03-04-2025
Opponents of Amazon distribution facility in Essex to rally ahead of development board meeting
The owners of an independent bookstore in Essex are asking residents opposed to an Amazon distribution center to rally Thursday ahead of a meeting of the town's development review board.
The Board's review of the proposed 107,00-square-foot distribution center in the Saxon Hill Industrial Park began last month. But after a four-hour public hearing marked by near-unanimous opposition, board members opted not to put Amazon's plans to a vote.
Tonight's Board meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
In a Facebook post Thursday morning, Michael DeSanto and Renee Reiner, owners of Phoenix Books Essex, said the rally will begin at 4:30 p.m. outside Essex Town Offices.
At March's meeting of the Board, a spokesperson for the development appeared via Zoom to defend the proposal, saying Amazon is already a part of the community.
'We're already here, we already have customers, we already have businesses selling on amazon. com,' the spokesperson said. 'This is kind of the final piece of that plywood to make sure that we can deliver the best service.'
Amazon is eyeing a roughly 23 acres of woodland and meadow, bordered by undeveloped land on three sides and a solar array to the south. The review board approved a 5-lot subdivision of the land, which was once mined for sand and used as a tree farm, on March 6.
The developer's site plan for the facility calls for parking for 211 cars and 271 delivery vans, as well as spaces for five trailers and five box trucks. The warehouse will have 11 loading docks. Amazon delivery drivers are expected to make a total of 90 trips in and out in the morning and another 82 in the afternoon.
The social media post noted that the site plan has not yet undergone an Act 250 review. But, DeSanto and Reiner said, the Board 'is unable to reject any proposal which passes all the regulations, regardless of who the end user happens to be.'
'We believe that Amazon will not give up without a fight,' they said. 'We intend to resist and disrupt that fight.
DeSanto and Reiner say they will be handing out free copies of 'How to Resist Amazon and Why,' an e-zine by an independent bookstore owner who argues that Amazon's 'business model relies on preying on local businesses.'
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