Monterey Park : Bank Gets OK for Building

A commercial bank will pay the city an unspecified sum of money in exchange for permission to build a new building in an area where it otherwise would be prohibited.

Under an unusual agreement approved Tuesday by the City Council, the owner of Standard Savings Bank, at the southeast corner of Ramona and Garvey avenues, was prevented from adding on to his building because it was in an area zoned for retail development. The designation was designed to help boost the city’s sagging sales tax revenue.

But the City Council decided to allow the owner, Anthony P. Lee, to build a new two-story bank on his property after Lee agreed to compensate Monterey Park for the sales tax it could have collected from a store on his property. The amount he will pay has not been determined.