Dana Lyon SEQR showdown Tuesday
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH — The saga of the former Dana Lyon elementary school building is expected to take a pivotal turn Tuesday when village board member review a revised environmental impact study by a development company hoping to knock down the building.

Liberty-East Washington LLC has applied both for a demolition permit and a rezoning of the corner lot for commercial use. The company last month submitted a revised environmental impact study for both actions, with the stated intent of clearing the lot and erecting an Eckerd Drugs pharmacy.

Bath Mayor David Wallace has asked board members to consider the individual applications as a single package, although an attorney for Liberty-East Washington has vowed the development company would continue with its effort to demolish the building even if its rezoning request is rejected.

Board members are expected to sift through a range of environmental issues when they consider the impact study Thursday. The board earlier this year cited several concerns with the development proposal, including the impact of a modern retail store on the historic center of the village.

While Liberty-East Washington presses for its development, a historical preservation group is scrambling to protect the original portion of the Dana Lyon building, to which it has laid claim, and the larger structure that was added in 1923.

The Save the Lyon Commission last week announced it has received three grants that would assist in converting the building into a community arts and residential center. The grants include a $75,000 award from the state Environmental Protection Fund, a branch of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Commission members last year joined forces with heirs of the late Ira Davenport to sue the development company over the ownership of the original building, called the Primary Annex.

Davenport heirs claimed the property had reverted to the Davenport estate since it no longer was being used for educational purposes.

The issue remains in litigation, although the heirs have deeded the property over the the Save the Lyon Commission.