The planning board approved sending a letter to the board of trustees with the recommendation during its meeting Tuesday afternoon.

"We have been working on revisions to the zoning law for years and we are nearing completion," said planning board chairman Paul Kuhn Wednesday morning. "One of the critical areas is the tightening up of tourist accommodation issues."

According to Kuhn, the moratorium would allow the board of trustees to complete work on the zoning law and study the issues surrounding tourist accommodations in more depth.

In recent years, many people have voiced the concern that the growing number of tourist accommodations is having a negative affect on residential neighborhoods. Former Mayor Wendell Tripp often cautioned about the impact they were having on neighborhoods and the loss of affordable housing in the village as apartments were converted to tourist accommodations.

Kuhn said, however, that tourist accommodations have both negative and positive affects.

"It's my belief that they can be positive," he said, pointing to the fact that B&B owners take good care of their property.

The GEIS which was released in the early summer stated that much of the village's infrastructure is being pushed to the maximum and that it is a warning signal that should be heeded, he said.

Kuhn also said that the planning board believes it has seen an increase in the number of tourist accommodations, but no one really knows for sure how many are operating in the village. One thing which should be done during a moratorium, he said, is to get a better handle on the how many there are.

"All we have is a sense that here is an increase. Tourist accommodations are healthy for Cooperstown when they are in the right amount.," he said.

The trustees, he said, need to study the issues surrounding tourist accommodations and the impacts they have on the village. If there are issues to address they can do so, but instituting the moratorium doesn't necessarily mean the trustees would seek tighter controls on their numbers or operation.

"They need the six months. They need the time to reflect," Kuhn said. "We're not anti- B&B. We need sometime to get a handle on it and find the best way for the village to accommodate this kind of activity."

Mayor Carol Waller said Wednesday morning that she is favor of a six-month moratorium.

"We've been working on the zoning law for four years and want to get it finished. We need to put on the brakes and work on the zoning law," she said.

Waller commented that zoning enforcement officer Al Kech spends half his time tracking down B&Bs in the village that are not permitted.

The mayor said that before the board can adopt a moratorium, they must first hold a public hearing on the issue and obtain an approval from the county planning board.

A public hearing has been set for the board of trustees next meeting on Monday, Oct. 21.