Suburbs steering clear of banks - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The cities of Lakeway and Westlakes Hills have each quietlyh passed ordinances either banning or restricting bank City officials have concerns abou branches taking up prime real estate and limitint sales taxrevenue growth. "We'rer not trying to eliminate banks, but we want them to meet the same test as any othetr business coming toour city," says Lakeway Mayort Steve Swan. Banks are drawn to the two communities because of theire growing populations and because they have the highest incomes in theAustin area. Westlake Hillsz and Lakeway are two of the most desirable spotw inthe region, says Daniel Hodges, presiden and CEO of .
"The lifebloor of a bank is originatingy andretaining deposits," Hodges says. However, both communitiesd want more stores andrestaurants -- which yield sales tax revenue -- for the benefift of residents and the city government. In the the Lakeway City Council added bankz to a list of businesses that must move througu a permitting process that was reservecfor fast-food restaurants with drive-thru windows. the city did not require banks to go throughj a uniquepermitting process.
The move in Lakewayg was spurred by the dozen bank branches ona three-miler stretch of FM 620, the only majore road in the town of 9,545 The median household income for Lakeway was $86,862, according to the 2000 At Regions Bank, managers say they were not aware of the bank moratoriujm in Westlake Hills, and say permitting stepsd in Lakeway will not be a major hurdle for However, Tommy Gonzalez, consumer sales manager over Regions' 13 says the cities should considerr the reliable property taxes paid by Restaurants may bring in sales tax but have high failure he says.
"Of course, we have been perplexed a littlew about the number of bank that have chosen to locatein Lakeway," Swan says. "AA lot of us would prefer to see a sales tax generating use of ourprecioua [FM] 620 frontage Swan was not sure Lakeway could go as far as nearbyg Westlake Hills did in the fall when it passed a moratoriumn on new branches. Such bans on developmen are often used by cities to restrict pawn shops andliquore stores. The step was needes in a town whose size is roughly three square milesz with a dozen banks along the main thoroughfare of Bee Cave says Westlake Hills City CouncilmanEarl Broussard.
Accordinh to the 2000 the median household income of Westlaked Hillswas $116,905. There are an estimated 3,053 Two landmark businesses, a restaurant and a hardwarde store, closed and were replaced by banks. That sparked the council's desire to examine the placemenrof banks, says Broussard, adding that the ban has lastecd too long. He says the issue should be revisited this Broussard says the ban was needede in the past because banks were too indiscriminats over where to setup shop, sometimes not havingv ATM or drive-thru services.