Naperville could make it tougher for banks to open in first-floor spaces downtown

Naperville officials could make it tougher for banks to set up shop on the ground floor in the downtown.

The city’s planning and zoning commission has endorsed the idea — raised by Naperville Councilman Patrick Kelly in response to plans for a downtown building formerly anchored by Barnes & Noble.

Fidelity Investments is slated to use a first-floor spot in addition to a larger, second-floor office space. Wells Fargo Bank is also expected to open in the corner building at Washington Street and Chicago Avenue.

Currently, Naperville’s municipal code classifies banks as commercial services and financial institutions as general services, both of which are regulated differently in the downtown core zoning district, said Sara Kopinski, a member of the city’s planning services team.

Specifically, financial institutions are restricted to the second floor or above, while commercial services, including traditional retail banking, are permitted on the ground floor.

If a general service business wants to be on the first floor in the downtown core, that tenant must first receive approval of a variance, Kopinski explained. The city council in February approved one for the first-floor portion of the Fidelity business.

By contrast, Wells Fargo was permitted to be located on the first floor of the same building by right because of its banking (commercial service) designation, Allison Laff, Naperville’s deputy director of transportation, engineering and development, noted in city documents.

“We've got other prime corners in the downtown that may redevelop one day, and I think we wouldn't want to see another situation like what we had here,” Kelly said last month.

The council at that time directed city staff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit banks from locating on the first floor in the downtown core unless they were granted a zoning variance.

“Staff is supportive of the proposed amendment as written, finding that it further promotes the retail and commercial tenancy intended for the first floor of downtown businesses,” Kopinski said.

Ryan Vande Bosche, development director for Kite Realty Group, wrote in an email to Laff that “not all banking or financial institutions are created equal.

“And many of them require ground-level space as part of their site selection requirements,” he noted.

However, no one spoke out during a public hearing last week. Planning and zoning commissioners also backed the proposed changes with no discussion.