State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey A. Spinner rendered a decision on Monday regarding the fate of the proposed mall on the Cerro Wire property in Syosset. The decision sends the application back to the Town of Oyster Bay to consider two points.

First, the town must identify the specific reasons that they turned down the Taubman Company's application for a special use permit to build the proposed 860,000 square foot mall.

Second, the court asks the town to consider a scaled-back version of the mall at 750,000 square feet. The town has 90 days to take action.

"The town attorney is still reviewing the decision," said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto. "We are deciding if we want to appeal, but either way the town can particularize what our objections are."

Taubman submitted plans for the 860,000 square foot mall and no documentation has been submitted for the mall at 750,000 square feet.

"We said no to 860,000 square feet and they are asking us to consider 750,000, but we are going to want an updated environmental review, called a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)," said Venditto.

Steve Kieras, Taubman's senior vice president of development, is pleased with the decision. "We are pleased that the court affirmed what we have been saying all along, that the town has no basis to deny the application for a special use permit. This moves us to the precipice of finally building one of the finest shopping centers in the country," he said.

Kieras said that this matter has gone on long enough and in order to avert future appeals and prolongment of the legal process at taxpayer expense, Taubman would be willing to resume discussions with the town regarding the possibility of settlement of this issue.

"This court decision has reaffirmed our commitment to building a mall on this property and within this market," said Lisa A. Payne, vice chairman and chief financial officer of Taubman Centers. "Sixty-five percent of the tenant space in the mall is committed, over 50 percent has fully-executed leases and the mall will be anchored by three of the world's greatest retailers: Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barneys New York. Depending on the timing of the construction and opening of the mall, we anticipate spending as much as $500 million on this project. Assuming $500 million of cost we expect a minimum return of seven percent, resulting in an asset that will create significant value for our shareholders."

Howard Avrutine, council for the Cerro Wire Coalition, a group of civics and businesses who have been openly opposed to the mall and are named as intervenors on the case, said that the decision is nothing new. "It is the same thing that Justice Catterson said several years ago," said Avrutine. "It is nothing that we have not seen in the past. This is not a big victory for Taubman."

Avrutine said they are still reviewing the decision and deciding if an appeal would be appropriate.

The Cerro Wire Coalition recently unveiled alternate development plans for the Cerro Site in hopes that Taubman would partner with the Lennar Corporation and Roseland Property Company who would joint venture the alternate development project, including smart growth, mixed-use development involving condo-styled housing, a Marriott hotel and a small component of office and retail for the 39-acre site.

Taubman maintains that they are not interested in selling the land and are not entertaining a partnership at this time.

Avrutine said this decision should lead to the discussion of alternate development. "Let's talk about what is realistic, which is alternate development," he said.

Venditto stressed that this decision does not mean groundbreaking for a mall.

"The order does not say that the special use permit should be granted or that building permits be issued. It says that we have to review the application and answer their two questions within a 90 day timeframe and then the litigation can start," said Venditto. "We would appreciate if the courts would not substitute their judgment for ours."