An application for a zoning change that would pave the way for the construction of a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center and a senior housing project on the South Oaks property will come before the Oyster Bay Town Board Tuesday, November 18. The meeting is being held at the Massapequa High School auditorium, Merrick Road, Massapequa, beginning at 7 p.m.

"We had gotten a lot of feedback from the community and anticipate a large turnout for this hearing," said Oyster Bay Town Councilman Angelo Delligatti who together with the rest of the Town Board voted to move the hearing to the high school. Generally all zoning hearings are held at Oyster Bay Town Hall, Audrey Avenue and Oyster Bay.

"I think it would have been unfair to expect the community to trek up to the north shore for an issue that is so important to their lives," said Councilwoman Bonnie Eisler. "When we can bring government to the people, they have a greater opportunity to take part in the process."

The first application is from Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc., and WSNCHS East, doing business as Long Island Homes. It requests a change of zone from RI-7 Residential to GB General Business District in order to construct the home improvement warehouse and garden center on 16.62 acres located on the east side of Carmans Road, and the north side of Louden Avenue, northwest of Sunrise Highway.

The second application from WSNCHS East requests a change of zone from RI 7 Resident to RSC-25, to construct 308 units of senior housing on 18.35 acres on the north side of Sunrise Highway, 117.70 feet west of County Line Road in Massapequa.

An adjacent 4.23 acre parcel in the Village of Amityville will be the subject of a separate zoning hearing by the Village, which has jurisdiction over that matter. According to Mayor Peter T. Imbert, however, the Village has continued to monitor the entire project and its potential impact on the Village.

"We have reiterated the concerns we raised about this project initially," said Mayor Imbert. "And we are watching it carefully at every step of the way."

Imbert said some of those concerns included the potential for an increase in traffic and congestion not only along Sunrise Highway but also on local Village streets as a result of the entire development.

The third application requests a change of zone from RI 7 Residential to GB Business to construct an assisted living facility on 3.27 acres on the northeast corner of Sunrise Highway and Louden Avenue, Massapequa, and on an adjacent 1.44 acre parcel in the Town of Babylon. The proposed facility would contain 92 units that would house approximately 134 residents. Zoning relief from the Town is required to develop this portion.