The South West borough council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a controversial bylaw that will set new restaurants 25 metres apart from one another on a stretch of Notre Dame.
Councillor for Saint-Henri–Petite-Bourgogne–Pointe-Saint-Charles, Craig Sauvé, says the measure is meant to prevent a restaurant-alley from developing on Notre Dame between St Remi and the ramp to autoroute 10.
"Really it's about commercial diversity, and if we lose commercial diversity now it could end up harming the economic tissue of the street later."
Resident and business owner Marcus Troy is frustrated to hear of the bylaw saying he wanted to open up a restaurant on Notre Dame, and has now lost the opportunity.
"This is my neighbourhood, I live four minutes from here and I want to open something around here, literally on this street," he says. "So this new bylaw would really mess me up. Where am I going to go? I'm not going to open up where there's no foot traffic, or there's no one who could support my business."
Some building owners are frustrated with the change, saying the city is limiting potential tenants for their buildings, but Sauve says it'll improve chances for other businesses to survive.
"High end restaurants that are coming in have the tendency to boost the rents around and landlords know that," he says. "Retail and services have a harder time paying those high rents."
A petition is in the works to force a referendum on the bylaw.