Drones over North Haven: what Amazon filed, who decides, what you can still do

Applicant Kevin Hixson, for Amazon, asked for site plan approval in the IL-80 zone for "the construction of a new building and exterior infrastructure" so Amazon could deliver packages of 5 pounds or less by 70-pound drone to points within a 7-mile radius. Sam Bailey, listed as Project Manager, Amazon Services, presented. The minutes record that the use is "regulated by the FAA, which has sole jurisdiction over altitude and flight patterns" and that the commission should weigh "potential impacts to wildlife, as the property borders the Quinnipiac River," a migratory bird flyway. Approved 5-0 (Hannon, Weymann, Parisi, Loebick, Penton) with three conditions: a revised plan noted "#P26-17, Site Plan Approval," unusable parking replaced with lawn, and a $5,000 bond. It was a site plan, not a public hearing, and no member of the public is recorded speaking on it.

The same night, the commission approved Amazon.com Services' "BDL3 Physical Site Hardening" for the 142-acre property: perimeter fencing, gates, arm bars, guardhouses and card readers, 5-0. On August 3 it accepted revised plans for P26-13, 5-0. Neither item has been back on an agenda since; the September 14 minutes and the October 5 agenda carry nothing on Amazon, 409 Washington Avenue or drones.

Under Section 307(c)(1) of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, the FAA asked DEEP to concur that "FAA approval of Prime Air's Operational Specifications" for beyond-visual-line-of-sight package delivery in the New Haven area is consistent with Connecticut's coastal policies. The request describes MK30 drones, up to 1,000 delivery flights per operating day, 365 days a year, 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with up to 100 of the daily flights in the first hour and last half hour, from a 7.5-mile radius covering 174 square miles. The notice gives the facility's address as 409 Washington Ave., New Haven; the warehouse is in North Haven. The FAA's own position, as the Hartford Courant reported from the document, is that the site is inland and the overflights are transitory. The August 17 receipt date comes from DEEP spokesperson Bill Flood via the New Haven Register; the notice itself carries no date for it.

DEEP published the notice September 16 in the Courant, the Register and five other papers, with comments due "no later than fifteen (15) days from the publication date," which is October 1. The signed notice names Karen Michaels at DEEP for comments and Christopher Hurst at the FAA for questions about the action. DEEP's web page for the review now says the comment period is extended to October 15, 2026, with comments to [email protected], and gives no decision date. Flood told the Journal Inquirer that "over 500 comments were received during the public comment period." DEEP rules on coastal consistency, not on noise, hours or whether Amazon may fly.

NBC Connecticut reported that executive director Michael Shea described the plan to his board: drones of about 80 pounds, packages up to 5 pounds, dropped from roughly 13 feet, a range of about seven miles, and that "CAA staff has been in touch with Amazon regarding its plans." The board's draft minutes record one sentence: "Mr. Shea provided a general update to the board." Amazon, drones, North Haven and the FAA appear nowhere in them. The authority runs Bradley and five general aviation airports; Tweed is not one of them, and airspace is federal.

Four Republicans, including Rep. Dave Yaccarino of North Haven, and Democratic Sen. Christine Cohen of Madison wrote DEEP about harm to wildlife and nesting birds from drone noise, the Journal Inquirer reported. Yaccarino, who said he learned of the plan from an Amazon government affairs employee, said on September 30: "I think it's a horrible idea." East Haven Mayor Joseph Carfora wrote DEEP that Amazon briefed him on August 25. Amazon spokesperson Jack Stelzner answered that the service is safe, the aircraft are fully electric and each site creates local jobs.

Residents raised noise, privacy and wildlife at the board's regular meeting, WTNH and WFSB reported; one North Haven resident told WFSB, "We're going to hear buzzing, day and night, 7 days a week." The board took no vote; 7-149b leaves it no ordinance to vote on. The town had posted no agenda or minutes for the meeting on its Board of Selectmen page as of October 11.

First Selectman Michael J. Freda wrote on Facebook on October 3 that after a call from Amazon's corporate office "the drone initiative is now on hold" until the public, legislators and regional mayors have been heard at meetings Amazon will run. House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora wrote the next morning that calling it a hold is "not the case": the application was "merely extended for two weeks," and residents should keep filing. State legislators met Amazon on October 5. No filing was withdrawn, no clock stopped, and Amazon has made no statement on the record about a hold. What was said on October 5 had not been published by Amazon, the town, or the official pages of Reps. Yaccarino and Candelora or Sen. Cicarella when DroneXL checked on October 11. CT Insider reported on the meeting under the headline "Connecticut lawmakers meet with Amazon over drone delivery proposal"; DroneXL could not read that story by October 11, so what Amazon committed to there is not summarized here.