Amazon distribution center plans in McKinleyville move into public review

Truck traffic, noise and a major change in land use are now at the center of McKinleyville’s debate over a proposed Amazon distribution center, as Humboldt County opens the plan to public review before it can advance.

The county has scheduled an informational community meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, at Azalea Hall, 1620 Pickett Rd., next to Pierson Park. County Planning Director John Ford has said the point of the meeting is to let residents hear directly from Amazon and county staff before the project moves farther through the permit process.

County records show the proposal would operate as an Amazon Distribution Facility across six parcels in the Airport Business Park in McKinleyville. The application, received by the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department on Oct. 21, 2025, calls for a 40,290-square-foot commercial warehouse and several parking lots. Reporting based on county records places the site at 3110 Boeing Avenue, near the Arcata-Eureka Airport, and describes it as a last-mile distribution center.

The project is still in the early stages of discretionary review. It must clear California Environmental Quality Act review and local zoning requirements before it can reach the Planning Commission for a public hearing, which county officials expect later this year. If an appeal is filed, the Board of Supervisors would have the final say. Because the proposal involves a coastal development permit, some decisions can also be appealed under California Coastal Commission rules.

The proposal is already drawing scrutiny because of what it could bring to a community still wrestling with housing costs, road capacity and pressure on industrial land. Residents are likely to focus on whether the jobs and tax revenue associated with an Amazon facility would outweigh the impact of more delivery vehicles moving through McKinleyville’s Airport Business Park. Local reporting has also identified public concern about Amazon’s labor practices, adding another layer to the debate.

County records identify Sonya Kinz as the applicant and describe her as a senior development manager with Panattoni Development Company, an industrial real estate firm that often develops warehouse and logistics projects. That detail underscores how much of the project’s future now depends on the public record, not private negotiations: the county is asking residents to weigh in before the plan becomes locked into a formal hearing schedule.