Amazon has withdrawn its proposal to launch a commercial drone delivery service from Westborough, abandoning plans that could have brought as many as 1,000 daily package deliveries by air to portions of Worcester and more than a dozen surrounding communities.
The company notified state lawmakers Thursday evening that it was withdrawing its application for a drone launch and landing facility at its existing fulfillment center on Otis Street, according to a joint announcement Saturday from state Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, and state Reps. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, and Kate Donaghue, D-Westborough.
The reversal follows weeks of mounting opposition from residents, scrutiny by state and federal officials and local government action in both Westborough and Worcester. Concerns ranged from aircraft noise and privacy to public safety, environmental effects and the prospect of hundreds of drones traveling over residential neighborhoods each day.
“Last night, Amazon called us to share that they would be withdrawing their application to the Town of Westborough for a drone package delivery launch site at their Otis Street fulfillment center,” the three legislators said in their joint statement. “We are extremely pleased and thank Amazon for listening to the overwhelming concerns voiced in making this decision.”
Amazon submitted a letter Thursday to the Westborough Planning Board requesting permission to withdraw its site plan application without prejudice, a designation that generally allows an applicant to submit a new proposal in the future.
“Amazon hereby requests approval of the Westborough Planning Board to withdraw, without prejudice, Site Plan Review Application No. 26-02275,” the company wrote, according to the lawmakers’ announcement.
The withdrawal halts the company’s immediate plans for the Westborough facility but does not necessarily rule out a future proposal.
Worcester would have been part of delivery area
Amazon had proposed converting part of the parking lot at its approximately 200,000-square-foot fulfillment center at 64 Otis St. into a launch and landing area for its Prime Air delivery drones.
The service would have delivered packages weighing less than five pounds to eligible addresses within a 7.5-mile radius, including portions of Worcester, Shrewsbury, Grafton and other Central Massachusetts communities.
The company envisioned eventually making as many as 1,000 deliveries daily from the facility, although that figure represented a potential future volume rather than the number of flights expected at launch.
Amazon promotes Prime Air as a way to deliver certain purchases in as little as 30 minutes using autonomous aircraft equipped with navigation cameras, obstacle-avoidance technology and other safety systems.
But the prospect of frequent drone flights over residential areas generated significant opposition in Westborough and neighboring communities.
Residents questioned how repeated flights would affect neighborhood noise levels, privacy, wildlife and public safety. They also raised concerns about the potential cumulative effects if other companies eventually established similar delivery operations.
The proposed service would have been the first of its kind in New England, according to Saturday’s legislative announcement.
Worcester council sought public forum
Although the proposed launch site was in Westborough, the project also became an issue before the Worcester City Council because portions of the city would have fallen within the delivery area.
On Oct. 20, councilors approved a request from Councilor-at-Large Gary Rosen directing City Manager Eric Batista to arrange a public forum with Amazon representatives. The forum was intended to give Worcester residents and business owners an opportunity to question the company about its plans and the potential effects of drone deliveries over the city. During that meeting, Rosen pointed to growing opposition in Westborough as a reason Worcester residents should have a chance to learn more about the proposal.
“Westborough is really concerned,” Rosen said at the time. “The public in Westborough is really concerned about this, as they should be.”
The council rejected a separate proposal from Rosen seeking a legal review of Worcester’s zoning regulations to determine whether the city could exercise greater oversight of future commercial drone launch facilities.
No date had been announced for the public forum. It was not immediately clear Saturday whether the city would continue pursuing that discussion following Amazon’s withdrawal.
The Worcester vote came one day after Westborough residents overwhelmingly approved a bylaw restricting commercial drone operations.
At an Oct. 19 Special Town Meeting, residents voted 510-13 in favor of regulations addressing drone launch and landing activities, deliveries and related concerns. The measure, which includes a $300 penalty for violations, remains subject to review by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
State review added another hurdle
Amazon’s decision also follows an intervention by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which informed the company that its proposed launch and landing facility would require state approval before operations could begin.
In a letter sent in mid-October, MassDOT Aeronautics Administrator Denise Garcia reminded Amazon that state law requires a regulatory review of certain aviation facilities, including an examination of safety and environmental effects and at least one public hearing.
According to an Oct. 26 announcement from state officials, MassDOT had not received a formal request from Amazon to begin that review.
Gov. Maura Healey welcomed the requirement for state oversight, saying in the earlier announcement that Amazon needed to address questions about safety and environmental impacts before moving forward.
Federal lawmakers had also raised concerns. U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan, requested a more detailed environmental assessment of the proposed Westborough operation.
Moore, Kane and Donaghue previously called on Amazon to pause its plans and engage more extensively with affected communities. They also asked Healey to establish a task force to examine commercial drone operations and consider whether additional state policies are needed.
Amazon had received Federal Aviation Administration authorization in 2024 for certain drone operations beyond the visual line of sight of their operators, but that federal approval did not eliminate separate state requirements for establishing a launch and landing facility.
The Westborough proposal also faced unresolved local zoning questions.
Residents had appealed the town building commissioner’s determination that the proposed drone operation qualified as an accessory use of Amazon’s existing fulfillment center. The Zoning Board of Appeals had been scheduled to hear the challenge Nov. 2, while the Planning Board was expected to continue reviewing the project Nov. 10.
The withdrawal changes the immediate status of those proceedings, although any formal action on the application remains with the town.
Lawmakers credit community opposition
In their Saturday statement, Moore, Kane and Donaghue credited residents and local advocacy organizations for bringing attention to the proposed operation and its potential effects.
“We are deeply grateful to the residents of Westborough and the surrounding communities who came together to share their concerns about noise, safety, privacy, environmental, and quality of life impacts a commercial drone delivery service poses,” the legislators said. “Their engagement made clear how important these issues are to our communities.”
They also thanked Mass Blue Skies, a grassroots organization that opposed the proposal, along with local officials, the Healey administration and members of the state’s federal delegation.
The withdrawal represents a significant reversal for Amazon, which has been expanding Prime Air operations elsewhere in the country and promoting drone delivery as part of its broader effort to speed up package deliveries.
The company did not provide a detailed explanation for its decision in the withdrawal letter quoted in Saturday’s announcement.
“Amazon values its relationship with the Town of Westborough and looks forward to continuing to work with Town officials on next steps,” the letter stated.
