Amazon's proposed Wawayanda warehouse project rejected by zoning board
The Wawayanda zoning board unanimously voted to reject Amazon's request for an exemption to the town's 65-foot height limit for buildings in the area, effectively killing the project.
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Amazon's plan to build a 3.2 million-square-foot warehouse off Route 6 in Wawayanda that the company said would create 750 jobs is dead — for now.
A grassroots community group that spent months fighting Amazon's proposed five-story warehouse is celebrating.
Group members have been lobbying town officials to kill the project, saying it would be bad for the environment, not pay workers enough to live comfortably, cause more traffic and create more noise.
"I think they went about it all wrong," said county resident Darriech Hutt, as he refilled his tank at the gas station across from the proposed site. "Traffic, congestion and everything else. I get what people were complaining about, for sure."
In the end, though, the project was rejected because of the proposed height of the facility.
The Wawayanda zoning board unanimously voted to reject Amazon's request for an exemption to the town's 65-foot height limit for buildings in the area, effectively killing the project.
Amazon wanted to make the building 104 feet tall to accommodate large equipment.
The project had union support, was approved by the town's planning board and had some community support.
Edwin Pagan was routing for the project.
He hopes Amazon can come up with another project that meets the town's requirements.
"There's plenty of places up here where they can do it," he said. "There's plenty of huge property where they can build something like that."
Michael Sussman, a civil rights attorney and Democratic candidate for Orange County executive, helped organize the opposition to the project.
He's incorporating the group's victory into his campaign.
He said county government has been too agreeable to large companies looking to build large projects in small communities.
"It doesn't just have to happen at one facility like Amazon," he said during an interview Friday at his office. "It can happen in the restoration and rehabilitation of our county."
Sussman's incumbent opponent, County Executive Steve Neuhaus, told News 12 the fights over warehouses planned in the county is not a county issue.
"As a former town supervisor, I have 100% faith in home rule and how local towns, villages and cities can decide whether they want or don't want a project," Neuhaus said Friday via text message.
Amazon may try again.
"We appreciate the concern from town officials" Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said, "and are evaluating our options and potential next steps."
