Amazon Drone Federal Review Letters
At a glance
- What: letters asking the FAA and Amazon for a site-specific environmental assessment of Amazon's proposed drone operations in Westborough, with a public comment process. The federal delegation (led by Senator Markey's office) sent two letters on Oct 14; the Select Board approved its own supporting letter.
- Where it stands: on Oct 15 the board voted by voice to authorize the Town Manager to finalize and send its letter. The delegation asked Amazon and the FAA to respond by Oct 29.
- Next: the other affected communities (the town counted 16, including two cities) were being asked to sign on; target was to finish by Friday Oct 23. Copies go to the federal delegation, the governor and lieutenant governor, and state legislators.
- Related: Amazon Prime Air Drone Hub, Unmanned Aircraft General Bylaw.
Background
-
On Oct 1 the board discussed writing to its state and federal delegations and to other affected communities (said to be 16, including two cities) and asking them to sign on; direction was one letter for the next meeting, drafted by the Town Manager with the chair and vice chair (2026-10-01 - Select Board).
-
On Oct 13 the Select Board held the item (agenda item 10) until Oct 15 because several letters were being worked on and might change the board's text (2026-10-13 - Select Board).
-
The board's original idea was a letter to the FAA about poor communication with municipalities and the difficulty of its framework; the comment period for the relevant FAA rule expired in October 2025.
-
The delegation's letters argue New England and the Northeast differ from the areas where the FAA has previously done site-specific assessments.
-
Shrewsbury was noted to have a drone article on its own town meeting warrant.
Discussion time
About 28 minutes across 4 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-15 - Select Board | 7 |
| 2026-10-13 - Select Board | 1 |
| 2026-10-08 - Democratic Town Committee Special Town Meeting Warrant Review | 10 |
| 2026-10-01 - Select Board | 10 |
Log
-
2026-10-20 - Shrewsbury's Select Board voted 5-0 to sign the joint letter (2026-10-20 Select Board in Shrewsbury). By that evening five communities had signed: Westborough, Grafton, Marlborough, Hopkinton and Upton; others were in process.
-
2026-10-15 - Select Board - Board voted to authorize the Town Manager to finalize and send its supporting letter; Town Manager described the delegation's letters and outreach to other communities.
-
2026-10-13 - Select Board - Board's communication to the congressional delegation and the FAA deferred to the Oct 15 special meeting because multiple letters were in progress.
-
2026-10-08 - Democratic Town Committee Special Town Meeting Warrant Review - Forum (not an official meeting): a member of the local legislative delegation described its letter asking Amazon to pause and letters to the federal delegation and legislators within the 7.5 mile radius; Senator Markey's office scheduled a briefing; federal preemption and regional cooperation discussed.
-
2026-10-01 - Select Board - Agenda item on next steps with the legislative delegation: members preferred a letter to state and federal delegations and affected communities over a forum; Town Manager to draft with the chair and vice chair (vote garbled in captions).