At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Andover City Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a drive-thru and drive-up lane for a new bank at 13879 Round Lake Blvd.
City Planner Peter Hellegers said the site is at the southeast corner of Round Lake Boulevard and 139th Avenue, directly north of the Downtown Center shopping center. The property is guided for general commercial and zoned as a shopping center.
Hellegers said there will be no access from the south, which will be severed with development. All access will come from the north, and parking and traffic circulation will move around the southwest corner of the property.
A backage road on the east side will be removed and replaced with grass due to existing easements. A stub driveway on the north end will shift further east, creating a one-way entrance and exit to improve movement and reaction time for vehicles entering the site.
“That was one of the things that we were glad to see when they came in with the design,” Hellegers said.
Staff also identified a need for additional shrubs and plantings north of the dumpster enclosure for more screening, as well as plantings outside the northwest parking area.
Proposed building materials include cast stone masonry veneer, EIFS and fiber cement board.
Hellegers said the site will include a full Interactive Teller Machine System window, which functions as an ATM with a video call option and an after-hours drop box. The plan shows space for an eight-vehicle stacking lane without backing onto the street.
While the dumpster enclosure is positioned to help mitigate headlight glare, staff still recommends additional screening through landscaping.
Council response
Council Member Karen Godfrey asked whether the development would require a fire hydrant, noting that the site is in the Metropolitan Urban Service Area but lacks firefighting infrastructure. Hellegers said he could not recall specific hydrant locations but noted that the fire department reviewed the plans.
Godfrey said she appreciated moving the driveway further east because it provides more reaction time for passenger cars and allows better turning access for emergency vehicles.
Mayor Jamie Barthel said he had believed the service road to the east was intended for fire department access and asked whether it would no longer be used for that purpose. Hellegers said there was no drive-lane easement and that fire access can be provided in other ways.