Several residents cited concerns over the zone change needed in the Town of Montgomery to build an approximately 1-million-square-foot Amazon distribution center at a public hearing on March 7.

The project requires a zoning map amendment to rezone 77 acres from an IB Interchange Business Zoning District to the I-2 Industrial Park-Major Access Zoning District. The town board cannot approve the zone change until the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is completed.

The project is located near Interstate-84 (I-84) and the intersections of NYS Route 17K and 747.

Several residents listed concerns over traffic, environmental and stormwater run-off impacts. Residents also listed concerns over the town’s outdated master plan, several zoning changes over the years to fit various applicants’ needs, and lack of planning and vision for this section of Montgomery.

Town resident Barbara Lerner said zoning and development should be considered with community input through an updated comprehensive/master plan in order to formulate a vision for the town while several large warehouse projects sit before the planning board. The current plan is from 1988 and was updated in part in 1998.

“This is woefully out of date,” Lerner said. “The growth, both here and across the region, that we have experienced, could not be anticipated in 1988 or even 1998.”

Lerner also cited concerns about the impacts Amazon, a retail and delivery giant with high speed service, will have on county and regional businesses.

“Almost every retail business will feel the pain of having one of the world’s largest internet retailers offering same day service to the people who used to be their customers,” Lerner said.