Breaking News – Amazon – welcome to the neighborhood

Amazon gets permit to open "Last Mile" delivery facility in Cypress.

The Cypress City Council voted Tuesday night to approve an Environmental Impact Report and a conditional use permit to allow Amazon to move into the city.

The motion by Mayor Rob Johnson, was approved by a vote of 4-1, with only Mayor Pro-tem Mariellen Yarc voting against.

With no sales taxes contributed and approximately $100,000 per year in additional tax revenue from gasoline sales, the city nevertheless eagerly invited Amazon to open its “Last Mile Facility” at the former Mitsubishi corporate headquarters on Katella Ave.

Citizens and officials said they believe that e-commerce is shifting the economic development landscape. So while Amazon will not be “selling” products at the site, thus producing no sales tax revenue for the city, the intrinsic benefits that accompany Amazon will more than pay dividends in the long run, the comments suggested.

Before the vote, many citizens, including labor officials from outside the city, spoke in favor of allowing Amazon to convert the facility. With the promise, by some estimates, of as many as 1,000 new jobs and good construction jobs during the conversion, they believe on balance, Amazon “will be a great partner for the city.”

Even those opposing the project complimented the city on the amount of due diligence performed during the process.

Watch for the complete and detailed coverage in next week’s Event News Enterprise.