POTSDAM – The Board of Trustees has declined to forward a rezoning request on an Elm Street house asking that more people can rent it than would be allowed now.

The vote posed a dilemma for Deputy Mayor Eleanor Hopke, who felt a decision in the absence of two trustees at Monday’s meeting would be less legitimate than a vote by the full board.

Their decision came after a neighbor, Lou Ann Lange, said she and other neighbors are afraid of a “slippery slope” of decline in the neighborhood if the request is approved.

Nancy and Ivan Mailhot, who live in Arizona and have a summer house on the St. Lawrence River, want to buy the house at 65 Elm St. and convert it into apartments under an R-2 zoning designation for multi-family housing. Its current R-1 designation, for single family housing, only allows a family or up to five unrelated people to live there.

“The south side of Elm Street has several unattractive properties,” Lange said. Fearing further degradation, Lange said “a variance only invites people to flee. We ought to abide by the regulations.”

The Mailhots had first requested a use variance to allow more people in the house, but the Zoning Board of Appeals turned them down. Fred Hanss, director of the village Office of Planning and Development, said the ZBA felt the request did not meet the requirements for a use variance. He said if the Mailhots still wanted to proceed, “their only other option was to ask that it be formally rezoned,” he said.

The Mailhots said in a letter they believe only allowing more people to pay rent at the house would make it economical for them to buy the house and improve it. “The house is currently in a state of disrepair and will continue to deteriorate without use alternatives afforded by properly zoning the segment as R-2,” they said.

They said they feel the zoning on that stretch of Elm Street is out of place, and rezoning would be more appropriate.

“In fact, zoning this property as R-2 would be far more consistent with the surrounding properties,” they said in their letter. Allowing multi-family housing, they said, could lead to the appearance of prosperity for the neighborhood .

“The neighborhood would actually be improved when returns are sufficient enough to justify investment in improvements needed for both inside and outside of the premises,” they said.

Hopke said she was reluctant to vote on the matter with two board members, Mayor Ron Tischler and Trustee Ruth Garner, not present. Trustee Steve Warr at first voted to send the matter to the Planning Board, but after Hopke expressed doubt about the move, Warr and Village Administrator Gregory Thompson said the planning board would examine the matter with diligence. Warr changed his vote to “no,” Hopke voted “no,” and trustee Nick Sheehan voted yes, and the resolution failed 1-2.

The house, now owned by SAK Properties, LLC, was a girls’ home but was sold in 2004.