Costco to Hold Meeting on Proposed Gas Station

Costco will hold a community meeting Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. on its proposed plan to build a 22-pump gas station at its Lawrence superstore.

The meeting, to be held at the Five Towns Community Center, was rescheduled from earlier this month due to Superstorm Sandy.

Representatives from Costco will be available to discuss the store's proposal to build a gas station at the southwest corner of Rockaway Turnpike and Nassau Expressway, according to a mailing from Costco's attorney. The letter also notes that the meeting "is not required by the Town of Hempstead and is being conducted by Costco Wholesale Corp. in order to address community concerns."

The store's bid to install a gas station has seen many bumps. First proposed in May, the plan quickly met opposition from local residents and town officials, who are mostly concerned about traffic on Rockaway Turnpike.

Most recently, Hempstead's Board of Zoning Appeals took Costco's case off the calendar pending the town board's decision on whether the store can install three 30,000-gallon storage tanks. 

Costco needs a parking variance from the BZA because its plan would take away 163 of the Lawrence store’s 822 parking spaces to make way for the gas station. That's under the town's minimum for a store of its size.