Lowe's Home Centers recently submitted a pre-application to the Town of Oyster Bay regarding the possibility of building a 167,000-square-foot home improvement store and garden center on an approximately 18-acre parcel opposite the highly-contested Mall at Oyster Bay on the Cerro Wire Site on Robbins Lane in Syosset.

When the Town of Oyster Bay reorganized earlier this year, they created the Department of Environmental Resources, reorganized the Town Environmental Quality Review (TEQR) and set up a pre-application process.

According to Town of Oyster Bay dpokesperson Phyllis Barry, the pre-application process was set up for developers with a large project who want to get an idea of what's in store before they proceed with a full application.

"For a fee, they have their pre-application reviewed by our Department of Planning and Development, our outside consultant and have it looked at by TEQR and be advised as to what they would be looking at if they proceeded," said Barry, who confirmed that Lowe's submitted a pre-application, which is currently being reviewed.

The 17.7-acre parcel is currently zoned Light Industrial and in order to build the home center, Lowe's would have to apply for and be issued a special use permit.

According to Barry, Lowe's pre-approval application includes plans to build a 136,136 square foot Lowe's Home Improvement store, a 31,052 square foot garden center and parking for 743 cars on 13.56 acres. The remaining 4.14 acres would be retained by the current occupant of the property, Blumenfeld Development Group, who would keep their existing building and property around it, according to Barry.

According to Todd Fabricant, chairman of the Cerro Wire Coalition, a group of 26 civic groups opposed to the development of the mall, the possibility of further development around the mall on Robbins Lane was something he warned the town about.

"We certainly are opposed to an almost 200,000 square foot building supply company going into that area," said Fabricant. "It will severely impact the Robbins Lane Elementary School and it is a disaster waiting to happen."

According to Fabricant, the hours of operation for Lowe's stores coincide with school hours and the store would bring tractor-trailers and contractors' vehicles when buses are bringing children to nearby Robbins Lane Elementary School.

Many people have expressed concern over the close proximity of this application to the proposed mall on the Cerro Wire site, an application which is currently being decided by the court system and out of the Town of Oyster Bay board's control. According to Barry, the proposed mall and the proposed Lowe's Home Improvement Center are two separate applications that will not impact each other. "Cerro stands on its own and these are two very separate issues," said Barry.

According to Jennifer Smith, a spokesperson for Lowe's, the store announced a few years ago that they are expanding to the greater New York area. "We are actively pursuing sites in all boroughs of New York, however, we have not announced a new store in Syosset," said Smith. "It is our corporate policy that we are not able to comment on a site or a prospective site unless we have closed on a property."