PEABODY — Some elected city officials are already pledging to file an appeal if Amazon receives permits for its 183,000-square-foot warehouse proposal, but not because they are opposed to the project. Rather, they object to the process.
Amazon has begun a site plan review with the Peabody Planning Board for a last-mile delivery warehouse at 8 Centennial Drive, which is the headquarters of security systems manufacturer Analogic.
Analogic, which has about 500,000 square feet of space, seeks to downsize into a property that’s better configured for its current and future operations, which includes a recent security scanner contract with the TSA.
City Councilor-at-Large Jon Turco says he will appeal the final building permit issued by the city’s building commissioner if the project remains on its current path, which does not include review by the City Council.
A different process exists that could bring the project before the council instead. If the new facility were, instead, considered a trucking terminal by the city, it would require a special permit from the council.
Turco, who previously served as the councilor for Ward 1 — which includes most of Centennial Park — said he and the current ward councilor, Craig Welton, are “on the same page” on this issue. Welton didn’t respond to a request for comment.
If Turco were to make good on his threat, it would come only after city boards such as the Planning Board and Conservation Commission conclude their reviews and any conditions of approval, and which would be followed by issuance of a building permit.
City officials say it could be a few years before those reviews finish and construction could begin.
But this isn’t about shutting down Amazon, according to Turco.
“The first thing I learned on the council six years ago is that zoning is the one true protection residents have, and to manipulate that zoning in any way could be detrimental in the long run,” Turco said. “In terms of Amazon’s use and location in the industrial park, this isn’t an Amazon issue for me. It’s an issue of manipulating the zoning to suit one company or developer.”
Building Commissioner Albert Talarico, City Solicitor Donald Conn and Mayor Ted Bettencourt all say the project is a warehouse.
Turco, however, believes the Amazon project is a trucking terminal, and that by approving it as a warehouse instead, the city would open all industrial zones to similar, trucking terminal-like “warehouse” projects going forward.
“My goal is to protect the residents from trucking terminals opening in industrial park zones throughout the city under the guise of being a warehouse, which because of this manipulated definition, could easily happen,” he said. “That’s the confusing part to me. I don’t speak for the council, but I don’t think it would be an issue if Amazon came forward, before the council, proposed what they want to do, let the residents speak on the issue. The council is well aware of the need to fill the spot Analogic is in and the benefits Amazon can bring.”
In an email to Turco and Bettencourt, Talarico wrote that “when reviewing both definitions, a case could be made for either one, as provided below.”
The email then defined a warehouse operation as “a use engaged in storage, wholesale, and distribution of manufactured products, supplies, and equipment, excluding bulk storage of materials that are flammable or explosive or that present hazards or conditions commonly recognized as offensive.”
A trucking terminal, meanwhile, is “a facility for the receipt, transfer, short-term storage, and dispatching of goods transported by truck. Included in the use would be express and other mail and package distribution facilities, including those operated by the U.S. Post Office.”
Talarico said both definitions address storage, distribution and the products and goods themselves. Trucking terminals better support logistics operations, while warehouses “would fit better with a retailer,” he wrote.
“We concluded that a valid case was made to allow the use as a warehouse,” Talarico wrote. “As I have done in my 17-year career as a zoning official, I rely heavily on legal expertise to guide my decision. This approach has always served me well, and I will continue to do so.”
Talarico ended his email by saying Turco can, “at the time of permit issuance, appeal my decision to the ZBA.”
Turco’s response noted neither definition mentions retail, though warehouses support wholesale, “which isn’t relevant in this case as Amazon is not a wholesaler nor do they manufacture any of the products that are sold through their platform. With that, I digress. I will follow your suggestion of appeal upon the issuance of a building permit.”
Bettencourt said the city’s legal opinion “is clear.”
“This is the right course of action,” Bettencourt said of the warehouse path. “Centennial Park was built for businesses such as this, and I think this fits very well with the operation that takes place in that business park.”
When asked about the option of considering Turco’s request and just moving the issue to the council, Bettencourt said he wanted “to take the regular course, just like any project that comes along.”
“To me, it’s a warehouse, and the legal opinion said so,” Bettencourt said, referencing Conn’s legal counsel. “It goes to the Planning Board. That’s just the regular process. We have warehouses in Centennial Park that have gone this route — site plan review. It’s just regular city business taking a regular course.”
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or [email protected]. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
