Amid concerns about building design, commitment to selling local products and other issues, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission is now expected to reopen a public hearing on the Edgartown Stop & Shop expansion plan.

The commission land use planning committee voted 5-2 Monday to recommend that the hearing be reopened to allow additional public testimony and discussion.

“I don’t think too many people are opposed to this project, but I think that people really want it to be a good project,” commissioner Joan Malkin said. “It’s just not there.”

“I think everybody feels that way,” commissioner Richard Toole said. “We’re not going to vote it down.”

The expansion plan has been before the commission all fall, under review as a development of regional impact (DRI). A public hearing closed in late October. Since then the land use planning subcommittee has been conducting a post-public hearing review. The subcommittee typically drafts conditions and makes a recommendation to the full commission before it votes.

The renovation and expansion plan calls for adding about 16,000 square feet to the existing 25,000-square-foot store on Upper Main street Edgartown. The parking lot and traffic pattern would also be reconfigured.

Monday was the third LUPC meeting about the expansion. Commissioners found several sticking points, including the facade and design of the building. Commissioners pointed to a new Stop & Shop store recently built on Nantucket that they said looked nicer than the plan for the Edgartown store.

“The way it looks now is Stop & Shop USA anywhere,” Mr. Toole said.

“I think the existing building is already formidable and not very Vineyard-feeling, and this adds to what’s wrong with the existing building,” commissioner Linda Sibley said. At last week’s meeting, she expressed disappointment that the proposed Edgartown store didn’t look more like the highly-praised Nantucket shop, which has a cedar shingled facade and special signage. “What are we, chopped liver, and Nantucket deserves better?” she said.

Others raised concerns about the company’s commitment to selling local products. Mrs. Malkin said she thought the existing proposal was too passive. “I would like to see them provide us with a program of affirmative outreach and proper shelf placement, because I know it can be done,” she said.

After much discussion, commissioners decided there were enough issues to merit a new hearing.

Not all agreed.

Commissioner Clarence A. (Trip) Barnes 3rd said he was opposed to reopening the public hearing and the proposal to “hold up whatever we’re going to do . . . for a nice thought of, let’s sell local produce,” he said.

But others also said they wanted to hear more about open space, a traffic management plan, and abutter issues, including noise.

“The benefit of reopening [the hearing] is a lot of issues that we found to be insufficiently presented,” Mrs. Sibley said.

In the end Mrs. Malkin, Mrs. Sibley, Mr. Toole, Christina Brown, and Ben Robinson voted in favor of recommending reopening the public hearing. Mr. Barnes and Fred Hancock were opposed.

The full commission will discuss reopening the public hearing at its regular meeting Thursday. A new hearing is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 11.

On Monday commission executive director Adam Turner encouraged the commissioners to work toward an end to the process. “We want to do whatever we need to do, but we also need to finish it,” he said.