Another battle in the long and costly legal struggle between LCS Realty and the Village of Roslyn has come to an end with the village prevailing on all counts of a lawsuit LCS had filed in a last-ditch attempt to proceed with Stop & Shop supermarket construction in property off Skillman Street.

Judge Kenneth A. Davis of the New York State Supreme Court threw out all six motions filed by LCS which claimed that the village, while drafting the master plan, violated certain municipal laws, conducted an improper environmental study and adopted the plan with the intent of preventing Stop & Shop construction.

It may be hard to believe, but the ruling ends a legal struggle that has lasted over four years.

"This is great news for the village as we move into the next millennium," said Mayor Janet Galante.

More specifically, the LCS lawsuit claimed the village violated referral requirements of Nassau County general municipal laws 239-m and 57-706. It also contended that the village failed to comply with notice requirements in the Nassau County Charter and with environmental requirements.

In addition, LCS claimed that the village adopted its master plan "de facto with the intent to stop Stop & Shop" construction "prior to complying with the requirements of SEQRA."

In his opinion, Judge Davis wrote that the village gave proper notice of its proposed master plan actions to the Nassau County Planning Commission. Furthermore, the commission, the judge noted, passed upon the proposed action by recommending a "local determination" on the whole matter.

The judge also ruled that the village gave "timely and proper notice" of public hearings concerning the zoning code to all local municipalities. Concerning the third cause of the action, the judge wrote that the village gave required notice and made the required submission to the Town of North Hempstead in accordance with the provisions of the Nassau County charter.

On the environmental front, Judge Davis ruled that the village prepared an impact statement in accordance with state environmental laws. He also wrote that the village took the requisite "hard look" at the environmental impact of its master plan and zoning code.

Finally, the judge threw out the claim that the village "pre-adopted" the master plan and zoning code. The village, Judge Davis wrote, held a "lengthy public review" of proposed master plan drafts, in which professional planners, a community advisory committee and a Board of Trustees participated.

Mayor Galante has early ties to the Stop & Shop controversy. In November, 1994, only then-Trustees Marlene Freeman and Ms. Galante voted against a motion that would allow some supermarket construction in the village.

That vote started the legal maneuvering; it also led to the victory of an anti-Stop & Shop slate, which included Ms. Galante and the mayoral candidate and Ms. Freeman as the choice for deputy mayor. Once the new Clock Tower Party trustees were in office, work on the village's new Master Plan and Zoning Code commenced.