Groton — The Noank Zoning Commission has scheduled special meetings on March 9 and 10 to deliberate and make a decision on the request by Ford’s Lobsters to double its restaurant seating and expand its parking, commission Chairman Arthur Tanner said Thursday.

The commission held its third and final public hearing on the proposal Wednesday night. One zoning commissioner is out of town, so she would have to review the hearing tape before the meetings.

Commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. on March 9 in the Noank Fire House and may make a decision then. But they added March 10 in case they need more time, Tanner said.

Kristian Nyman, who owns the restaurant at 11 Riverview Ave., applied to change his permit to increase outdoor food service seating from 34 to 68 seats, expand parking from 26 to 42 spaces and obtain zoning approval for a 33-seat indoor restaurant and 16-seat patio.

Tanner said the request is complicated because the business is in a residential zone, involves multiple uses of the property and must have enough parking for each use, some of which are seasonal.

The proposed expansion has caused divisions in the village since last summer, when Nyman put out lawn chairs on the southwestern end of the property to serve as a waiting area. Ford’s was cited last July with a cease-and-desist order, instructing it to remove excess seating beyond the 34 seats allowed by its permit.

d.straszheim@theday.com

@DStraszheim