Amazon presents drone‑delivery plan for SMA1 in Westborough; board presses on safety, zoning and FAA review

Jonathan Gley, Amazon’s head of economic development for New England, told the Town of Westborough Select Board on Aug. 18 that Amazon is seeking local land‑use approval for a Prime Air drone launch and landing area at its SMA1 same‑day facility at 64 Otis Street. Gley said the company envisions a compact ground facility — a “paddic” of roughly 6,800 square feet inside the current parking area — that would house battery vaults, flight monitors and launch/landing circles for aircraft able to carry about 5 pounds up to 7.5 miles from the site.

"Now we can deliver in 60 minutes or less to those customers, oftentimes hitting that 30 minute or less mark by way of Prime Air," Gley said, describing the customer benefit Amazon hopes to offer. He added the system is designed to operate only during daylight/civil twilight and to abort deliveries if onboard sensors detect hazards during the vertical descent.

Board members and residents focused on several key issues: whether the paddic should be treated as an airport under town zoning, how Amazon will deconflict flights with emergency helicopters and other airspace users, battery‑storage safety, privacy handling for imagery, and the noise and visual impacts of regular takeoffs and landings. Select Board member Welch noted the town code’s definition of "airport" and asked whether the project should proceed via a special permit; Fred Nar, the town’s Community Development Director, said the building commissioner and town counsel have treated the paddic as an accessory use to the existing fulfillment operation and thus subject to site plan review rather than a special permit.

Amazon described its safety and regulatory approach as layered. Presenters said the aircraft include forward‑facing and downward cameras and sensors used by the drone’s onboard detect‑and‑avoid systems; data are retained in a secured vault and are not monitored live except in incident review. The company said its aircraft are certified through FAA review pathways used by commercial operators and that Amazon will continue parallel local permitting while pursuing FAA environmental and airspace approvals. Company engineers said typical deliveries would ascend vertically to about 100 feet before transitioning to forward flight and cruise between roughly 205 and 370 feet, and that the audible footprint at a customer site would be roughly 20–25 seconds and peak around 65–68 decibels for close outdoor listeners.

The site plan as presented would remove about 27 parking spaces from the SMA1 lot and place launch and landing circles on the east side of the building; Amazon said the site has surplus parking and described battery vaults and redundant flight monitors intended to limit operational risk. The company told the board it plans additional public outreach and expects to meet with the Westborough Planning Board on Sept. 15 as part of concurrent local and FAA processes.

What’s next: the Select Board provided initial feedback and recommended that Amazon work with town staff, emergency services and the planning board to clarify zoning, emergency‑response protocols, fire access and battery‑storage specifications. Amazon said it would submit full site plans and continue stakeholder engagement ahead of formal planning‑board hearings and FAA filings. No local land‑use approvals were decided at the Select Board meeting.