Our Town

The Planning and Zoning Commission at its May 18 meeting took no action on an application for final site plan and special permit approval to replace the Bella Nona Restaurant at 371 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob with a 2,379 sq. ft. Chase Bank that includes drive-thru facilities. The hearing on this application was held open.

Since no action was taken, we cannot yet gauge the effect of a newly adopted zoning regulation.This regulation makes banks and bank drive-ins subject to a special permit process as well as site plan approval. The Commission adopted this regulation in response to issues raised, and comments received, regarding the proliferation of banks in town.The regulation was designed to address resident concerns about such things as adverse traffic impact on neighborhoods, the effect on local businesses and on the foot traffic needed to support these businesses as well as the effect on the retail street scape.

In her staff comments at the February 23 public hearing on this proposed zoning amendment, Town Planner Diane Fox recommended that the Commission approve the new regulation, saying that “requiring a special permit would allow off site issues (such as traffic) to be analyzed by the Commission as well as ensuring that the local business zones continue to provide a variety of goods and services to serve the local neighborhood residents and do not end up as bank zones only.”

Peter Berg, Chairman of the RTM Land Use Committee, is among those who have expressed concern about the ever growing number of banks in town, particularly in Cos Cob where there are 9 of them, either existing or on the drawing board. Berg’s analysis shows that, while Cos Cob has the lowest household income of the 5 Greenwich zip codes, it has the most banks per thousand households. From this, he concludes that the banks are not specifically targeting Cos Cob residents since this is not the part of town where the money is. Rather, he sees the proliferation of banks in Cos Cob as an indication of the extent to which Cos Cob’s village center is being eroded.

Berg contends that the growing number of banks in Cos Cob reflect the fact that Cos Cob is losing its village character and is instead becoming the new central business district for the whole town, while downtown Greenwich, historically our central business district, has instead become a regional center that no longer serves primarily Greenwich residents. Letting downtown Greenwich become a regional center has led to what Berg calls ” retail sprawl.”

Approval of a Chase Bank at the Bella Nona location, in Berg’s estimation, would undermine certain goals in the town’s new Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). These are goals that, in the words of the POCD, call for the protection and enhancement of “well-defined neighborhoods and village centers” as well as the encouragement of “retail, residential, dining, cultural institutions, light business centers and other businesses that provide a variety of quality of goods and services for our residents.”

In Berg’s estimation, putting yet another bank in Cos Cob will hasten the erosion of the neighborhood and village center and reduce the variety of goods and services within the neighborhood. As a result, there will be increased traffic as Cos Cob residents drive elsewhere to meet their shopping needs, while residents from other parts of town drive to Cos Cob for their banking needs. Berg spoke on May 18 against approval of a new Chase bank in Cos Cob, as did land planning expert, Eric Brower.

While the new special permit zoning process for banks gives the Planning and Zoning Commission the authority to exercise judgment regarding the non-site issues that might impact the neighborhood, such as those issues raised by Berg, it is questionable that this process will serve as a deterrent to banks.

Chris Canavan, owner of Greenwich Automotive Services at 111 West Putnam Avenue, the service station at the corner of Dearfield Drive opposite the Greenwich Library , is not very optimistic about the deterrent effect of the new special permit process.”There are no teeth in the regulations,” he says. While agreeing that the special permit allows for more scrutiny, he says that ” in the end they will get the permit, and it will make the business more valuable.” According to Canavan, the banks are not asking for exceptions. They are applying for what is allowed under existing regulations. Only a significant change in the regulations, he says, will curb the trend.

The property on which Canavan operates his business was sold last week to a developer. Canavan does not know who the developer is but says that the anchor tenant of the new development is expected to be Chase Bank. The contract has been signed, and Canavan must soon vacate the property as it is slated to be bulldozed and remediated.

Canavan has operated his business on this site for 27 years and says that the property has been used continuously as a gas station and service center for more than 60 years, since 1949. He was unsuccessful in his bid to acquire the property from TD Bank, its most recent owner. In a memo to his customers, Canavan says that “no retailer can outbid a bank trying to buy/lease the property with a desire to occupy Greenwich space at any cost.”

Although Connecticut towns may not limit the number of banks within their borders, or institute distance requirements between banks, Canavan says that there are examples of zoning regulations with more teeth. Bronxville, NY, for instance, has passed a regulation that prevents banks, insurance and real estate brokers and travel agents from occupying first floor retail space in the General Business Zone. Another possibility would be to allow only ATM’s at the street level.

At Canavan’s urging, many Greenwich residents – his estimate is at least 500 – have signed, or sent, a petition letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission asking that the zoning regulations be strengthened  ”to stop the destruction of our town’s retail areas by banks in particular.”

There is no indication that the Planning and Zoning Commission intends to adopt any other regulations concerning banks.

In addition to the Chase banks planned for the Bella Nona location in Cos Cob and his gas station site opposite the Library, Canavan notes other Greenwich locations targeted by banks. Approval has been given to People’s United for a drive-thru at the former Ku restaurant site in Cos Cob. Banks have their eye on the two gas stations at the corner of Indian Field Road and East Putnam Avenue. The Rusty Oxer truck service business at Valley Drive is being sold to a bank. And the new building on West Putnam Avenue in front of Polpo Restaurant is seeking to have a bank occupy some of its space.

Canavan, who is taking over the Shell station across from Whole Foods, predicts long lines of cars at that service center and a disruption of traffic on the Post Road when his current business closes and as more gas stations are taken over by banks. “At the rate we are going, there won’t be a gas station left in town,” he says. He will be moving the emissions testing operation currently located at the Shell station to 269 Delavan Avenue in Byram.

This proliferation of banks in Greenwich, often with the same bank having multiple branches within minutes distance of each other – there are already 4 Chase bank branches within walking distance of Canavan’s gas station where now a 5th branch is planned – is a phenomenon that seems to be going counter to the national trend.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2010) cites data showing that U.S. banks and savings institutions are opening fewer retail branches and closing more of them. This makes sense in an economic environment reeling from the recession. According to the Wall Street Journal article, banks such as J.P.Morgan Chase and PNC Financial Services Group that have acquired other banks “are closing hundreds of branches as they absorb their purchases and get rid of overlapping branches.”

Another factor influencing the closing of bank branches – the wave of the future – is the growth of online and mobile-phone banking. According to the Wall Street Journal article, Bank of America plans to reduce the size of its branch network by 10% because of this shift to online banking.

“We have to embrace change,” Canavan says, “But we also have to plan for change.”

But this may be easier said than done, particularly when the market is the driving force. Right now, the highest and best use for certain properties in Greenwich may be for the owners to sell to a bank. But this proliferation of banks in Greenwich may be just a passing phenomenon.Tomorrow these bank buildings may very well be white elephants.

How might local zoning regulations best plan for such very specific and market-driven change?