By Carrie James
Attorney William Bonesso presented the proposal to relocate the Taco Bell, now located farther west on Front Street, to a site inside the Meadow Plaza Shopping Center lot. The owners needed to apply for variances for parking and installation of a double-window, drive-thru service.
Richard Bivone, vice president of the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations, said more than 30 residents turned out at the hearing to oppose the application.
"We also presented a petition with 1,000 signatures in opposition," Bivone said. "We expressed our opposition to the board of appeals and said we wanted it [Taco Bell] to stay where it is. We thought it was bad to place it in the center."
Earlier in the year, Bivone helped lead a meeting with Bonesso and concerned residents to discuss the proposal and come up with a compromise. As it stood, the proposal included building a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express that would hold about 74 people and be 2,800 square feet in size.
"This proposal moves the Taco Bell away from a more residential area to a commercial center," Bonesso said. "And, to be honest, [the new location] will draw more business."
The zoning board requested that both sides present further information to them to help make a decision. Bivone said this would give all those who oppose the application the chance to be heard.
"In this case, there was so much opposition that the board wanted to hear from everyone," he said. "CEMCO is requesting another meeting with the residents to discuss it."
At press time, neither CEMCO nor the zoning board had set a meeting date.
