A Nesquehoning man is one step closer to purchasing a Jim Thorpe woodworking building and turning it into five short-term rental units.

Brian Seitz received conditional use approval from Jim Thorpe Borough Council on Thursday for five low rise apartments at the current site of Foster-Kmetz Woodworking, 165-167 W. Broadway.

During the conditional use hearing, Seitz told council he originally wanted to put a hotel at the site, but there were already three of them along that stretch of road.

“We’re looking to do high end apartments instead on the second floor, each around 1,000 square feet and two bedrooms, with all of them used as short term rentals,” he said.

Before that can happen, however, Seitz has to go before Jim Thorpe’s zoning hearing board to get a special exception to operate those units as short-term rentals.

“The existing woodworking business is on the first floor and we’re looking to turn that into 10 parking spots on the first level,” Seitz said. “They would be the required 180 square-foot spaces.”

Ten parking spaces would satisfy Jim Thorpe’s requirement of one off-street spot per bedroom for short-term rentals.

The second floor of the building, where the apartments would be, is currently a retail flooring store.

Jim Thorpe’s zoning hearing board already permitted Seitz to pursue 5 units in the building, two more than the borough’s zoning ordinance provides for in a 20 low-rise apartment dwelling units per acre restriction.

One condition of the borough’s approval Thursday night is that Seitz keep the second floor rear door closed, locked and alarmed at all times, only to be used as an emergency exit.

“That is no problem,” Seitz said. “It won’t be a smoking hangout area.”

Keeping the rear door locked was also one of the conditions neighboring property owner James Dougher said he’s like to see.

“I’m happy the building will be used but I would like to see the number of short-term rentals limited to two there,” Dougher said. “I think three of the five units should be long-term rentals. Under Jim Thorpe’s ordinance, short-term rental owners can advertise for an additional four people per unit on top of the two people per bedroom. The potential for 40 people coming in and out of that rental space has me a little concerned.”

Dougher said limiting two of the units to short-term rentals would have helped keep the complexity of a residential district.

If Seitz does get a special exception to operate the units as short-term rentals, he said guests would be required to follow strict rules or be thrown out immediately.

“I have a staff of four people that can respond to those situations if need be,” he said.

Jim Thorpe will issue an official written decision stating their conditional use approval Thursday night after which a 30-day appeal period will kick in.