The Martha’s Vineyard Commission closed its public hearing on a proposed expansion to Edgartown’s Hob Knob Inn Thursday, after hours of forceful testimony against the project by neighbors.

The expansion, which includes an approximately 1,400-square-foot addition to the existing inn building on 128 Main Street and the purchase and renovation of a law office across Tilton Way, has been before the commission since early summer. The project has seen multiple tweaks and redesigns, including adjustments to a parking plan and work force housing.

Controversial aspects of the project include the installation of a pool on the 124 Main street property, noise, traffic and a 19-bedroom increase in the hotel, with most of the rooms coming in a 4,400-square-foot renovation and expansion of the existing five-bedroom house and law office.

Thursday marked at least the fourth official public hearing for the project, with neighbors, almost all of whom had testified extensively in previous hearings, remaining adamant that the expansion is out of character with the residential neighborhood.

Dan Bailey, an attorney for abutters who live south of the property, took particular exception with the pool, which has been switched between the 124 and 128 Main street properties in previous drawings but is currently planned for the 124 Main street side.

“To talk about mitigation for a commercial pool in a residential zoning district, is absurd. It really is,” Mr. Bailey told commissioners. “And in all places, Martha’s Vineyard. I’m sorry, I’m being a little hyperbolic here. But it really stuns me.”

Frequent critics of the project William Fruhan and Jane Chittick all continued to speak against the project at the hearing Thursday. James Joyce — who is a voting member appointed from Edgartown, has recused himself from deliberation and continues to testify against the expansion.

Sara Piazza, who lives on Upper Main street, said the project, despite changes, is still too big, and too inappropriate for a residential neighborhood.

“This will ruin the neighborhood,” Ms. Piazza said. “If the Martha’s Vineyard Commission cannot help us preserve the Island way of life, who can?”

After approximately an hour and a half of further testimony, project architect Patrick Ahearn and attorney Sean Murphy, who represents the Hob Knob, had the final word, praising the project’s economic benefits.

“We ask that you approve this project with the appropriate conditions,” Mr. Murphy told commissioners. “We’ve shown that there will be an economic benefit to the town of Edgartown, with additional tax revenues, as well as the town generally having additional hotel rooms with people who will spend money.”

Mr. Murphy said the project has received numerous letters of support from business owners in town, such as bike rental shops and caterers.

Overall, the project has generated a mountain of correspondence, with more than 60 letters both for and against the project entered into the written record by Thursday.

As the meeting entered its third hour, commissioners decided to close the hearing, leaving the written record open for a week. A post public hearing date is scheduled for Nov. 30, with Dec. 3 as a tentative date for deliberation and vote.

“This has been a long, long arduous public hearing,” commission chairman Doug Sederholm said. “We will deliberate and decide this matter before the end of this year.”

In other business, commissioners approved a historic West Chop house renovation, sending the project back to the town for review.

The 2.5-story, gable-roof home, located on Iroquis avenue, dates to the turn of the 20th century and represents the shingled exterior characteristic of West Chop, according to a commission staff review. The project scored a seven out of 13 on an assessment of its historic significance.

Commission staff said Tisbury historic district chairman Harold Chapdelaine did not have concerns about the renovation, which will preserve the home’s facade.

Although commissioners voted to approve the project, commissioners Ben Robinson and Kathy Newman expressed disappointment that the applicants proposed propane heating over electric. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Sederholm abstained from the vote. All other commissioners voted in favor of the project.

Mr. Robinson also began a presentation on the commission’s new energy policy, which was last updated in 2008. The policy is nonbinding for applicants but provides a base-standard of review on which commissioners can weigh project benefits and detriments.

Changes from the 2008 policy include more focus on all-electric design and a larger reliance on existing building standards, as well as requesting solar power energy offsets. The three goals of the policy are to reduce or eliminate fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission, maximize energy efficiency and improve energy resilience.

The presentation was not finished and will be completed at a subsequent meeting.

A previous version of this story stated that the commission voted not to concur on the West Chop historic demolition. The article has been corrected to reflect that the commission voted to approve the project.