As Westborough residents overwhelmingly approved new restrictions on commercial drone operations, the Worcester City Council voted Tuesday to request a public forum in which Amazon representatives could explain plans for a delivery service that could eventually make as many as 1,000 deliveries per day from a facility serving portions of Worcester and surrounding communities.
The council’s Oct. 20 vote calls on City Manager Eric Batista to arrange a community forum as soon as possible, allowing Worcester residents and business owners to learn more about Amazon’s proposed Prime Air service and ask questions about its potential effects.
However, a separate proposal seeking a legal review of Worcester’s zoning ordinances to determine whether the city could exercise greater control over future drone launch sites failed to pass.
The decisions came one day after Westborough residents voted 510-13 at an Oct. 19 Special Town Meeting to approve a bylaw aimed at restricting commercial drone operations. The measure addresses activities including launching, landing, loading and unloading drones, along with concerns involving noise, privacy and public safety.
The Westborough bylaw must be reviewed and approved by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office before taking effect.
For Councilor-at-Large Gary Rosen, who introduced the two orders, the developments in Westborough demonstrate why city residents should have an opportunity to learn more about Amazon’s plans.
“Westborough is really concerned,” Rosen said during Tuesday’s meeting. “The public in Westborough is really concerned about this, as they should be. None of us have all the answers, but there were a lot of questions among the public and business owners in Westborough, and Amazon came and spoke to them, and it just created more questions and more conflict between Amazon and the public.”
Amazon’s proposal would establish drone delivery operations at its existing facility at 64 Otis St. in Westborough, with eligible customers within approximately 7.5 miles able to receive small packages by autonomous aircraft.
The proposed service area could include portions of Worcester, along with Shrewsbury, Grafton, Northborough, Southborough and several other Central Massachusetts communities.
Worcester seeks community input
During Tuesday’s meeting, councilors considered two orders introduced by Rosen concerning the potential expansion of commercial drone delivery into Worcester. The first requested that the city manager arrange a community forum with Amazon representatives to provide residents and business owners with details about the proposed Prime Air operation.
Councilors voted to approve the request. Vice Chairman Khrystian King said he supports giving the public an opportunity to hear directly from the company.
“I certainly support bringing Amazon in for a community discussion,” King said. “The more informed the community is, the better.”
The second proposal would have requested a report from the city solicitor examining whether changes to Worcester’s zoning ordinances might be necessary to provide greater oversight of locations used for commercial drone launch operations.
That proposal did not receive sufficient support to pass.
Rosen said he wanted to understand whether Worcester’s existing zoning regulations would provide enough local authority if companies sought to establish drone launch facilities within city limits in the future.
“All I’m asking is some recommendation or some information from the city solicitor to see if there’s something we have to do without our zoning ordinances if we don’t want Amazon, Target Walmart, and many others and even smaller businesses and people who aren’t in business to use our airspace here in the city was to launch these drones,” Rosen said.
Although the requested legal review failed, the approved community forum would provide Worcester residents with an opportunity to learn about an operation currently being evaluated in a neighboring municipality.
No date for the forum has been announced.
The council’s actions also highlight the distinction between regulating a facility’s location and regulating aircraft once they are in flight. The Federal Aviation Administration has primary responsibility for regulating national airspace and commercial aviation, while municipalities have authority over certain land-use matters.
Westborough residents approve drone restrictions
While Worcester officials are seeking additional information, Westborough residents have taken steps toward establishing local rules governing drone operations.
At Monday’s Special Town Meeting, voters approved a general bylaw addressing the use of unmanned aircraft within the town.
The measure passed 510-13 and includes restrictions involving drone launch and landing sites, delivery activities and the operation of commercial drone facilities. It also establishes a $300 penalty for violations. However, the bylaw does not automatically prohibit Amazon from proceeding with its proposal. State review is required before the measure takes effect, and questions remain about how local restrictions would interact with federal aviation authority.
In a statement provided to CBS Boston following the vote, Amazon said it was aware of the newly approved bylaw and would continue communicating with local officials and community members while evaluating its plans for Westborough.
The company also emphasized the employment opportunities associated with Prime Air operations, including positions involving engineering, safety and day-to-day operations.
“Each Prime Air site creates new jobs spanning operations, engineering, safety, and more, with employees earning competitive wages and full benefits from day one,” the company said.
Westborough’s permitting process remains ongoing. The town’s building commissioner previously determined that Amazon’s drone operation qualified as an accessory use of its existing facility, allowing the company to pursue site plan approval. Several residents appealed that interpretation in September.
The Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to consider the challenge Nov. 2, with the Planning Board expected to resume its review Nov. 10.
Depending on the outcome, Amazon could face additional local permitting requirements.
Residents question potential neighborhood impacts
For Dan Kline, a Westborough resident involved in discussions about the proposal, the volume of potential drone activity raises concerns that extend beyond the town’s borders.
