'Thank you for coming, and please go away': Community members oppose McKinleyville Amazon facility

On Wednesday evening, Humboldt County staff held a public meeting on a facility that Amazon plans to build on six parcels in the Airport Business Park in McKinleyville. The packed meeting, held at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville, was at times discordant, with community members shouting at each other, public officials threatening to involve sheriff's officers and at least one physical altercation.

Planning and Building Director John Ford twice stopped the meeting and threatened to end the meeting should the crowd not calm down, and public comment took roughly three hours, with the vast majority of attendees voicing passionate opposition to an Amazon development in the area.

Presenting Amazon's case

Amazon's Senior Manager of Economic Development Policy, Stephen Maduli-Williams, was present at the meeting and described the company's plans for a 40,290-square-foot "last-mile delivery station." That facility will be used, Maduli-Williams said, to intake sorted cargo from large Amazon distribution and sorting facilities in Sacramento and reload and disseminate packages into the area for home delivery.

Maduli-Williams said that the facility would employ 227 people, 117 full-time employees, with some employees hired directly through Amazon, others working for subcontracted driving companies and others still (some 112 drivers) operating as "Uber Eats"-style "flex drivers."

Those drivers and other employees, Maduli-Williams said, are expected to earn $20-$23 an hour in pay with benefits.

According to Maduli-Williams, the facility would result in "$30 million capital investment directly into McKinleyville" and roughly $8 million in yearly payroll taxes from employment at the facility.

Ford and Senior Planner Steve Lazar noted that the project is principally permitted by zoning; however, because the facility falls within the coastal zone, a coastal development permit will be required from the county.

Panattoni Development Senior Development Manager Sonya Kinz also gave a brief presentation highlighting the features of the facility (which includes solar panels, more electronic vehicle charging bays than required by law, public-facing landscaping features and an eight-foot soundwall designed to mask the sound of Amazon fleet vehicles from surrounding neighborhoods.

Ford noted that, while the Humboldt County Planning Commission would be the body to eventually scrutinize Amazon's plans, most of the commissioners themselves would not be present at the meeting to avoid rules associated with holding an unnoticed meeting should a quorum be present.

The gauntlet of public opinion

Azalea Hall was packed with people by the time the presentation began (though a protest called for in neighboring Pierson Park failed to materialize in great numbers), and Ford remarked, early in the evening, "I know that there's more than 100 people here because there are 100 chairs."

Community members lined up behind a podium in the center of the hall early, and a throng of potential commenters snaked through the facility from 7 p.m. until nearly 10 p.m.

The vast majority of those commenters outright opposed Amazon's plan to build a delivery facility in McKinleyville, and Ford, Maduli-Williams and Lazar all struggled through frequent interruptions to their presentations.

At two points, once around 6:30 p.m. and once at roughly 7:20 p.m., Ford threatened to call an end to the meeting as discordant shouting overwhelmed the speakers. Former McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee member Twila Sanchez, at one point, took over the podium, demanding civility.

"I just want to remind everyone here that you are on Wiyot land, and it may have been taken from them, but it is still their land," Sanchez said. "I am not Wiyot; I am Yurok, but as a native person, we do not treat people who come to our land to give their opinions, to give information, (like this). We greet them, and we respect them. If we have questions, we ask questions. The more education we get on any topic, the better decisions can be made. So I would appreciate it, I don't know how many times John Ford has to say, (if you would) please hold your questions. I'm here to get information."

Concerns for the environment

Members of the community expressed concerns with the potential environmental impact of the project, including an influx of single-use plastic packaging and the emissions potentially generated by a large fleet of small vans and six to nine "line-haul" deliveries to the facility each day.

"We haven't heard anything about the cumulative impacts (on) Richardson Grove, which is going to vastly increase STAA traffic," said community member Ken Miller. "The plastic pollution is a big deal; you're going to be introducing a lot more plastic around here.

"… And the last thing is really, I think, of critical importance; this is salmonid country, and toxicity from the tires of your vans, your trucks, (from) all your delivery vehicles … are particularly toxic to coho, but also all other salmonid species. Of course, I didn't hear you mention very much about any of this, but this is salmonid country, and we're really concerned about the rejuvenation of these fish."

Regina Chichizola with Communities United for Water Protection also expressed concerns regarding emissions and water usage at the new facility.

