Planning board continues Easy Street restaurant seating plan after safety, trash concerns

The Nantucket Planning Board on May 12 continued a request by the owners of a restaurant at 30 Easy Street to expand seating to 200 total seats, saying the plan lacked needed details on outdoor seating placement, trash handling and deliveries.

Board members said the proposal, which would raise the restaurant’s previously permitted 153 seats toward 200, presented safety and operational problems because proposed outdoor tables abut congested pedestrian routes near the Steamship Authority terminal. “This is too much seating, and it’s not going to work with all the other things at play,” Planning Board member Barry said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The restaurant sits at a congested intersection used by steamship passengers, pedestrians with luggage, delivery trucks and existing downtown traffic. Board members said adding dozens of outdoor tables without a clear plan for dumpsters, deliveries and patron queuing would increase conflict at an already busy spot.

What the applicant presented: Kenneth Gullickson, representing the applicant, showed new plans that added a low fence/picket option and flexible seating layouts. He told the board the sidewalks…