"A curb cut is authority granted to you by the owner of the road (often the state government) to make a physical change to your property and the road to allow customers access"
This development model is very specific to Illinois and should not be generalized across the country. In many places the road could be owned by a local development corp, the county, a non-profit, a pension fund, the bank itself or some combination of the above. Illinois has harsh winters, a 9-5 suburb/downtown traffic pattern, average traffic and lots of land which makes the drive through an important feature and curb cuts EXTREMELY valuable.
There was an article about a homeowner in SF who had a curb cut but was recently denied the ability to park in their (paved) “yard” anymore due to code. They were looking for historical photos of a car in that spot from 80-100 years ago so they could get grandfathered in
“often the state government” does not mean “always.” And I’m not sure how the value of the curb cut fits into the quote and your reply. Can you provide more details?
The whole sequence of: business wants change to curb >
asks state officials for permission >
state official reviews request>
state official send business decision is predicted on the following:
- there is substantial value to creating a curb from specific local traffic patterns
- there is one state body that is tasked with "approving" changes to curbs
- changes are "rationed" so that businesses need to request approval
For example the commission of Clark county in Nevada often prioritizes the interest of the local casino's and can move very fast to remove any "obstacles"
In NYC the value of a curb is going to be much less because there is relatively more foot traffic and much less car traffic, so a bank is not going to prioritize local zoning changes.
In smaller towns you are not going to get as much casual car traffic in general
This development model is very specific to Illinois and should not be generalized across the country. In many places the road could be owned by a local development corp, the county, a non-profit, a pension fund, the bank itself or some combination of the above. Illinois has harsh winters, a 9-5 suburb/downtown traffic pattern, average traffic and lots of land which makes the drive through an important feature and curb cuts EXTREMELY valuable.