Groton - Ford’s Lobsters was granted permission this week to expand its outdoor restaurant seating from 34 seats to 49 seats after a unanimous vote by the Noank Fire District Zoning Commission. 

The vote, taken after more than 12 hours of debate over three nights, also grants the business permission to continue to run its existing indoor restaurant and patio, with combined seating of 49, but not at the same time as the outdoor restaurant. 

The business’ existing parking lot would be expanded to 36 spaces, and covered with crushed seashells or something similar, to accommodate customers and staff, under the approved plan. 

Kristian Nyman, who owns the restaurant at 11 Riverview Ave., had sought permission to double his outdoor food service seating by expanding from 34 to 68 seats, and increase parking by adding a dozen spaces, for a total of 42. 

He could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A dispute over the restaurant started last summer, after it set up Adirondack chairs on the slope overlooking Fishers Island Sound so customers could enjoy the view while waiting for a table. The restaurant was not serving customers at those chairs. But neighbors of the business complained that the noise and traffic was disturbing their properties. 

The chairs would not be allowed under the decision just issued, Zoning Commission Arthur Tanner said Friday. 

Noank Zoning Enforcement Officer William Mulholland, who also works as zoning official in East Lyme, issued a cease-and-desist order last summer, instructing Nyman to remove excess seating beyond the 34 seats allowed by permit. 

An issue like seating might be more routine in a community with many businesses, like East Lyme. 

“But for Noank, this was an extraordinarily complicated situation, and it’s a relatively small parcel where many of the uses predate zoning,” Tanner said. “So trying to wrap our arms around all those different uses, plus the constraints of the site, (like) how much parking can be there, which then dominoes into how many restaurant spaces can be there, was complex.” 

The property also includes a single-family house and 10-slip marina. 

The approval granted would prohibit restaurant parking along Riverview Avenue and require the business to add a new hedge up to 4 feet tall along a portion of Riverview. 

In addition, it would require Ford’s to turn off outdoor lighting at 9:30 p.m., add an “odor scrubber” to the indoor kitchen exhaust system and remove a large light pole from the site. The permit would also set delivery hours from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m., with trucks parking on the restaurant property or on Main Street.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim