Commack Taco Bell plan remains in limbo

An attorney argued this week that a proposal to revamp a Taco Bell restaurant in Commack must be approved because Smithtown’s zoning appeals board previously OKd a similar plan in Nesconset.

The Irvine, Calif.-based restaurant chain wants to build a new, 2,639-square-foot Taco Bell on Jericho Turnpike that would be 5 percent larger than the present one there, which would be torn down, attorney Donald King told the town Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday. The new restaurant would have six fewer seats because of design changes, he said.

Taco Bell is seeking variances for parking, curbs and signs.

King, of Kings Park, said the plan is a “mirror image” of Taco Bell’s renovation of its restaurant on Route 347 in Nesconset; the zoning board earlier this year approved most of the variances Taco Bell requested for that project.

The Commack restaurant would have a separate drive-through exit because most Taco Bell customers use the drive-through.

The board on Tuesday reserved its decision. Board members did not indicate when they will issue a ruling.