Protesters gather to oppose Amazon facility on proposed site in Gorham
A sign on the site of proposed Amazon warehouse in Gorham during a rally against the construction on Saturday. The event included information, sign painting, speakers and a nature walk. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
GORHAM — In Saturday’s early afternoon humidity, a group of about 50 gathered at an unusual spot: a small clearing on the side of Route 25 beside an undeveloped 94 acres of wild vegetation and open space.
They were not there to enjoy the outdoors (or eat free ice cream, though they did), but to publicly protest a 146,280-square-foot “last mile” Amazon warehouse and distribution facility that the megaretailer has proposed for that site. The Gorham Town Council voted to sell the land, which is zoned for industrial use, for $4 million to Amazon a year ago.
“It’s a way of symbolically, even just for one day, reclaiming the land as the property of the people of Gorham,” said Josh Trombley, a leader of Gorham United, the group that organized the event. “We think that this project is going to bring a lot of negative impact without significant benefits.”
The event was called “A Day on the Land” and began with a rally, where community speakers outlined and criticized the anticipated effects of Amazon settling where they stood. Impacts on traffic in a town already struggling with crammed roads, environmental damage, low-value job creation and incompatibility with the town’s comprehensive plan were the main concerns.
Brendan McQuade and Shelby Leighton, with The Peoples’ Assembly, start off a rally on the site of a proposed Amazon warehouse in Gorham on Saturday. The event included information, sign painting, speakers and a nature walk. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
“The reason we are here today is because our resistance has been working,” said Sam Purinton, who is running for Gorham Town Council with the aim of stopping the project.
Councilors Seven Siegel and Lou Simms, who is running for reelection, voted against the land sale last year, and newer Councilor Charlie Hamblen spoke against it at the rally.
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Amazon has made minor adjustments to its plans based on responses from the planning board and area residents at two public hearings so far, but the opposition says those changes are insufficient. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection held what was only its third public comment meeting in 15 years concerning the project’s permit application, which residents have overwhelmingly requested that the agency deny.
Gorham United has an online petition against Amazon’s project and launched a GoFundMe campaign to hire a lawyer to fight the proposal. So far, over 1,000 people have signed, including residents of Westbrook and other neighboring towns, and 82 people have donated over $13,000 toward a $30,000 goal. They want the council to void the purchase and sale agreement and implement safeguards against future proposals.
People gather on the site of proposed Amazon warehouse in Gorham for a rally against the construction on Saturday. The event included information, sign painting, speakers and a nature walk. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
After the rally, Aaron Parker of Edgewood Nursery, a plant nursery in Falmouth, led nature walks around the site to show how seasonal wetlands and plant species would be damaged and lost if Amazon builds there.
Anita Clearfield of the Artists Rapid Response Team brought materials so protesters could design their own signs to place in their yards or bring to public meetings.
Anita Clearfield helps people paint signs on the site of proposed Amazon warehouse in Gorham. Clearfield is from Litchfield and is with Artist Rapid Response Team. The organization painted a banner for the event and multiple signs. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
The distribution center is part of a $4 billion initiative Amazon unveiled last April to grow its rural delivery network across the U.S. and provide faster service to less densely populated areas. Two previous proposals from other companies for the site in Gorham have fallen through, according to the town’s website.
The next public hearing on the project will be on Sept. 14.
“We’re making sure that we keep the pressure applied to make sure that we win this fight,” Purinton said.
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Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
