ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown auto dealer can move forward with installing several charging stations for electric vehicles after earning the blessing of city zoning officials.
Allentown Zoning Hearing Board on Monday unanimously approved a variance that will let Haldeman Ford put three EV charging stations on its property at 2405 Lehigh St.
Officials granted the project relief from several zoning ordinances governing setbacks and signage.
Christopher Portner, president of Portner and Hetke Architects, said each of the “high-voltage quick chargers” will be able to charge two vehicles at a time.
They’re intended to serve electric vehicles bought from Haldeman Ford in coming years, he said.
Each charging station is set to cost more than $100,000 to install.Christopher Portner, president of Portner and Hetke Architects
The local dealership is putting in the charging stations at the order of corporate executives, Portner said.
Converting the lot into a charging area is “not hard; it’s expensive,” Portner said.
Each charging station is set to cost more than $100,000 to install, he said.
Banquet hall rejected
Zoners earlier in the meeting denied a proposal to convert part of the building at 145 Hamilton St. into a banquet hall with almost 200 seats.
Officials said the property lacked sufficient parking for the banquet hall and several other office and industrial uses in the building.
Grow Associates principal Jeresky Martinez had proposed “shared parking” by limiting the banquet hall’s hours to not overlap with other businesses in the building.
