Tenants in the apartment house at 29 Pioneer Street told the board of trustees Monday night that they are worried about what will happen to them and others if a special use permit is granted allowing the apartments to be rented on a week-to-basis under a proposal which would re-classify the building as a hotel.

"It poses a considerable hardship for me. I have no where else to go. I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where I could rent that I could afford," said Paula W. Ryan, a long-time in the building.

She was joined Steve and Robin Rundblad, who are also worried about having to find new living quarters.

"I oppose this," said Robin Rundblad. "I feel you're pushing us out of this community. The whole town is nothing, but a group of B&Bs up one street and another. The whole place is one huge commercial for baseball."

"Where are we going to live?" asked her husband.

Earlier this month, Robin and Rod Torrence submitted a special use permit application to the board of trustees that would allow them to convert the eight-unit apartment house from month-to-month rentals to week-long stays.

If granted by the board of trustees, the change would classify the structure as a hotel, according to the village's zoning law.

Torrence told the board they are not applying to convert the house into a hotel. It will continue to be apartments not hotel rooms, he said. "All we're applying for is flexibility in renting," he said.

And how the eight units are rented is a key factor in the plan because the current scheme would not provide the income necessary to make the project feasible.

"We are applying for a special use permit to operate a "hotel" because our mortgage financing for the purchase and extensive renovations of the building is contingent on the cash flow that only short term (weekly) rentals can currently generate," Torrence stated in May 7 letter to the board of trustees. "While our objective is to eventually establish long-term tenants, we necessarily need the flexibility for short-term rentals or the project is not financially viable."

Torrence does not currently own the house, but according to the letter, he and his wife entered into a contract to purchase the house from John Gedart prior to his recent death. During the meeting, he stated that they will not buy the house if they can not get the permit.

Mayor Wendell Tripp told Torrence that he had reviewed the zoning law after receiving the application and it was his understanding that a site development plan application must be filed with the planning board simultaneously.

"The board will have to wait for a response to the preliminary site development plan from the planning board," he explained.

Torrence, looking for an indication from the trustees about the likelihood obtaining the permit, said he realized they would have to go before the planning board, but that they would begin to incur costs to do so.

Tripp said he can sympathize with him, but that the application process is not something that can be done hurriedly and the board can't depart from the procedure in the zoning law which also requires a public hearing on the application.

"Whether we agree or not agree, we have to go by the law," said Trustee Carol Waller.

In addition to the comments from people currently renting apartments, the board also received two letters about the permit application.

One was from Fly Creek attorney Lester Sittler on behalf of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Quigley who own the neighboring house at 27 Pioneer St. Sittler wanted to point out that Torrence's assertion the house was surrounded by commercial enterprises on four sides was incorrect because the Quigley's is residential.

The second was from Paula and Terry Wikoff, whose property adjoins the rear of 29 Pioneer St. The Wikoffs operate a tourist accommodation at that location and expressed their opposition to the change in use and the chance they will end up with "Dreams Park people" in their backyard after having experienced numerous problems with them in the past.

"We sold our home on Lake Land Shore to live by the rules of running an Inn. We are very tired of all the late night noise that is going on around us. I personally am sick and tired of business owners going to the various boards and lying saying this is going to be done like this and then do whatever they please after they get the permit. I do not understand this mentality. This is going to force me to become one of those annoying complainers. I will not let any of my businesses suffer because of others that do not live up to the rules," the letter stated.