Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Outdoor Dining 1292 Hooksett Road topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hooksett planners approve Tap House outdoor dining expansion with safety, ADA conditions
Summary
The Hooksett Planning Board accepted jurisdiction and approved an amended site plan to allow the Tap House at 1292 Hooksett Road to extend its outdoor dining to the sidewalk edge, subject to conditions including repainted striping, two additional handicap spaces and a temporary pedestrian warning sign after fire and ADA concerns were addressed.
The Hooksett Planning Board on May 5 accepted a public hearing for an amended site plan at 1292 Hooksett Road and approved a conditional plan to allow the Tap House to extend its outdoor dining area to the edge of the sidewalk.
Owner Daniel Lehi told the board the restaurant previously operated 22 outdoor seats and in 2012 was administratively allowed a four-foot pedestrian clearance between furniture and the sidewalk; he asked the board to restore that arrangement and add accessible parking. "We think we have a solution to the issue," Lehi told the board, citing a plan showing an ADA ramp and added handicap spaces.
Town staff reported receiving a written memo from the Fire Department that said, in staff words, the fire lane needs to be 20 feet wide and that a barrier is required if outdoor dining pushes pedestrians into the travel lane. Staff also relayed a departmental requirement that walkways inside the seating area be at least 36 inches wide and that any barriers be signed so approaching drivers can see them.
Board members weighed ADA compliance, public-safety tradeoffs and the practicalities of the plaza’s layout. Members proposed a series of low-cost, seasonal mitigations — repainting parking and crosswalk markings between the two ADA ramps in front of the plaza, adding two striped handicap spaces and installing a temporary double-sided sign that warns of pedestrian traffic — rather than a permanent barrier that would push seating farther into the fire lane. Board members also discussed portable speed tables and removable Jersey barriers as contingency measures if safety problems arise.
After discussion the board approved the plan with conditions requiring: implementation of the exhibit labeled "B" (restriping and two additional handicap spaces), crosswalk hatching/striping between the two ADA ramps in front of the plaza, installation of a temporary double-sided pedestrian-warning sign during the seasonal patio period, and written confirmation that Fire Department comments have been addressed. The approval was unanimous. The board also determined the proposal does not present a regional impact, allowing the hearing to proceed locally.
The board recorded a set of follow-up items for staff and the applicant: to provide written sign-off or follow-up plans showing ADA compliance for the patio layout and clearances, to submit a final drawing of the restriping and pedestrian-warning signage, and to return if the applicant proposes permanent fixtures that alter the travel lane.
Lehi, his employee Nancy Comai and several board members said they preferred seasonal, removable treatments (planters, painted striping, temporary signage) that would let the Tap House restore the larger patio seats it had operated for several years while addressing the fire department’s safety concerns.
The board’s approval includes a 30-day appeal window and standard conditions requiring whichever permits are needed for any work in the private plaza or the public right-of-way.
