In an emergency meeting Thursday, the zoning board of appeals rescinded the denial of an application it made two days earlier.

Following its initial determination, the board learned there had been a procedural error during the SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) process. The board had given the application a positive declaration because of its potential impact to its surroundings, but did not give the applicant an opportunity to complete a draft environmental impact statement.

If there is a positive declaration, it should have triggered the completion of a draft environmental impact statement by the applicant, ZBA Chairwoman Susan Snell told the board. "The next step is in the hands of the applicant," she said.

The application under consideration came from the law firm of Schlather and Birch for a use variance for the property at 194 Main St. The law firm wants to be able to use the house for both apartment and office space. The property is flanked by two homes which the firm has already converted to offices. Schlather and Birch have a contract to purchase the property, but it is contingent on their ability to obtain the use variance.

During Tuesday's meeting, the ZBA gave the application a positive declaration because it was determined that granting the use variance would be inconsistent with the village zoning law and map. They also cited the possibility that granting this use variance would lead to more applications for variances.

Once the declaration was made, Snell told the board that they had to look at the criteria in the law when deciding whether or not to grant the variance and not whether it would be a good use for the property. "The reality is that we need to use the criteria in the zoning law for our decision," she said.

Eventually, the board found that not granting the application would not create a financial hardship for the owners. The board also found that the situation facing the owners of the property is not unique to them, but is faced by other property owners also.

Attorney Robert Schlather attended Thursday's 15-minute emergency meeting and told the ZBA he was inclined not to complete a draft environmental impact statement, but reserved the decision until he had reviewed all the options.

"I hope, over time, the whole issue up there gets reviewed," said Snell, who wrote to the planning board last month suggesting they consider making a recommendation to the board of trustees to change the zoning in that area of Main Street. "It needs ultimately to be decided by the board of trustees."

"The change to one of our existing business or commercial zones is not the answer," said Schlather. to do that, he said, could lead to the uncontrolled conversion of the properties into something other than what is wanted.

Schlather suggested the possibility of creating a professional office zone which would allow for the conversion of some of the homes into office space - a suggestion he has repeated often since first bringing it up more than 15 years ago.

The cost of maintaining some of the large homes can be prohibitive for private homeowners, but in a business setting it is a viable way to keep the residential appearance of the homes while creating office space, he explained.

Schlather said Tuesday afternoon that he was still considering the options available and had not made a decision whether or not to pursue the use variance application.