Essex Rejects Amazon’s Plans to Build a Warehouse

Amazon’s attempt to expand into Vermont hit a snag on Thursday night when the Town of Essex denied its proposal to construct a distribution facility in the Saxon Hill Industrial Park.

The 4-2 decision from the town’s Development Review Board followed months of debate over whether Amazon’s promise of new jobs and faster delivery times justified the potential impacts to traffic, the environment and the local economy.

Company officials said the project, which would be Amazon’s first physical location in Vermont, would result in about one or two tractor trailers arriving at the facility each hour between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. to deliver packages from bigger warehouses. Workers would then sort the packages and load them into a fleet of Amazon-branded vans to be delivered to homes and businesses in a 70-mile radius.

The company submitted a study showing that the traffic generated by the warehouse would conform to local zoning regulations. But residents cast doubt on the projections, and the Essex Development Review Board, which must sign off on projects before they can break ground, delayed a decision last month, citing a need for more information.

It was not immediately clear what argument ultimately swayed the decision. Prior to its vote Thursday night, the review board entered a closed-door session, citing a desire to speak freely without interruptions or fear of reprisal. Board members and some of their family members had been contacted on their personal cell phones about the proposal in recent weeks, according to chair Ian Carroll.

“As a security piece, I think it would be best to have private deliberations,” Carroll said.

He added that the board would explain its reasoning in writing after its seventh member, who missed the meeting, had a chance to weigh in. But he stressed that the verdict had nothing to do with Amazon’s reputation.

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said the company was disappointed and would determine next steps once it had a chance to review the rationale for the denial.

Next steps could include challenging the decision in court. It could also mean looking elsewhere: At least two other Vermont towns — Milton and Georgia — have expressed interest in hosting Amazon’s facility, according to WCAX.

Meanwhile, news broke earlier this week that Amazon has struck a deal to purchase a swath of land in Champlain, N.Y., where it plans to build a distribution center of similar size.

The village’s mayor, Janet McFretridge, told WCAX that Amazon worked with the village and the local industrial park for more than a year on the project. Unlike in Essex, however, Amazon’s involvement was kept secret right until the end — in part because the proposal was given an alias, “Project Violet.”

“It wasn’t confirmed who the client actually was until probably about a week ago,” McFretridge told the TV station.