the Planning Board meeting.
Representing the DEP were Jessica Damon, director of the land licensing division; Robert Wood, land bureau director; Robert Green, licensing supervisor for the central Maine regional office; and Jaime Taylor, project manager.
Commenting in the project’s favor were two labor union representatives, who voiced local chapter support for this and any project that meets permitting thresholds, citing the employment opportunities such projects provide to their chapter members.
The remaining 27 speakers were Gorham residents who made statements in opposition to the project. Cited reasons focused on the project’s wide-ranging environmental impact and unsuitability for the site and the community. Many voiced concerns that the applicant’s projections of project impacts fail to accurately take into account the actual site conditions and the broader pollutive effects that facility operations would have on the environment. Several questioned why the applicant would select a site that lacks easy access to major highways, and cited the SLDA requirement that developers consider alternative sites and designs that may have fewer environmental impacts.
Following the statement period, audience members asked the DEP representatives a number of questions relating to DEP’s review process and schedule, as well as additional actions the project’s opponents should take to ensure their objections and concerns are matters of record. They also expressed their appreciation for DEP’s willingness to engage with concerned citizens in a public forum and to respond directly to audience questions.
Damon stated that they currently plan to make a determination by Sept. 21 and that public comments would continue to be accepted through the beginning of September. She also noted that the project application and supporting documentation related to the DEP’s review can be accessed via the department’s Maine Enterprise Licensing System website (mels.maine.gov/nsite/DEFAULT/map/help, using the location search term “L-030283”).