At Tuesday's Town of Oyster Bay board meeting, a hearing was held for the board to consider the application of 75 Commercial Realty LLC, fee owner, and We Transport, Inc, tenant, for a special use permit for a school bus depot and the repair of buses on the property located at 75 Commercial Street in Plainview.

The lot, which is 146,628 square feet, or 3.27 acres, is zoned light industrial and currently houses a vacant warehouse. We Transport buses kids throughout Nassau County, including the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District. If approved, the space would house the bus depot, a repair shop for the buses and a fuel facility for the buses.

According to Howard Avrutine, attorney for the applicant, 130 parking spots are included in the plans and 119 are required. The engineer explained that 59 spaces are marked for vans, 4 for employees, 17 are landbanked, 45 for buses and 5 handicapped. The plan also includes the 6-foot buffer that is required along Commercial Street and also includeslandscaping.

Carmen Tomeo, Operations Manager for We Transport, explained that the bus drivers arrive between 6 - 6:30 a.m. and leave generally between 4 - 4:30 p.m. and there is no major "in and out" during the day. The office staff will hold hours from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

A traffic study showed that the proposed school bus depot would not have an adverse effect on traffic in the area.

"This proposal is in the middle of an industrial park," said Avrutine. "The location was chosen because of its proximity to the area the company will serve and that it will have zero impact on surrounding properties."

The decision of the town board was reserved and the record was left open. Anyone wishing to address the board on this matter should send their comments and opinions to 54 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.