GORHAM – A local citizens’ advocacy group has filed an appeal of the Gorham Planning Board’s decision approving plans for an Amazon warehouse.

Gorham United, a nonprofit advocacy group, filed the appeal on Oct. 15 in Cumberland County Superior Court. In it, the group argues that the board granted approval without resolving problems with traffic and environmental concerns.

“The Planning Board failed to make findings and conclusions sufficient to permit meaningful judicial review,” the group wrote in its court filing.

The board approved the retail giant’s project on Sept. 14 after months of negotiations and hearings on the proposal. According to court records, the Amazon project includes a facility nearly 150,000 square feet in size, along with “parking, truck and delivery-van access drives, utilities, stormwater facilities, and related infrastructure.”

Josh Trombley, speaking for Gorham United, said he and his fellow residents worry about increased traffic along an already congested area. He also said he didn’t think the planning board adequately addressed concerns about impacts to vernal pools and wetlands on the property.

“From what we saw from their application, there were still major unaddressed issues that the Planning Board didn’t respond to before granting approval,” he said.

Thomas Poirier, Gorham’s director of community development, said the town stands by the planning board’s decision.

“The planning board approached the Amazon application thoughtfully and took its responsibility to evaluate the proposal seriously,” Poirier said via email. “The review addressed issues and required revisions to the plan and other information for items such as vehicular and pedestrian traffic and site access, stormwater, wetlands, streams, light pollution, buffering, noise, and public infrastructure.” 

Poirier said officials will address the appeal’s specific allegations in court.

Gorham purchased the 92-acre parcel on Main Street roughly six years ago, with the intent to see it developed. 

But the pandemic led to interest drying up, leaving the town with a large chunk of property and no developers. The initial Amazon proposal included the retailer buying the land from the town at a price of about $4 million. 

Trombley said he didn’t blame officials for being eager to see the land put to use, and agreed that something should be built there, but a warehouse isn’t it.

“This lot is a really prime location for a number of different kinds of developments,” he said. “A big warehouse is one of the worst things we could do with it.”

More importantly, Trombley said, the board didn’t do enough to address concerns that still linger about the proposal. That’s why he stressed that the court filing is not a lawsuit. The group, he said, isn’t looking for compensation, only for the court to overturn the board’s decision and to make it hold Amazon to its usual higher standards.

“I think what we want to see is our town government responding to the concerns of residents and applying our ordinances evenly to any applicant,” he said.