Gorham residents petition to delay Amazon facility

Gorham Residents Push Back on Amazon Warehouse Plan

Gorham, Maine – A group of town residents has gathered in August to voice opposition to Amazon’s proposed 146,280‑square‑foot warehouse and distribution center on a 94‑acre parcel off Main Street (Route 25). The citizens’ group, Gorham United, is now collecting signatures for a petition that would force the town to impose a 180‑day moratorium on large industrial developments that would generate more than 1,500 average daily vehicle trips—Amazon’s plan is projected to generate roughly 3,000 such trips each day.

The petition, if it gathers at least 1,413 signatures from registered voters (10 % of the 14,130 voters who cast ballots in the 2024 election), would compel the town attorney to review the moratorium and trigger a special election. Town clerk Laurie Nordfors said the election would cost the municipality $17,100. If the special election were not held, the council could adopt a moratorium on its own.

“The overburden on town facilities (roads) and because the existing code and comprehensive plan did not anticipate or adequately regulate such a land use are more than adequate justification to enact a moratorium,” attorney Keith Richard of Archipelago wrote in a May letter to the council. “This may be the town’s only opportunity to act.”

Gorham United’s leadership says the moratorium would give the council time to adjust ordinances to permanently ban developments of Amazon’s scale. “I think the best case scenario would be for the Town Council to do this moratorium, even without a petition going around,” said Josh Trombley, a group leader, during the August rally. “The temporary moratorium would give us space to work on a longer‑term solution.”

The group began the signature drive on Sept. 3 and already had more than 200 signatures early in the week, with a goal of exceeding the required threshold by early October. In addition, Gorham United has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised $16,366 of a $30,000 target from 92 donors, and it will hold a yard sale on Sept. 19 to raise more money.

Amazon’s proposal was first approved by the town council in August 2025, when a 5‑to‑2 vote allowed the company to purchase the 94‑acre parcel for $4 million. Three councilors—Suzanne Phillips, Janet Kuech, and David Willis—voted for the sale, while Seven Siegel and Lou Simms opposed it. The newest councilors, Charlie Hamblen and Kelly Dearborn, were elected in November 2024. Hamblen has publicly opposed the project, while Dearborn has not addressed it. Simms has written an open letter to Amazon and the planning board, urging the company to reconsider the site, and he said he would support a moratorium if elected. Simms and Phillips are both running for reelection in the November 2026 election, and Sam Purinton, a Gorham United member who was an unsuccessful candidate last year, has also pledged to back the moratorium.

Amazon has revised its design after feedback from the planning board and public hearings. The updated plan reduces the height of light poles from 20 to 15 feet and increases the height of fencing from 6 to 10 feet. It also proposes a 5‑foot sidewalk along the front of the site, expands Main Street to add a 12‑foot turning lane, and makes signaling changes to the intersection of Route 25 and Mosher Road. The company will present its revised plan at the Sept. 14 planning board meeting. While the proposal cuts the number of parking spaces in the western van lot from 542 to 475, the submitted plans indicate this change will not affect the daily vehicle trip count.

The facility would employ roughly 170 people, with full‑time roles paying an average of $22 per hour. Additional employment would be created for drivers, including small delivery firms and independent drivers who use their own vehicles, according to Amazon’s own website. The town’s manager, Ephrem Parashak, said the municipality has not yet calculated how much the development would add to the local tax base.

Residents cite increased traffic, noise, lighting, and environmental impacts as major concerns. “We can deliver something better for Gorham, if we just say ‘no’ to Amazon and put in the work to get a better deal for our community,” Simms wrote during the town council meeting last week. “I am interested in passing the moratorium.”

If the petition is successful and a special election is held, at least 4,239 voters (30 % of the 14,130 registered voters) would need to approve the referendum for it to pass. The town’s planning board could still approve Amazon’s facility at its Monday meeting, but the moratorium would apply retroactively, potentially delaying the project.

The debate over Amazon’s proposed warehouse highlights a broader conversation in small towns about balancing economic opportunity with community well‑being. Whether Gorham’s residents can rally enough support to halt Amazon’s plans remains to be seen, but the city’s next few weeks will be critical as both sides prepare for the upcoming planning board decision and the possibility of a town‑wide vote.