Capo Truck Equipment seeks to rebuild and expand long‑standing West Babylon public garage; board hears special‑permit and parking relief requests

Capo Truck Equipment, a family‑owned commercial truck repair and sales business, presented plans Oct. 9 to rebuild a facility at 65 Edison Avenue in West Babylon that was declared a total loss after an August 2023 storm. Attorney William Germano introduced owner Frank Capo and project engineer/architect James German and said the proposal would expand the building from roughly 8,500 sq ft to about 11,800 sq ft with seven repair bays, a partial second‑floor office area and basement storage.

The site has operated as a public garage since at least 1972, Germano said; the company requests a special permit to continue that long‑standing use, variances to allow parking in the front yard on Edison Avenue and Mahan Street, authorization for outdoor overnight commercial vehicle storage (11 large truck stalls shown on the plan), and a parking relaxation that reduces provided stalls from the code‑required 38 to 30 (≈21% reduction). The applicant said the 11 outdoor truck stalls are primarily for vehicles awaiting repair or for sale and argued those stalls do not generate additional staff parking demand.

Germano and the applicant explained operational controls: a gated, fenced interior yard will separate truck storage/operations from the customer and employee parking area; one of the Mahan Street gates will be kept closed during most of the day except to allow employee access; the nearest residence is roughly 1,200 feet away and adjacent properties include Penske and a bus depot. The applicant asked the board not to impose a durational limit on the special permit, citing the site’s continuous use as a public garage for more than five decades.

The planning board reviewed the application on Oct. (10 days earlier) and reserved decision; no public opposition was recorded at that hearing, Germano said. The ZBA did not vote Oct. 9; the hearing record will remain open while the board continues its review and coordinates with town departments and the fire marshal. The applicant said it expects about 11 employees on site (7 technicians and 4 office/sales staff) during typical operation and that the proposed layout separates customer parking from the active repair yard.