Marc and Sherrie Kingsley, owners of the Inn at Cooperstown, have asked the planning board to consider recommending to the board of trustees that the zone should be changed.

The couple had approached the zoning board of appeals in December to inquire about the zoning and chairwoman Susan Snell suggested they go to the planning board.

The R1-A zone is the most restrictive and hotels and tourist accommodations are not allowed, according to planning board chairwoman Teresa Drerup.

``There’s no way they could do it right now,’’ she said.

In a letter to the planning board, the Kinsgleys said they would like to purchase the former adult assisted living facility and convert the historic structure to a 20 to 24 room hotel that would operate seasonally.

Drerup said the issue was discussed briefly at the close of the planning board’s meeting Tuesday.

The board heard from one neighbor, Laura Kilty, who was opposed to the change. Kilty commented the property had only been on the market for six months and that it is possible someone will want to purchase the six-acre property and return it to a single-family residence.

Changing the zone would do more than simply allow the hotel plan to move forward, Drerup said. Other property owners in that area have expressed interest about tourist accommodations in that R1-A zone.

The change in zone would allow B&Bs and also open the area to subdivision because the lot size requirements are much smaller.

Kingsley’s letter brought up the option of allowing a hotel to operate in the R1-A zone with a special permit, but that would open up all R1-A zones in the village to hotels.

And to simply change the zoning of the one parcel would likely be considered spot zoning and illegal, she explained.

``We feel our proposed project is a good one for Woodside Hall, given the nature and scale of the building and the size and privacy of the lot. We do not feel that running a hotel on this property will generate any more noise or traffic than the previous use of the property as an adult assisted living facility,’’ their letter stated. ``We feel that the rezoning of the land east of Estli would not dramatically change the neighborhood or create any undesirable problems.’’

Drerup said the purpose of the public hearing is to help the planning board decide what is the best thing to do with that strip of land along Estli Ave.

The hearing will be Tues., March 13, at 5:30 p.m. in the village meeting room.

Public comment may also be submitted to the board in writing.