A once-failed application for a new bank and drive-through ATM has earned enough votes on a second trip to the Barrington Zoning Board.

Last month, members of the zoning board voted 4-1 to grant Chase Bank a special use permit which was needed for the drive-through ATM. The bank will fill the property located on the northwest corner of the Maple Avenue-County Road intersection, which had previously been home to a AAA office.

Earlier this year, a similar application from Chase Bank failed to earn the necessary votes for the permit, and it was not clear whether the bank was still interested in developing the property. In fact, at the end of the meeting where the application was denied, the developer’s attorney said it was unlikely the bank would offer an amended plan.

However, more recently, people representing the Chase Bank project offered a re-worked design. 

The new plan increased the buffer between the bank property and a neighbor — it added a sound barrier, introduced more bushes and landscaping, reduced the lighting at the drive-up ATM, and lowered the parking lot light poles to reduce light “spillage.”

Maria Bruce, who owns the Maple Avenue home next door to the Chase Bank property, spoke out against the application, and zoning board member Paul Blasbalg told meeting attendees that a better plan could have been created. 

But toward the end of the discussion, members of the zoning board voted 4-1 in favor of the application, paving the way for the addition of another bank to Barrington’s downtown.

Reduced impacts

Josh Kline, an engineer for the firm Stonefield Engineering and Design, helped create the plan for the Chase Bank and its ATM drive-through.

He opened his presentation to the zoning board by mentioning that while a neighboring residential property was located in a business zone, he and the Chase team had still worked hard to create a robust buffer between the home and the bank. 

For starters, the design includes a sound barrier — not a fence, but a true, six-foot tall solid screen wood barrier that will absorb and reduce sound from cars in the bank parking lot and drive-through lane. 

“This is an industry-leading sound barrier technology,” Mr. Kline said, adding that it is also visually pleasing. 

Mr. Kline said the plan calls for new evergreen trees. He said they are hearty, fast-growing and provide a thick screening. Mr. Kline said the trees will stand between eight and 10 feet tall when planted and will grow one to two feet each year. 

In addition, the design ensures that a line of hedges currently separating the lots — Ms. Bruce’s home and the Chase Bank property — will not be disturbed. Mr. Kline said portions of the hedges that encroach on the bank property will remain.

Mr. Kline said the re-worked design also focused on light from the bank property. He said engineers worked to minimize and eliminate any adverse impacts on the surrounding lots — they reduced the lighting at the drive-up ATM and also lowered the light poles to 12 feet, adding that 12 feet is about as low as a business can go while following industry standards. 

Mr. Kline also referenced the traffic on Maple Avenue, seeming to draw a distinction between noise that could be coming from the street and passing cars and not from the bank’s parking lot. He said that was an important point, as the bank can control noise at the ATM, but cannot control the noise levels on Maple Avenue.

Mr. Kline said the effort to minimize impacts to neighboring properties made by Chase Bank and its team went above and beyond what was required and what other businesses have provided.  

Trading places?

Mr. Kline told members of the zoning board that in addition to collecting industry data about drive-through ATMs, his team also observed two similar ATM drive-throughs: the one at the Bank of America branch in Barrington, and another at a Chase Bank in South Kingstown.

Mr. Kline said there was very light use of the drive-through ATMs during the overnight hours, adding that he is confident there will not be an adverse impact on the neighboring homes or businesses by the Chase Bank ATM. He also said adding a bank to the downtown business district in Barrington was in harmony with the town’s comprehensive plan, and that not allowing a drive-through ATM would place Chase Bank at a disadvantage with other banks in town. 

There was some discussion about the need for a drive-through ATM if Chase was going to offer 24-hour access to an ATM in the building’s lobby. And a zoning board member also wanted assurances that Chase Bank was not going to install a live-speaker at the ATM. 

Mr. Kline said there would not be a speaker, no live interaction.

Zoning board members also discussed the layout of the drive-through lane. 

Mr. Blasbalg said he was not attempting to re-design the drive-through lane, but felt that a better layout was possible, one that would further minimize the impact on a neighboring property. Tony DeSisto, an attorney for the applicant, said the design team worked hard on building the best, safest plan.

Zoning board members referenced some letters Ms. Bruce had submitted to them regarding the proposal. Board members read questions Ms. Bruce had submitted regarding the bank project — most of the topics had already been discussed at length during the meeting or were judged not applicable to the special use permit. 

Ms. Bruce said she was a disabled adult and her family has lived in the home abutting the Chase Bank property for generations. She questioned how many times her sleep would be disrupted the drive-up ATM — once or twice each week? Once or twice each night? Once or twice each hour?

She asked if the board members would want to trade places with her.

Mr. DeSisto said the bank is not trying to bring anyone to their knees. He said the criteria for the special use permit had been met by the applicant. 

Board member Ladd Meyer then made a motion to approve the special use permit. Ian Donahue seconded the motion. The board voted 4-1 in favor of granting the special use permit, with Mr. Blasbalg the lone dissenting vote. 

Mr. Blasbalg later said that while he still believes there was a better plan out there, he was confident that the board’s work, coupled with the development team’s efforts, had resulted in a better outcome for the community and the abutting properties.