Community Bank’s plan to build a new drive-thru bank in south Oak Park hit the wall of upset neighbors and a near-unified Oak Park Plan Commission Thursday night.
The plan commission, which advises the Oak Park village board, voted 7-1 to oppose the bank’s application for a special use permit to build a drive-thru facility at the former Gerber Hardware/Affinity Art Glass building on South Oak Park Avenue.
Community Bank Oak Park River Forest proposed building a 2,295-square-foot one-story building with two drive-thru teller lanes, including one lane for a drive-thru ATM at 809 S. Oak Park Ave. The entrance to the facility would have been from the alley between Oak Park Avenue and Grove.
The alley entrance was the problem for most plan commissioners and neighbors. Three homeowners who live on Grove and who have garages off the alley complained that the drive-thru facility would be an intolerable addition to congestion in what is an already cramped and congested alley.
Milt Clark, who lives on the 800 block of South Grove Avenue, gave a presentation illustrating the crowded alley that is frequently used by trucks supplying the Avenue Restaurant, just down the block.
Clark said the drive-thru facility would bring cars to the alley 24 hours a day.
Vince and Debbie Bray, also of the 800 block of South Grove Avenue, spoke out against the drive-thru facility saying that they already have trouble maneuvering the specially fitted van they use for their handicapped son and that the drive-thru would just add congestion to the already overused alley.
The alley is one of the narrowest in Oak Park with a width of only 14 feet.
“If we had to pick a spot for the most inconvenient alley this would be it,” said Commissioner Charles Bassett.
Colette Lueck, plan commission chair, said that a drive-thru facility did not fit with the village-commissioned character study of South Oak Park Avenue. That study was conducted by the University of Illinois?#34;Chicago.
“The use is not consistent with the Oak Park plan,” said Lueck. “The vision was more retail with residential above with more density than this particular use. It is hard to approve something that is inconsistent with the Oak Park plan.”
Community Bank President Marty Noll was disappointed with the vote and is reassessing the bank’s options.
“We’re disappointed, we’re really disappointed,” Noll said Friday. “I’m sorry that the commission saw fit to look at our special-use permit in the manner they did. Losing 7 to 1 makes you wonder if the village really wants us. Clearly the commission has spoken and spoken decisively.”
Noll said the bank had yet to decide whether to take its application to the village board, which has the final say. Noll recognizes the Grove neighbors have a problem with congestion in the alley and said he was willing to work with them and other Oak Park Avenue property owners to try to alleviate the congestion.
Noll said that he had tried to arrange meetings with the neighbors, but did not receive much interest.
Clark said that neighbors would have no problem with Community Bank building a branch without a drive-thru facility.
Noll would not rule out that possibility but said that the bank had not determined its next step and that a drive-thru facility was the best way to serve customers. Noll said Thursday night that selling the property was an option.
Commissioner Penny Wallingford cast the only vote in favor. She wrote, “In the best of the Planned Development and zoning variance processes, the applicant and neighbors engage in a dialogue which can result in modifications to make the project better. Unfortunately this potentially productive conversation did not occur.”