"My son has asthma. We actually had to move here because he could no longer live in places where there's (wild)fire, so he had access to clean air, and I don't think it's worth the risk," Chichizola said. "I also wanted to say that I'm really concerned with the location of this Amazon center. … when I moved to the area, we weren't able to get onto the town water supply because there wasn't enough water. Meanwhile, we're gonna put a big warehouse in this area. Well, what is gonna be the water use?"

Other commenters brought up concerns about nitrogen dioxide emissions and runoff from the facility.

Is Amazon a boon for the local economy?

Another frequent refrain from the crowd was a concern for the local business community and local economy.

While Maduli-Williams noted that more than 60% of sellers on Amazon.com were small businesses, he was unable to provide specifics when pushed by commenters about what percentage of those ostensible small businesses were drop-shippers selling items mass-produced overseas.

One long-term McKinleyville resident suggested that Amazon's customers were disproportionately short-term residents of the area, such as students. She said: "I just want to say that I've been here longer than that business track has been, and when that business track was approved … I thought (it was) for our local economy; I thought those were going to be local businesses going in there, not major corporations taking out the money. … We rely on our local businesses to keep our money within (the community). When it leaves, it's gone forever."

Community member James Zeller discussed a series of concerns he had with Amazon's effect on local economies and troubled the idea that jobs at an Amazon facility would bring about economic prosperity.

"Regarding job creation, a study by the American Economic Liberties Project found that in communities with Amazon warehouses, retail worker pay dropped by 2.4% after Amazon's arrival," Zeller said. "Retail workers' pay fell up to 100 miles away from the warehouse. Local retailer sectors lost jobs, and these losses were not offset by jobs added within the Amazon warehouse. In other words, it seems like the job creation that Amazon would bring would be a net zero, possibly, according to this study.

"Regarding quality of jobs, a study from the University of Illinois Chicago's Center for Urban Economic Development found that 53% of Amazon warehouse workers experience food insecurity. … In regard to Amazon's relationship with local businesses, the Institute for Local Self-Alliance reports that, in a 2019 survey, three-quarters of independent retailers ranked Amazon's dominance as a major threat to their survival, and only 11% of those selling on the site describe their experience as successful."

Several community members expressed concerns that jobs created by the facility would be short-lived as Amazon works toward a goal of greater automation of its warehouses and autonomous delivery vehicles. And many noted that Amazon packages are currently being delivered throughout Humboldt County and that Amazon delivery jobs would likely cannibalize jobs from USPS and UPS.

A plethora of misgivings

Many members of the community asked questions about incentives - or "kickbacks" - that the county might be offering Amazon, and Ford and Maduli-Williams noted repeatedly that there were no tax incentives or other enticements beyond a market for Amazon's products.

Some community members mentioned potential strain on emergency services that are stretched thin in the area.

Many community members also mentioned Amazon's ignominious record of workplace safety incidents, including an incident in Troutdale, Oregon, this April in which a 46-year-old worker collapsed and died at an Amazon facility while coworkers were reportedly told to continue working around their colleague's body (Maduli-Williams characterized that report as "misinformation"). Others pointed to a deadly incident in Edwardsville, Illinois, in 2021 in which workers at an Amazon facility were enjoined to continue working during a tornado; six workers were killed in that incident.

Still others expressed concerns about Amazon's complicity, through its AWS cloud-computing infrastructure, with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and with Amazon's ongoing price-fixing suit leveled by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Defying Amazon

Several community members took a defiant tone in their comments, saying that the community would do everything in their power to thwart Amazon's planned facility. Some made declaratives like "you will not come back." One commenter late in the evening earned applause by concluding her statements, "thank you for coming, and please go away."

"In 2019, a coalition of activists, union leaders, and politicians stopped Amazon from building a second center in Queens, New York," one community member said, addressing earlier comments that a principally permitted Amazon facility might be an unstoppable eventuality. "So yes, it can be done. We can stop Amazon."

Others were more caustic in their tone.

"I'm considering (that) there's an epidemic of warehouse fires sweeping this country, and my concern is that building this warehouse presents a 100% increase in risk of warehouse fire in this community," one commentator said.

She continued: "My question is actually for the audience: Did y'all know anyone can buy a drip torch at a local hardware store? It's a great way to support local businesses."

Robert Schaulis can be reached at 707-441-0585.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 8:10 PM.