Taking BZA back to court

On the heels of the village’s losing the lawsuit that Bonefish Grill filed against it, another local restaurateur has filed a motion to overturn a Board of Zoning Appeals decision, and to challenge the village’s Substantial Occupancy Permit and Exterior Design Review laws.

George Voutsinas, who is hoping to build a new restaurant at 273 Sunrise Highway (between N. Park and Morris avenues), recently filed a suit similar to Bonefish’s — known as an Article 78 proceeding — against the BZA. He said the board approved a parking variance for his restaurant at a meeting on Aug. 27, and then overturned the decision a few weeks later. Voutsinas claims that he doesn’t actually need the variance because the property abuts a municipal lot.

The Bonefish ruling, on Dec. 23, did away with BZA restrictions limiting the restaurant’s hours to the late afternoon and evening to help keep the a municipal lot clear during the day, as well as a requirement that Bonefish supply valet parking for customers.

“The chairman of the BZA and the board agreed with the [Maple Avenue] Civic Association that there was plenty of parking for my proposed restaurant,” Voutsinas said. “And I was approved 4-1 in a room full of lawyers and residents.”

The reversal of the decision denied Voutsinas not only the parking variance, but a Substantial Occupancy Permit, which meant he could not get a building permit. The building he hopes to turn into a restaurant is the former home of SK Speed and is currently vacant.

“The Village of Rockville Centre board of trustees and the Board of Appeals believe that this application for an over-intensive use of property, with insufficient parking, was correctly denied, and will vigorously defend this litigation,” Village Administrator Keith Spadaro said in a statement to the Herald.