In another round of legal procedures that never seem to end, a New York State Supreme Court Judge recently rejected an appeal by LCS Realty to overturn a Roslyn Village Site Review Board decision. That decision, which was rendered May 5, denied LCS's most recent plan to build an 86,000 sq. ft. supermarket in downtown Roslyn.

On Feb. 3, lawyers for LCS applied for a site plan approval and an environmental review for the same supermarket building plan it received SRB approval for in December, 1994. In May, the current SRB rejected the plan, claiming, among other things, that it was not in conformity with the village's current Master Plan and Zoning codes.

LCS appealed the SRB ruling and last Tuesday, the courts weighed in with their opinion. State Judge Kenneth A. Davis ruled in favor of the village, writing that the SRB decision in May was "based entirely" on the application of the master plan and zoning law.

Responding to charges by LCS, the judge added that the earlier decision was "presumptively rational and is neither arbitrary nor capricious....[The] Court has reviewed the decision of the Court of Appeals and discerns no mandate therein for the relief sought by the movant [LCS]." Judge Davis further denied a cross-motion request by LCS.

When the SRB rejected the site review application in May, it also claimed that the building plan would not "preserve and promote" the "proper use of land" within the village.

Previous attempts by LCS to build in the village were also cited in the May 5 rejection. The SRB chided LCS for its earlier failure to "obey a valid stop-work order" and receive a building permit for the supermarket.

The SRB also determined that "any economic hardship which the applicant claims to suffer is self-created."

Economic hardship was one of the legs LCS built its February application on. An attorney for the Syosset-based company said that LCS had already invested over $16 million into the supermarket project. The LCS team also maintained a supermarket remained the only feasible plan for the land area in question. They also claimed that the village's new master plan and zoning laws "do not apply to LCS property."

When LCS first sought to build a supermarket in Roslyn, it was for Stop & Shop, the New England-based chain. That bid failed when the 1994 SRB approval for supermarket constructions was overturned by a successful Article 78 lawsuit. Since then, Stop & Shop was purchased by Edwards Food Stores, another New England-based firm which has built extensively on Long Island. Edwards itself is a subsidiary of Ahold, a Dutch company with American headquarters in Atlanta, GA.

In January, Tim Mahoney, director of real estate for Edwards, met with Roslyn Chamber of Commerce members. He assured them that Edwards was flexible about the size for any possible supermarket construction. Mr. Mahoney said Edwards was willing to go down in size, all the way to a 47,000 sq. ft. supermarket, if necessary. But first LCS wanted to take another shot at applying for an 86,000 sq. ft. store.