Avon Council rejects code change for CommStar Credit Union's video teller proposal

AVON — A recent vote by Avon City Council rejected a proposal from CommStar Credit Union that would have allowed the financial institution to install an interactive video teller branch in the city. City Council voted 6-1 on Monday against a change in Avon's codified ordinances that would have allowed drive-thru banking in a general business district when not associated with a principal use on the property. Had it been approved, it would have allowed CommStar and other financial institutions to set up drive-thru video teller locations in Avon without having a traditional banking building on the site. CommStar CEO David Jezewski said Wednesday the outcome of the vote was "a bit of a heartbreaker." The credit union was founded in 1938 by Bendix-Westinghouse Automotive Air Brake Co. employees and executives, part of the reason why Jezewski hoped to maintain a presence in Avon near where the new Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems headquarters are located. When he pitched the idea to City Council last fall, Jezewski said the video teller locations would allow customers to conduct any transaction they could do at an ATM, but also to receive services like applying for a loan or opening a new savings or checking account. "One of the reasons that we looked to make this investment is because of other credit unions in Ohio that already have deployed this technology," Jezewski said Wednesday, referencing institutions in southwest and Northeast Ohio that use it. Jezewski said the benefits of the video teller machines include the ability to offer longer hours and serve members efficiently. He said CommStar had been running its Avon branch on Detroit Road with just one or two people during the pandemic, although the branch has since closed because the lease expired. The city's Planning Commission decided in January not to recommend that City Council approve the codified ordinance change, and all Council members went along with the recommendation and voted "no" except for Tammy Holtzmeier, at-large. When asked Monday why she voted in favor of the legislation, Holtzmeier said the better question would be why every other Council member voted no. A few of the concerns mentioned at the Planning Commission meetings, according to meeting minutes, included a belief that customers may not want a drive-thru virtual teller facility, that there would be no employees physically present in Avon and that security could be a worry for customers. At the Jan. 19 Planning Commission meeting, Avon Planning Coordinator Pam Fechter said part of the struggle was finding a fair way to allow the virtual teller machines when 150 feet of frontage and one acre lot size is required for a commercial building. As for CommStar's future in Avon, Jezewski said the credit union is planning a board meeting soon where the institution's branching strategy will be discussed. "When we originally did our strategic planning session, the board's decision was to put this technology there," he said. "And now we will have to discuss is this the only scenario that is going to work in Avon?" CommStar also has locations in Elyria and Lorain. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.