GORHAM — Amazon’s plan to build a warehouse and distribution center near the town center drew largely negative feedback and a smattering of support Monday night at the first public hearing on the controversial proposal.

The megaretailer submitted a site plan in March to build a 146,280-square-foot warehouse on 94 acres off Main Street (Route 25) that the company has agreed to buy from the town for $4 million.

Of the 30 people who signed up to speak during the planning board meeting, a handful stood to voice support, citing benefits to the commercial tax base, local economy and job market.

The warehouse is expected to employ up to 170 full- and part-time workers, with full-time positions earning an average hourly wage nearly triple the federal minimum (of $7.25 per hour), plus benefits, according to Amazon’s website.

“It represents the right project at the right time in the right location,” said Katherine Garrard, a Gorham resident.

Kristen Lehmann, who lives on Shamrock Drive, alongside the project site, was among the residents who raised concerns about the project’s potential impacts on the environment and overall quality of life in town. She urged the board to investigate Amazon’s assessment that the round-the-clock facility would generate over 3,000 vehicle arrivals and departures daily.

“If the numbers are wrong, we do not get a do-over,” said Lehmann, reading a statement by a neighbor who couldn’t attend the meeting.

The board is expected to review and vote on the proposal in the coming weeks.

A citizen’s group, Gorham United, has organized an online petition and launched a GoFundMe campaign to hire a lawyer and fight Amazon’s proposal. So far, about 900 people have signed the petition, including residents of Westbrook and other neighboring towns, and more than 50 people have donated over $6,700 toward a $135,000 goal.

The group has identified “significant issues” in the company’s applications to the town, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, spokesman Josh Trombley said in a Facebook post.

Chris Taylor of Sebago Technics, a South Portland firm working with the project developers, Bluewater Property Group, outlined the steps that would be taken to minimize sound, light and other impacts of facility.

Existing trees and greenery on the property would be preserved and augmented, and a 6-foot-tall fence would be installed between residential neighbors and hundreds of parking spaces filled with delivery trucks, Taylor said.

Lighting throughout the project would be directed downward and light poles would diminish in height from 35 feet near the plant to 20 feet near residences, he said.

The distribution center is part of a $4 billion initiative Amazon unveiled last year to grow its rural delivery network across the U.S. and provide faster service to less densely populated areas, Amazon spokesperson Jonathan Greeley told the board. Known as a “last mile” delivery station, it’s intended to coordinate the final stretch of service to small towns.

Elsewhere in Maine, Amazon opened a 15,000-square-foot delivery station in Caribou last August and developers announced plans in March to build a 159,000-square-foot distribution facility on undeveloped land in Waterville and Sidney.

In southern Maine, Amazon packages are currently stored and delivered by third parties, including the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS.

Amazon orders in Maine are delivered from fulfillment centers in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, Greeley said.