Select Board Votes to Oppose Amazon Drone Site
Select Board · Meeting of October 1, 2026
Westborough Select Board votes 5-0 to oppose Amazon's Prime Air drone launch site and advance a new aircraft bylaw. More than two dozen residents packed a relocated meeting at Mill Pond School Auditorium to oppose the 64 Otis Street proposal, after 25 residents filed a Sept. 25 zoning appeal and Massachusetts joined 14 other states suing the FAA over its drone-delivery environmental review. Select Board Member Welch argued the drones meet the zoning bylaw's definition of "aircraft" and require a special permit, warning "the town's three-dimensional bylaws could not have contemplated unmanned aircraft systems." Teamsters representative Bridget Quinn, speaking for 53,000 New England members, asked the board to "hit pause on this program." The board voted to place a North Reading-modeled drone bylaw, Article 8, on the Oct. 19 Fall Special Town Meeting warrant, with final language due at its Oct. 13 meeting, and a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the accessory-use dispute tentatively set for Nov. 2.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,712 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of October 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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