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Planning board pauses decision on Amazon-related trailers and portable toilets at 400 Technology Drive after public objections
Summary
The Planning Board accepted jurisdiction of an amended site plan for Richmond Company’s 400 Technology Drive (an Amazon off-site parking lot). Multiple residents and board members objected to office trailers, storage containers used as offices and portable toilets; the applicant agreed to take comments to the tenant and property owner and the hearing was continued to a future date.
Counsel for the Richmond Company described an amended site plan for 400 Technology Drive that formalizes certain site elements already in use to support Amazon’s off‑site van parking operation: storage containers modified as office space, one wheeled office trailer and four portable toilets on the lot. Counsel said the application is intended to regularize elements that code enforcement flagged when they were installed.
Several board members and some residents objected that the presence of porta‑potties and office trailers conflicts with the town’s commercial architectural standards and would set a precedent for other sites. Questions were raised about how the trailers were powered (applicant said battery/solar and no gas), how sanitation needs are being served and whether more permanent indoor facilities could be provided in the existing building. One board member urged the property owner and tenant to consider adding interior restroom capacity rather than relying on portable toilets.
After an extended discussion and public comment, the applicant asked for more time to consult with the tenant and the landlord and agreed to re-notify abutters. The board voted to continue the hearing to a date uncertain to allow the applicant to report back.
What’s next: The applicant will confer with the tenant and property owner and re-notify abutters; the board will reconvene the matter at a future meeting.
