The owner of Lambert’s Cove Inn withrew a special permit application for outdoor dining after neighbors continued to push back against the proposal at Thursday’s West Tisbury zoning board of appeals meeting.

Outdoor dining at the inn, which operates in a residential zone, has drawn concerns from a handful of neighbors since it was approved in 2020 due to Covid and has continued through the summer of 2022.

On Sept. 8, owner Jon Saunders and innkeeper Bridget Sampson came before the board to ask for a special permit that would allow up to 30 diners in the inn’s English garden from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. from mid-June to mid-September. Mr. Sanders purchased the inn with his partner in 2021.

The outdoor dining proposal drew pushback from some neighbors in September, who reitered their concerns at the meeting Thursday.

“What the Inn is asking for here, is yet another exercise in mission creep,” wrote Nicholas W. Puner, a nearby resident, in correspondence read at the meeting. “I consider the inn to be a burden, not a benefit.”

But Mr. Saunders said that outdoor dining was essential to the survival of his business.

“Our business would be decimated,” without outdoor dining, he said, adding that the inn would be willing to adhere to guidelines from the board.

Zoning board members discussed various ways to handle noise concerns at the meeting, including a reduction in wedding events and the installation of noise barriers in the garden.

But the board ultimately recommended that Mr. Saunders withdraw his special permit application and return with a revised plan. Mr. Saunders complied, although he said he still planned to advertise outdoor dining for next summer.