Ledyard ― The Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday night postponed until Dec. 14 a public hearing on an application to substantially excavate Mount Decatur after the crowd exceeded the capacity of the Town Hall Annex meeting room.

The commission formally opened the hearing before officially postponing it. The overflow crowd filled the 52-seat meeting room and an adjacent hallway.

No location for the rescheduled meeting was announced Thursday night but officials say it will likely be in a school building, and it will be posted online and in the newspaper.

The owners of the former Dow property on Route 12, an affiliate of a Massachusetts dredging company, are seeking permission for a years-long project to blast and level about 40 acres of Mount Decatur and remove the material that it plans to sell.

The project is drawing opposition from neighbors and state and national preservationists worried about the impact on historic Fort Decatur, which was built atop the hill during the War of 1812.