Amazon’s plan to bring a warehouse and distribution center to Gorham is expected to attract a crowd next week when the town’s planning board hosts its first public hearing about the project.

The online retail giant is seeking planning board approval to build a 146,280-square-foot warehouse on a 94-acre Main Street tract it has a contract to buy from the town for $4 million.

A citizen’s group, Gorham United, has organized with an online petition and raised more than $6,000 in GoFundMe donations to fund legal support in an effort to derail Amazon’s proposal.

“Our review so far has identified significant issues, not only with the application before the Gorham Planning Board, but also with the applications to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Josh Trombley, a Gorham United spokesman, said in a Facebook message April 21.

“These include inconsistencies with local, state, and federal regulations that we believe warrant denial of the applications,” he wrote. “Additionally, Gorham residents have donated thousands of dollars to help us to retain legal counsel from the law firm Archipelago to assist with our review.”

The planning board will hear public input at 7 p.m. Monday, May 4, at the Gorham Municipal Center,75 South St. The meeting marks the town’s first official public hearing, but residents have spoken out during public comment segments in Town Council meetings and an organized community gathering in February.

“We’re looking forward to the May 4th planning board meeting, as it will be the first opportunity for Gorham residents to review and comment on Amazon’s full proposal,” Trombley said.

Many of the concerns have come from residents on Shamrock Drive, which abuts the property, and Gateway Commons, a residential development on the opposite side of Main Street from the Amazon proposal. Issues have included quality of life, increased traffic and decreased home values.

Concerns have mounted since the Gorham Town Council announced last August that it had landed a deal to sell the property to Amazon. The site is part of a 141-acre parcel town voters approved buying for $4 million in a referendum in 2019. The town, entering into a real estate venture, bought it in 2020, acquiring the property to expand Gorham Industrial Park to ease the tax burden on homeowners.

Amazon’s proposed warehouse would be 38 feet, 6 inches tall, and operate 24 hours, seven days a week with two or three shifts daily, according to plans submitted to the town. There would be 879 spaces for parking with three separate access drives connected to Main Street for delivery vans, employees and one dedicated for tractor trailers.

Traffic estimates have 3,078 passenger-car-equivalent trips entering and exiting each day, and Main Street would be widened to accommodate turning lanes. The site will be served by an extension of public sewer under construction now along a stretch of Main Street.

A current Greater Portland Metro bus stop is located nearby at Libby Avenue and Main Street.

Local contractors would be utilized for site work and construction. Sebago Technics is handling the civil engineering and Christina Bernardin of Bluewater Development would be the project manager for the Amazon proposal.