Mystic — The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved plans by the new owners of the Whaler’s Inn on East Main Street to expand their restaurant space from 60 to 100 seats and to operate under a hotel liquor permit.

The inn was able to take advantage of a variance granted to the property in 2000 to provide the required parking. That variance allowed the inn — which at the time needed 94 parking spots for its hotel, restaurant and retail uses — to provide 40 spaces on the site and get credit for 16 nearby on-street spots, resulting in a waiver of 38 spaces.

Whaler’s Inn attorney Bill Sweeney said the proposal for the expanded restaurant and the inn would require 91 spaces, three less than approved under the variance. The commission agreed with his assessment.

The initial application for the restaurant expansion had called for Whaler’s Inn Operations LLC to use the 17 parking spots that former John’s Cafe next door, which it bought and then demolished, would have been required to provide under zoning — but did not have to provide because it was a legal pre-existing, nonconforming use — and use them as credit toward new or intensified uses on the inn site. The 17 “surplus” spots do not actually exist.

Town Attorney Jeff Londregan did not agree with that analysis for providing the needed parking and Sweeney said Tuesday that the inn had withdrawn the original plan to merge the inn lot with the adjacent John's property to use its parking.

Instead, the inn decided to use the excess parking provided by the 2000 variance. Sweeney also said the inn has no plans at this point to build a restaurant on the John’s site, something it has discussed informally with the commission, as it is concentrating on successfully operating the inn after a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Several speakers at Tuesday night’s public hearing stated that the town needs to to do something to provide additional parking in downtown Mystic. Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce President Peggy Roberts said a committee is looking at assembling a network of small satellite lots to help provide additional parking spots.

The 40 seats would be located in a special event dining room adjacent to the existing restaurant. In the past, the inn could only serve beer and wine to guests, because Bravo, Bravo, which had leased the restaurant space, held the liquor license for the property. But with Bravo, Bravo moving to a new building across East Main Street and the inn now running the restaurant space, the inn now can obtain a liquor permit. Sweeney said the license also will allow the inn to provide liquor with room service.

Sweeney also said the restaurant would close at 11 p.m. weekdays and midnights on weekends, as the inn owners, after investing in the renovation, do not want to disturb guests with late-night restaurant activity. He said noise from Bravo, Bravo had been an issue in the past for inn guests.

j.wojtas@theday.com