The company discussed its proposal Dec. 1 with the Gorham Planning Board. Some neighbors fretted Monday about increased traffic, light pollution from vehicles, truck noise and devaluation of nearby homes.

The warehouse would cover 158,100 square feet. “(It’s) bigger than three football fields,” Planning Board Chair Jim Hager said.

Planning Board member David Walsh compared its size to that of the Gorham Hannaford building and parking lot combined.

Christina Bernardin, a vice president of industrial developer Bluewater Management Group that is representing Amazon, said in Monday’s initial meeting the proposed warehouse would be 30 feet in height and operate around the clock.

The project would have parking for 565 delivery vans and 330 for employees, each with a separate entrance/exit onto Main Street, in addition to one for tractor-trailers. Chris Taylor, a civil engineer with Sebago Technics, also representing Amazon, said tractor-trailer parking would be limited as the trucks would unload and leave.

A stretch of Main Street would be widened to accommodate turning lanes and possibly a sidewalk from a Metro bus stop 2,000 feet away.

Monday’s discussion centered on a pre-application sketch plan Taylor sent the town last month. The next step is submission of a site plan review that Hager expected would “conservatively” be a several month process and Town Planner Carol Eyerman said the review would include a public hearing.

“We have at least two more meetings,” Eyerman said.

Planning Board Vice Chair Bill Benson wants to see what the project would look like and asked Amazon representatives to provide a rendering of a similar company facility in another community.

The town, with voter approval, bought a 141-acre parcel five years ago for $4 million with an eye on broadening the tax base. Gorham Town Council, in August, approved selling 94 acres of the site to Amazon for $4 million. But, the development approval process does not return to the council, said Gorham Community Development Director Tom Poirier.

The proposed development will require permits from the Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineers.

Planning Board member Barbara Nichols had concerns about reports of the area habitat for the upland sandpiper. Poirier said the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department will also review the project.

This week’s Planning Board meeting was billed as a discussion and Hager said, “The auditorium is filled this evening.”

At the behest of Hager, the board voted 6-0, with Stephen Crisafulli absent, to allow public comment.

Resident Barbara Deveau, of Shamrock Drive, wants Public Safety to weigh in on the project. “Traffic is a concern coming out of Shamrock Drive,” Deveau said.

Town Councilor Charlie Hamblen also raised concerns about traffic impact and noise from truck back-up alarms sounding 24/7.

David Mahoney, of Gateway Commons, suggested that some of the development’s traffic could be diverted from the Main Street entrances/exits onto Hutcherson Drive that runs through the adjacent Gorham Industrial Park.