Suit against village dismissed

The Village of Rockville Centre chalked one up in the “win” column at the start of the month when Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Antonio Brandveen sided with the Board of Zoning Appeals and dismissed a lawsuit filed against it by a prospective restaurant owner.

George Voutsinas, who owns the SK Speed property, at 273 Sunrise Highway, filed the motion against the BZA in January, claiming that the board approved a parking variance for his proposed restaurant at a meeting in August of 2014 and then overturned the decision a few weeks later. Voutsinas maintains that, in actuality, he doesn’t need the variance because the property abuts a municipal lot. But the zoning board’s reversal, he said, denied him a Substantial Occupancy Permit, which meant he could not get a building permit.

“The village is pleased that the Nassau County Supreme Court has dismissed all of George Voutsinas’s claims and ruled that the ZBA acted properly in all respects and in accordance with the lawful procedures...” Mayor Francis X. Murray said in a statement. “These regulations are in place to protect our residents and preserve the quality of life in our village.”

Voutsinas filed the suit hoping not only to have the BZA decision overturned, but also to challenge the legality of the village’s Substantial Occupancy Permit law, which was passed last year.

The purpose of the law is to address problems in the village’s downtown created by businesses or housing that bring many people to one place. It requires the BZA to approve such a permit for any proposed bar, restaurant, club, hotel or multi-family dwelling that would have more than 50 occupants at any time. The issuance of the permit generally depends on the impact the proposed business or building will have on the area.

Voutsinas also challenged the village’s exterior design review, arguing that the law is arbitrary because there is no indication of what a business has to do to be granted the permit.

Brandveen declared each law “… to be valid and constitutional on their face, and as applied as matter of law …”

“It’s Rockville Centre, and this was the expected outcome,” Voutsinas told the Herald. “We plan on filing a motion to re-argue and to appeal, and that was the plan from the beginning. And the truth is, the court was misled. Anyone can see the restaurant’s proposed location is immediately adjacent to a municipal parking lot.”

Voutsinas wanted to build a restaurant called Lucky’s, with a rooftop dining area and live music, which would cater to an older crowd. He insisted that it wouldn’t be another club.

He is also the owner of Pop’s Seafood Shack and Grill, in Island Park, and Chateau La Mer, in Lindenhurst.