No New First-Floor Restrictions for Downtown Businesses—For Now

It's business usual, at least for now, on the first floor of property in downtown Geneva.

Members of the Geneva City Council listened to what business owners and landlords had to say, and decided that the market should determine what uses can and should operate on the first floor of B2- and B3-zoned property.

The council held a policy discussion Monday night and heard three possible scenarios that would limit first-floor uses for banks or offices—either by restricting the uses or by restricting them from the first floor of certain areas in the core of the downtown.

Among the concerns driving discussion was that downtown banking—particularly the new Geneva Bank & Trust in the Pure Oil location, 514 W. State St., and the Private Bank across the street at 501 W. State St.—might be interrupting the flow of retail businesses and discourage shoppers from venturing farther west.

First Ward Alderman Charles Brown argued that the idea of "extending" the downtown was flawed because shoppers really don't want to walk a long distance anyway.

"The bottom line of all this is I’d like to see the market determine (the first-floor use,)" he said.

Second Ward Alderman Don Cummings said any of the three scenarios for changing the zoning ordinance might be too heavy-handed.

"It's like saying, 'Gosh, we have a hammer in our tool box, what can we fix with a hammer?' " he said. "I tend to agree with Alderman Brown on this. I’m not sure I’m ready to stand up and say I know a bank is not going to make it, but the bank believes that they are. If they’re willing to put a bank in, it takes a lot of hubris to say I know better than the bank."

Several business owners stepped to the podium to argue against restrictions.

"One of the things that makes Geneva unique is that it’s a livable city," said Mike Simon, co-owner of The Little Traveler and the landlord of several downtown properties, including the former Merra-Lee shops on Third Street. "And right now, there’s a lot of reasons for Genevans to come downtown."

Simon said about 60 percent of his customers come to Geneva from out of town, but the other 40 percent are residents who might have come to downtown Geneva to run errands—visiting the library or the post office or any of Geneva's many service businesses.

"We take those away, and we lose the magic that makes everything gel," he said.

"The market’s always worked for the past 40 years," Simon added. "I honestly don’t see a reason to do anything right now. I think making change is a losing proposition, because my potential customers wouldn’t have as many reasons to come downtown."

Neil Johnson, a commercial real estate adviser for Sperry Van Ness, described himself as the "token broker in the crowd tonight." Johnson said he has placed probably 30 businesses in the downtown business district since 1997, and all but one was retail—but he would not want to deny a property owner a chance to rent space to a first-floor office, bank or service business.

"Our great Ace Hardware that has come to life is one example," he said. "It’s not the type of business a boutique would want next door, but it’s very important to the (business) ecosystem."

Joe Stanton, who is a business owner, a building owner and a resident of Geneva, said allowing a first-floor office use provides flexibility for a landlord. 

"I think the market’s been doing a good job of finding its own level," he said.

"I’m not going to put a tattoo parlor next to Urban Grille," he added. "So you don’t need to do that by ordinance. The decisions we’re making right now we can do because we do the math."

By the end of the discussion, the City Council members had come to a consensus that now is not the time to change city ordinance.

"I think the prudent man would do nothing if there was some chance he could do harm," Fifth Ward Alderman Craig Maladra said.

"It’s not do nothing," 2nd Ward Alderman Richard Marks said. "I think it’s watch and wait."