🔒Gorham Planning Board hears pushback on Amazon warehouse proposal

Gorham’s first public hearing on Monday night on Amazon’s proposed 146,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Municipal Center. The majority of residents who spoke urged the Planning Board to reject the project, citing concerns over increased traffic — estimated to increase by 3,000 vehicles a day — and noise, light, water and air pollution. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant is proposing to build a 30-foot-tall, single-story warehouse with parking for over 900 vehicles 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.

'Last-mile distribution'

Representatives from Amazon, the New York City-based developer Bluewater Property Group,  and South Portland-based Sebago Technics shared details of the proposal prior to the two-hour public hearing. Christina Bernardin, vice president of development and construction at Bluewater Property Group, said the “last-mile distribution center” would operate 24/7 and have up to 170 workers. Bernardin said construction would provide an additional 100 jobs. Chris Taylor, an engineer at Sebago Technics, told the board the facility is expected to generate more than 3,000 vehicle arrivals and departures daily, two-thirds of which he said will be transiting to and from the east, towards Westbrook, to connect with the Maine Turnpike. At the expected busiest time of day, noon, vehicle traffic to and from the site is anticipated to be 189 vehicles per hour. Taylor said plans to buffer noise and lighting from the site will include extensive vegetation, a six-foot-high fence along the Shamrock Drive property line, and light poles on the 900-vehicle parking lot no higher than 20 feet.

Residents speak up

Residents who spoke repeatedly complained that buffer zones would not go far enough to lessen the facility’s impact on neighbors and that Gorham already has significant traffic issues that the additional vehicle load would only exacerbate. Several speakers urged the Planning Board to consider the ramifications of increased traffic on both local residents and on surrounding communities. "This is an incredible amount of traffic, especially along Main Street and through Westbrook, too," resident David Mahoney said. "Does this project fit with our Comprehensive Plan? To be a family-friendly community?" Judith Wiseman asked about the added wear and tear on town roads. "And who will pay for repairs?" Carol Eyerman, Gorham's town planner, told the board Amazon may need up to three waivers from the town: to increase permitted driveways onto Main Street from one to three, to allow more narrow loading docks and to permit overhead utility lines. The project also needs to obtain permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Maine Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection, among others, before the project application will be complete. The Planning Board took no vote last night but plans to continue to review project details. A June meeting has been scheduled to review the MDOT’s traffic study for the project. The decision to approve or reject the proposed facility rests with the Planning Board. The proposed facility is part of Amazon’s broader $4 billion growth plan for rural regions of the country, Jonathan Greeley, economic development director for New England, told the board. Last August, Amazon opened a 15,000-square-foot delivery station in Caribou, and the company is exploring building facilities in other Maine communities, including Waterville. In a recent email to Mainebiz, Mike Murphy, regional public relations director for Amazon, said the company has invested more than $200 million in Maine since 2010 and supports over 400 full- and part-time employees, both in Caribou and at Portland’s Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.