“My first reaction was disbelief,” Kline said. “I understand the appeal of technology and convenience, but when I began looking at the scale of what Amazon was proposing, I had a hard time understanding why this made sense for our community. We’re not talking about an occasional drone flying overhead. We’re talking about a commercial delivery operation that could fundamentally change what people experience in their neighborhoods.”
Kline said he became increasingly concerned as he researched the project and learned that some residents were unaware of the proposal.
“I live in Westborough, but I think the concerns are very similar for Worcester and the surrounding communities,” he said. “People value being able to enjoy their homes, yards, neighborhoods, parks and outdoor spaces without constant commercial activity overhead.”
Christine Farmer, another Westborough resident and a member of MassBlueSkies, a community group opposing routine commercial drone delivery, said she initially approached Amazon’s proposal with an open mind.
After attending the company’s Sept. 15 presentation to the Westborough Planning Board, she began questioning the proposed scale of the service.
“As a loyal Amazon customer, I went in with an open mind,” Farmer said. “Still, I struggled to imagine what anyone truly needed delivered in less than 30 minutes.”
Farmer said she became concerned about potential effects on privacy, noise levels, wildlife and safety.
She subsequently began sharing information about the proposal through local social media groups and contacting residents in neighboring communities, including Worcester.
Kline said one of his greatest concerns involves what could happen if commercial drone delivery becomes more common and additional companies enter the market.
“What concerns me most is the cumulative impact,” he said. “One drone passing overhead might not seem significant, but what happens when you have repeated flights throughout the day, potentially from multiple operators?”
Both residents acknowledged that drone technology could provide benefits in certain situations, particularly for transporting medical supplies or reaching remote communities. However, they questioned whether faster deliveries of ordinary consumer products would justify the potential effects on residential neighborhoods.
“I can certainly see situations where drones provide real value,” Kline continued. “Emergency medical deliveries, disaster response and serving remote communities are examples worth considering. But delivering ordinary consumer products a little faster is a very different proposition.”
Amazon promotes faster deliveries
Amazon’s Prime Air service uses autonomous electric drones to transport packages weighing up to five pounds directly to eligible customers. The company’s MK30 aircraft uses onboard cameras, sensors and navigation systems to identify obstacles and travel to designated delivery locations.
According to Amazon, the technology is designed to make certain purchases available for delivery in as little as 30 minutes, depending on location and operating conditions.
The company also maintains that the MK30 is quieter than earlier drone models and includes multiple safety systems intended to support operations near residential areas.
In an August announcement, Amazon said it plans to expand Prime Air to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026, roughly six times its existing coverage. The company said it had already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages by drone this year and was operating in seven states. The proposed figure of 1,000 deliveries daily in Westborough represents a potential future volume, not necessarily the number of deliveries that would occur immediately if the service launches.
Although Amazon has identified the potential delivery area, detailed flight patterns and the frequency of operations over individual neighborhoods have not been established publicly in the information reviewed for this article.
Federal lawmakers request further review
The proposed operation has also attracted scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers.
On Sept. 28, state Sen. Michael Moore and state Reps. Hannah Kane and Kate Donaghue asked Amazon to pause implementation and engage in additional discussions with affected communities.
Their concerns included aircraft noise, flight frequency, operating hours, safety and environmental effects.
On Oct. 14, U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan, requested a site-specific environmental assessment before federal regulators authorize the Westborough operation.
The lawmakers questioned whether the FAA’s nationwide environmental review adequately considered potential effects on the surrounding area.
Massachusetts has also joined a multistate legal challenge disputing the adequacy of the federal environmental review process for expanded commercial drone deliveries.
Farmer said she believes communities should have an opportunity to understand the potential consequences before the technology becomes more widespread.
“Officials must listen to residents across the country already experiencing drone disruptions before allowing this technology to reshape our neighborhoods without fully understanding the consequences,” she said.
Kline similarly called for greater transparency about proposed routes, noise levels, safety protections and procedures for addressing complaints.
“We need clear information about flight paths, the number and frequency of flights over residential areas, noise levels, safety protections, environmental impacts and how complaints will be addressed,” he said.
What comes next for Worcester and Westborough?
The coming weeks could help clarify how Amazon’s proposed operation moves forward.
Westborough’s newly approved bylaw awaits state review, while the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board are preparing to consider unresolved permitting questions in November.
In Worcester, the city council’s approved order calls for a public forum, potentially giving residents and business owners a direct opportunity to question Amazon representatives about the proposed service.
The failure of Rosen’s separate zoning-review proposal means the council has not directed the city solicitor to examine possible changes to local zoning regulations concerning drone launch sites.
Westborough residents have voted to establish restrictions, while Worcester officials have approved a request for additional public discussion.
For Rosen, the immediate priority is ensuring Worcester residents have information about an emerging delivery technology that could soon operate in portions of the city.
Matt Olszewski can be reached at mattoskier@gmail.com
