Gorham gives green light to Amazon facility as opposition persists
Gorham Planning Board Approves Amazon Warehouse Despite Local Opposition
By Maine News Now Staff
GORHAM, Maine — The Gorham Planning Board gave unanimous approval Monday to Amazon’s plan for a 146,280-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility on a 94-acre parcel off Main Street (Route 25), but the project still requires state permits and faces a potential delay from a resident-led moratorium effort.
The board’s vote, with member David Walsh absent, concluded a six-month review process that included sketch plan meetings, two public hearings, and a workshop. Throughout the process, residents voiced strong opposition, citing concerns about increased traffic, environmental impacts, effects on local businesses, and overall quality of life. One resident shouted, “You people are going to regret this someday,” before storming out of the meeting with other opponents.
Amazon made several revisions to its initial proposal in response to feedback, including lowering lighting poles, heightening fencing, and reducing van parking spaces from 542 to 475 to accommodate an earthen berm on the western side, pulling the development back from homes on Shamrock Drive. The company also added a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the front of the site and plans to widen Main Street and revamp the Mosher Road intersection to handle traffic. The facility is expected to see over 3,000 daily vehicle trips, with 354 during the weekday morning peak hour and 410 on Saturday peak hours.
Opposition group Gorham United is circulating a petition for a moratorium that would ban industrial developments generating more than 1,500 average daily vehicle trips until March. If the petition gathers at least 1,413 signatures and passes in a special election—or if the Town Council approves it first—the board’s decision could be temporarily negated. As of Monday night, the petition had nearly 400 signatures. Josh Trombley, a leader of Gorham United, stated, “What this petition is designed to do is put this decision in the hands of residents of Gorham, so that we can vote on it, which is what we should have been able to do to begin with.” The group aims to stop the facility permanently, arguing that town ordinances are inadequate for such a large project.
Supporters of the warehouse, including a separate online petition started by resident Andrew LaPlaca with 36 signatures,
