Amazon Drone Delivery Fights: North Haven, Westborough and North Myrtle Beach Tracked (October 2026)

Amazon wants MK30 drone hubs in hundreds of US towns, and in October 2026 three of them are fighting back at the same time: North Haven, Connecticut, Westborough, Massachusetts and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Each fight has a different lever, and each has a date in the next few weeks. This page tracks them in one place and will be updated as decisions come in.

The short version: no town can ban the drones from the sky, because airspace, routes and flight hours belong to the FAA. What a town can sometimes control is the patch of ground the drones take off from. Where state law lets it, that is where the fights are being won or lost.

Quick answer: where things stand

Why towns can fight the pad but not the drone

On 28 July 2026 the FAA signed a nationwide environmental assessment for drone delivery, so Amazon no longer needs a full site-by-site environmental review for most hubs. Fifteen states and Harris County, Texas are now asking a federal appeals court to throw that document out; we covered the case in Fifteen States Sued the FAA Over Drone Delivery.

Until a court rules, local fights run through zoning. The launch pad, its fence, lighting and ground operating hours are land use, and in most states land use is local. That is why every case below turns on a zoning label: is the pad an accessory use to an existing warehouse, which is usually approved administratively, or a principal use such as an airport, which can need a special permit and a vote? Amazon has said that about 80% of the communities on its list were approved administratively, without a public hearing (as reported by DroneXL).

North Haven, Connecticut: a hold that may not be a hold

• The plan: a drone hub at Amazon’s facility at 409 Washington Avenue, with up to 1,000 MK30 flights a day between 6 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., covering a 7.5-mile radius that reaches parts of Hamden, Wallingford, New Haven, Branford, East Haven and other towns.
• Local power: almost none over the flights. Connecticut Public Act 17-52 bars municipalities from regulating commercial drone operations. The town’s Planning & Zoning Commission had already approved the warehouse in May 2026.
• The open review: the FAA asked Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) on 17 August to confirm the plan is consistent with the state’s coastal policies. DEEP’s comment window was extended to 15 October, and its 60-day response clock runs to 16 October.
• The dispute: on 3 October First Selectman Michael Freda said Amazon had told him the drone initiative was on hold. On 4 October House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said it was not, and that only the state review had been extended by two weeks. State legislators met Amazon on 5 October; Amazon had not publicly said which account is right when we published.

Westborough, Massachusetts: the zoning appeal

• The plan: a launch pad of about 6,800 square feet in the parking lot at 64 Otis Street, with up to 1,000 daily deliveries over time. Amazon had said in September it hoped to fly by the end of October.
• The opposition: an unscientific online survey run by residents logged 853 responses by 28 September, 92% of them opposed. On 1 October the Select Board voted unanimously to oppose the hub and to write to state lawmakers.
• The delay: Amazon asked the Planning Board to move its site-plan hearing from 6 October to 10 November.
• The appeal: residents organised as Mass Blue Skies appealed the building commissioner’s finding that the pad is an accessory use of the warehouse. Under Massachusetts law the Zoning Board of Appeals must hold a hearing within 65 days of the filing. If the board decides the pad is a principal airport-type use, the Planning Board’s review stops being near-automatic.
• Still missing: a MassDOT landing-area registration and the FAA’s own sign-off for the site.

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: a vote on 20 October

• The plan: a fenced paddock of 13,627 square feet with six launch and landing pads behind Amazon’s same-day delivery warehouse at 8651 Water Tower Road, in the Palmetto Coast Industrial Park.
• Who decides: the five appointed members of the Planning Commission, not the City Council. The zoning administrator treated the drone operation as accessory to the warehouse.
• Reach: the 7.5-mile radius covers about 174 square miles, including Atlantic Beach, Barefoot Landing and the north end of Myrtle Beach.
• Dates: the Commission met on 6 October to consider a postponement, a public workshop follows on 7 October, and staff proposed a vote on 20 October.
• Noise figure cited in the review: 92.1 dBA at 25 feet with the MK30 hovering for a delivery.

Where Amazon already flies: Richardson, Texas

Richardson shows what happens after the pad is approved. Complaints began in January 2026, and in February Amazon raised its average outbound altitude over the city to 225 feet and rerouted some departures over commercial land. A residents’ group calling itself the Drone Warriors wants the aircraft higher still; one resident logged 52 drones over his home on a single September day. The city has no power over any of it, because altitude and routes are set with the FAA.

It is not only Amazon

Walmart’s drone hubs, flown by Wing, have met the same kind of local pushback, and some towns have moved first:

For how Wing’s and Amazon’s delivery methods differ, and why that matters under state drop laws, see Amazon drops packages from about 13 feet. Ten states have laws about that. For where Amazon says it is heading next, see Prime Air’s 500-city plan.

What residents can and cannot do

• Can: speak at planning and zoning hearings before a pad is approved, and ask for conditions on ground hours, lighting, fencing and pad location.
• Can: appeal a zoning classification, as Westborough residents did, where state law allows.
• Can: comment in state reviews that apply, such as Connecticut’s coastal consistency review, and keep a dated log of flights for complaints to Amazon and the FAA.
• Can: ask Amazon to exclude their own property as a drop zone once service starts.
• Cannot: ban flights, set altitudes or routes, or regulate aircraft noise. Those are federal.

Key dates to watch

Frequently asked questions

Can a town ban Amazon delivery drones?

No. Flights, altitude and routes are regulated by the FAA. A town can only regulate the ground facility, and in some states, such as Connecticut, not even that for commercial drone operations.

Is Amazon’s North Haven drone hub on hold?

It is disputed. North Haven’s first selectman said on 3 October that Amazon told him it was on hold; Connecticut’s House Republican leader said on 4 October it was not, and that only the state review had been extended.

When will Westborough decide on Amazon’s drone pad?

The Planning Board hearing moved to 10 November 2026 at Amazon’s request, and a residents’ zoning appeal must be heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals first or alongside it.

When does North Myrtle Beach vote on the Amazon drone pad?

Staff proposed a Planning Commission vote on 20 October 2026, after a public workshop on 7 October.

How loud is Amazon’s MK30 drone?

The figure cited in the North Myrtle Beach review is 92.1 dBA at 25 feet while the drone hovers to deliver.

Can I stop drones delivering to my house?

You can ask Amazon to exclude your property as a drop zone. You cannot stop drones from flying over it.

Sources

• DroneXL: Amazon North Haven drone hold disputed as legislators meet 5 October
• DroneXL: Amazon drones in North Haven, CT, what residents can do
• DroneXL: Westborough launch hinges on a zoning appeal
• DroneXL: Amazon asks Westborough to delay its drone pad vote
• DroneXL: Westborough survey, 92% oppose
• DroneXL: North Myrtle Beach vote, staff ask 20 October
• DroneXL: Richardson, Texas and the Drone Warriors
• DroneXL: Castle Rock froze Walmart’s drone hub 7–0
• Drone Ranker: the 15-state lawsuit over the FAA’s drone delivery review