
NASHUA, NH – The Board of Aldermen approved an ordinance Tuesday night continuing extended outdoor dining, but with some changes.
The ordinance, O-24-036, was recommended to the full board for final passage with an amendment made by Alderman-at-Large Ben Clemons.
While the ordinance previously gave participating restaurants an eight-foot extension from the sidewalk and made for one lane of traffic in each direction on Main Street, the amendment ordinance now calls for a six-foot extension, keeping two lanes of traffic in each direction. Restaurants will be able to opt in and out of outdoor dining on a yearly basis and the barriers will be placed accordingly.
The side streets – Temple, Factory, East Pearl, and West Pearl Street – will continue to be reduced in vehicle lane size as they have been operating for extended outdoor dining.
The ordinance will be effective from 12:01 a.m. May 1st through midnight Oct. 15 every year beginning May 1, 2025.
“I feel that we would be doing ourselves a disservice by eliminating the program altogether,” Clemons said. “I think this is a perfect compromise that really tries to get to the heart of what people complain about the most, which is the reduced lanes.”
The board voted 13 in favor, two against the amendment.
However, not everyone who supported the amendment was eager to do so – Alderman Derek Thibeault said he did so reluctantly – and not all who voted for the amendment voted to pass the amended legislation, such as Alderman Ernest Jette.
“I voted for the amendment because I thought that it was better than the original ordinance that was before us but I’m going to vote against this now,” Jette said.
He noted the cost of putting up and taking away the barriers and the loss in parking and parking enforcement revenue. He also felt it was time to return parking to the retail businesses who were losing parking for their customers.
“If the restaurants are making so much money as a result of this, then they ought to be paying what it costs to do it and they’re not,” Jette said.
While some aldermen felt that they have received mixed responses from the public on extended outdoor dining, Alderman John Sullivan said the feedback he got showed that the public was not in favor of the program, which he said “benefits few and aggravates many.”
The board ultimately voted with 11 in favor and four opposed to the ordinance as amended.
In favor were Aldermen Michael O’Brien, Gloria Timmons, Melbourne Moran Jr., Tom Lopez, Ben Clemons, Tim Sennott, Derek Thibeault, Patricia Klee, Richard Dowd, Shoshanna Kelly, and Lori Wilshire.
Opposed were Aldermen Chris Thibodeau, Tyler Gouveia, John Sullivan, and Ernest Jette.