In the face of federal laws which leave local zoning regulations powerless, West Tisbury officials are grappling with one of the first of a likely onslaught of requests for cellular phone towers dotting the town's rural landscape.

It's a familiar fight for the West Tisbury zoning board of appeals.

The West Tisbury zoning board of appeals on Wednesday unanimously agreed to allow well-known restaurateurs Mary and Jackson Kenworth to expand the footprint of the former Deon’s restaurant on State Road, approving plans for a new 2,170-square-foot year-round restaurant.

The board earlier this month cited a town bylaw which restricts commercial use in a residential zone to 2,000 square feet and expressed concern about the viability of the plan submitted by the Kenworths, who own and operate the popular Slice of Life Café in Oak Bluffs.