Des Plaines officials table bank plan
Des Plaines aldermen Monday night tabled a plan to open a bank with a drive-through window amid questions it would bring extra traffic.
A plan by National City to open a branch at 1353 Lee St., requires council approval because of its drive-through window plans, which is considered a conditional use. The property itself is already zoned for a bank.
Still, some officials say they feel the city has too many banks, especially in the area of Lee and Oakton streets.
"They seem to be springing up all over the place," 6th Ward Alderman Mark Walsten said.
Third Ward Alderman Laura Murphy, who chairs the community development committee, said she worries about the added traffic for neighbors along Forest Avenue. Murphy wants a traffic light at Forest and Lee, which requires the cooperation of the Illinois Department of Transportation. There would be no entrance or exit along Lee, so bank traffic would be directed down Forest.
Even if aldermen believe there are too many banks in town, the city has no "legal standing" to put an indefinite moratorium on new financial institutions, Murphy said.
Elk Grove Village did put a moratorium on new banks but it limited it to a 180-day period.
But 7th Ward Alderman Don Smith questioned why the council would block the development, saying any new business at the site would bring traffic.
The fact that the bank would have a drive-through doesn't mean it would necessarily bring more traffic, Smith added.
He also criticized his colleagues for taking advantage of the fact the developer had to come before the council for a conditional use. If the bank didn't need a drive-through, then GPD Services of Akron, Ohio wouldn't need council approval to build the bank, officials said.
"If we're going to deny it, we better have a pretty good reason to do so," Smith said.
Smith, 1st Ward Alderman Patricia Beauvais and 8th Ward Alderman Rosemary Argus voted against tabling the plan. It was unclear Monday night when the proposal would return to the council.