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Bidder For Sheldon House To Try Again

One of the bidders for the Sheldon House said he will try again.

On Friday, John W. Lampard said he will “most certainly” bid again on the Sheldon House when he has a chance.

Last week, the Appellate Division Fourth Judicial Department of the state Supreme Court in Rochester ruled in favor of three local residents, Paul Leone, Dr. Ann Servoss and Timothy Mills, who opposed the use of the Sheldon House for office space.

All three residents live near the Sheldon House, which is located at 9 Falconer St.

According to the Appellate Division’s ruling, Jamestown Community College and Lynn Development failed to present any evidence to the city Zoning Board that satisfies the first variance request requirement of unnecessary hardship. This meant JCC and Lynn Development did not prove they could not realize a reasonable return on the property by any conforming use.

The case started in May 2016 when the city Zoning Board approved a use variance to allow for business offices at the Sheldon House, which is located in a single-family residential zone. The zoning variance was necessary to clear the way for Lynn Development to purchase the Sheldon House from Jamestown Community College.

In January 2016, the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees approved a proposal from Lynn Development to purchase the Sheldon House. Before the $240,000 sale could be finalized, the city Zoning Board had to approve the use variance to allow Lynn Development to renovate the Sheldon House into office space.

Following the city Zoning Board’s decision in May 2016, Leone, along with his wife, Servoss, who live on Lakeview Avenue, and Mills, who lives on Falconer Street, appealed the use variance to state Supreme Court in Mayville. In August 2016, state Supreme Court Judge Frank Sedita III dismissed the appeal, upholding the city Zoning Board’s use variance.

The Lakeview Avenue residents argued that the first criteria for approving a use variance should not apply because there was a second purchase offer by Lampard. Lampard offered $200,000 for the property, which was less than the $240,000 offered by Lynn Development.

“I have been asked if I intend to bid on the Sheldon House again and for my general thoughts on the drawn-out sale of this house,” Lampard said in a written statement sent to The Post-Journal Friday. “I am most certainly going to bid again. I see that house as a key to making or breaking the neighborhood where I grew up. We are regularly seeing these incredible landmarks fade into the past. I’m going to save it before it goes to pot.”

Lampard said he has invested $5,000 and 60 hours of time into proposals and planning for the Sheldon House.

“I realize I will lose significant money on this investment, but I still believe this house is key to making or breaking our neighborhood,” Lampard said. “I plan to do right by the house and restore it as an icon of the grandeur of Jamestown. I am still trying to buy this house for fair market value a year-and-a-half later.”

Lampard would also like all five members — Richard Hanson, Sally Martinez, Dave Daversa, Judith Sandson, Patricia Calanni — of the city Zoning Board who voted in favor of the use variance to resign. Robert Karbacka was the only member of the board to vote against the use variance. The seventh member of the board, Ellen Ditonto, Zoning Board chairwoman, was absent from the proceedings.

“I wish the whole city could have watched the city zoning meeting on the Sheldon House,” Lampard said. “The only thing said of note by one of the zoning board members was that the application without a doubt failed on one of the key points. All four criteria must be met to receive a zoning waiver. This received no counter argument explaining how they did in fact meet the regulations. The conversation was immediately dropped for a glaring session, and then after a long pause, the board approved the zoning waiver.”

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