The petition effort to pause development of an Amazon distribution center straddling the Waterville-Sidney line has secured enough signatures to move forward, Sidney Selectboard chair John Whitcomb confirmed Tuesday.
Petitioners hope to force a special town meeting vote on a 180-day moratorium on “large-scale industrial facilities,” organized in response to the proposal of a 159,000-square-foot distribution center and associated parking and infrastructure near Trafton and Junction roads.
During that pause, a committee of appointed members will “study of the impacts of large-scale developments on Sidney’s infrastructure, environment and quality of life” and draft an ordinance to regulate projects like this.
In all, petitioners, led by Sidney resident Tim Stonesifer, collected 271 valid signatures, Whitcomb said. They needed 261.
Stonesifer collected signatures outside Sidney’s polling place Tuesday, where he said he had productive conversations with residents about the future of Sidney — weighing both the potential influx of jobs with large industrial projects with the “rural character” of the growing town.
“The hope with the moratorium process, and working on having a committee that could evaluate our ordinances, would be to factor in those things — what’s the real, net economic impact of projects like this for our town,” Stonesifer said. “How can we have smart economic growth that minimizes negative impacts to the town’s character and community?”
Whitcomb said in an email that the select board will now forward the petition to the town attorney, who will “make sure it is legal and falls within the town’s form of government.” If the town attorney approves, the board will schedule the special town meeting.
Separately, the Sidney Planning Board on Monday approved the portion of the Amazon project that falls on the Sidney side of the town line. Developers now only await final approvals from state agencies.
The building itself falls entirely within Waterville, but parking and other infrastructure bleeds into Sidney. Waterville’s planning board approved its portion of the project last week.
But if the moratorium is approved by Sidney voters, it would apply retroactively to Monday’s approval, meaning the Sidney side of the project would still be on hold, despite the planning board’s green light.
The potential moratorium in Sidney is not the first time Amazon projects have faced opposition in Maine. Gorham residents have fought a proposed distribution center there since it was proposed this spring.
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