Cooperstown is no longer the community it once was, according to many of the people who spoke at the planning board's public hearing Tuesday evening on the impact of tourist accommodations on the village.

"There's no question the quality of life and atmosphere have changed in the last 15 years," said Pioneer Street resident Rich Hulse.

Hulse said there is a law governing tourist accommodations and it needs to be enforced to maintain the caliber of the village's neighborhoods. Penalties for violations should be "very strict" and more severe for repeat offenders.

The current $250 fine for violations of the zoning law is "laughable compared to what people get for rent," he said. "We need to maintain the quality of life."

But Steve Raabe, of Frog Hollow Bed and Breakfast, said that B&Bs are getting a bad rap.

"It's clear a distinction needs to be made between B&Bs and weekly rentals," he said, referring to the homes often rented to Dreams Park visitors for a week at a time.

According to Raabe, the owner occupied B&Bs are excellent properties and are a credit to the community.

"I think they have an incredibly positive impact on the village of Cooperstown. I hope the revisions [to the zoning law] take into account the people who are trying to comply."

Main Street merchant Neil Weiller told the board the "character of the village is the goose that laid the golden egg."

The problem, he said, is not a B&B, but an entire block of B&Bs - not a baseball store, but the number of them. The visitors to Cooperstown have changed over the years. Some of the people who previously came are no longer making the trip because of the change in the character of the village.

Former mayor Wendell Tripp commented that he didn't believe there was a lot the village board could do because these are "market forces at work."

No one is against B&Bs unless they are operating illegally, Tripp said. The quality of life in the village is changing. It is a wonderful place to live, but not as wonderful as it was.

Main Street B&B operator Ron Streek said that Cooperstown is successful because it has changed with the market. The community should be encouraged by the number of people who come here.

In the beginning, B&Bs were two rooms and were viewed as a means of providing a supplement to a homeowner's income, said Virginia Weiller. "Now it's a business," she said. "It may be semantics, but it has become a business and not just a way to pay taxes."

Melanie Lloyd, of Green Apple Inn, said the village needs to look at the marketing being done by the Hall of Fame because it is putting Cooperstown on the map. "If you can stop that you can turn back the hands of time," she said.

Two dozen people, including village officials, attended the hearing which lasted 50 minutes.

The planning board will continue its review of the tourist accommodations issue during the village's 90-day moratorium on new and expanded tourist accommodations.