CLAREMONT — The Planning Board has waived its site plan requirements for the owner of The Barn Cafe on Main Street, who is proposing to install four electric vehicle charging stations as part of 12 new paved parking spaces on Water Street behind the cafe.
They would be the first EV stations in Claremont. The Barn Café owner Joshua Savage said currently the nearest electric vehicle charging stations are in West Lebanon and Springfield, Vt.
“I see a lot of electric vehicle owners coming and going all the time at the café,” Savage said Tuesday. “I had planned to put in more parking and thought, ‘Why not add electric vehicle charging stations?’ We can help the electric vehicle drivers and the community as well. It gives them a chance to park and charge their cars and explore the city.”
The new spaces double the café’s parking, where there are eight spaces in the front of the business. The new spaces will be behind the café, below a tall concrete wall. It is a short walk along Water Street and onto Main Street to the café.
Savage told the Planning Board that while eight of the new spaces will be for café patrons only, the charging stations will be open to everyone. They will be operational 24 hours a day and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
He envisions those eating at area restaurants, staying at the Common Man Inn on Water Street or living in the new Monadnock Mills apartments, right across from the planned parking, as some of those who would use the charging stations.
Savage said the stations will supply 80 amps an hour with no load sharing among the four stations, which means there will be no reduction in charging capability if all four chargers are being used at the same time. The time it takes to have a full charge depends on the vehicle, Savage said.
The property, at the corner of Main and Water streets, includes the café, the strip of grass on Water Street behind the café where the parking will be added and a former mill building on Main Street next to the café.
The Planning Board said the additional parking does not require a new site plan because a plan already exists for the property and Savage, who opened The Barn Café four years ago, is not proposing a change of use.
“It is not necessary,” Planning Board member and Assistant Mayor Deb Matteau said. “This is a great idea, and there is a need for it.”
Savage said Tuesday that he would like to install the stations before winter, but lining up contractors and equipment will take time, and he may not be able to complete the work until spring.
The board endorsed the proposal and said it will benefit the city.
“I think it is a great thing for Claremont, and maybe it will incentivize one or two others to put in charging stations,” Planning Board member David Putnam said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
