Gorham OKs Amazon project, but there may be roadblocks ahead

Amazon’s proposed 146,000-square-foot distribution center for Gorham Industrial Park moved one step closer to reality Monday night, with site plan approval from the town’s planning board. Potential hurdles remain, though. The project still needs state permits. And a citizens' petition is gaining steam. The proposal calls for the Seattle-based e-commerce giant to build a 30-foot-high, single-story warehouse on a portion of a 94-acre site in the Gorham Industrial Park off Main Street/Route 25. Amazon signed a purchase and sale agreement with the town in August 2025 to buy the parcel for $4 million; that sale has not yet been completed. The project is one of several distribution sites Amazon is exploring in Maine after having opened a 15,000-square-foot delivery station in Caribou in August 2025. More approvals needed Final approvals for the Gorham project still need to come from the Army Corps of Engineers, Maine Department of Transportation and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.  All would be standard procedure for a project of this scope. A citizen petition, if successful, could stall the project. Gorham United is seeking signatures for a 180-day moratorium, retroactive to Sept. 1, against “high -traffic industrial land use … where the planned operations are projected to generate more than 1,500 average daily vehicle trips.” Representatives from Amazon have estimated the new center will generate close to 3,000 vehicles moving in and out of the industrial park on a daily basis. If the group gathers the required number of signatures, the moratorium could possibly come before voters in a special election. Traffic, noise concerns Opposition to the project has focused on increased traffic — already an issue along Main Street/Route 25 — and noise. Amazon projects Main Street will see 189 vehicles per hour at noon, which it estimates will be the busiest time of day. Neighbors to the site on Shamrock Drive have been vocal at two public hearings about anticipated noise and light pollution generated by the project, which Amazon has said will operate round the clock, seven days a week. At the planning board meeting Monday night, several board members noted that the site had been zoned industrial in 1998, before the Shamrock Drive neighborhood was built. “I do believe that all of the deeds of the properties on Shamrock Drive have included in them that they abut an industrial zone," said Barbara Nichols of the planning board. Adjustments made Chris Taylor, professional engineer with Sebago Technics, presented at Monday night’s meeting changes that have been made to address neighbors’ concerns. A six- to seven-foot-high berm has been added along the western property line, with additional vegetative buffering; fencing has been raised to 10 feet; light poles have been lowered to 15 feet; and the size of the van parking lot which is closest to Shamrock Drive has been reduced to 475 spaces. Taylor said the setback from neighboring properties is now 210 feet, which he noted, “is more than double the perimeter setback that’s required.” Town Planner Carol Eyerman told the board, “Noise peer review recommends acceptance of the proposed berm and 10-foot fence and no further comments remain on that issue from them…. Perimeter landscaping and residential buffering are acceptable in their eyes.” Taylor noted that the project now includes upgrades to Main Street, with added turn lanes and sidewalks and a rebuilding of the Mosher Road traffic signals. Amazon is also committing $150,000 to improving and extending the nearby Crosstown Trail system, Taylor said. Mainebiz reached out to Eyerman and Gorham Economic Development Director Kevin Jensen for an estimate of the timeline for the state permitting process for final approvals, but did not hear back by press time.