Southwest borough wants to limit restaurant boom on Notre-Dame Street

Montreal'sSouthwest borough hopesto encourage a better mix of businesses on Notre-Dame Streetwith azoning change to ensure new restaurants cannot open within 25 metres of an existing one.

The spurt of high-end restaurant openingsin recent years has led to higher rents and haslimited different types of businesses from setting up shop onSt-Henri'smost popular street, according tothe borough.

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As a solution to these problems, the borough plans to limit the number of restaurants opening with a proposed bylaw, which comes on the heels of anti-gentrification protests that rocked the St-Henri neighbourhood earlier this year.

Residents demand variety

City councillor Craig Sauv saidresidents have voiced their concerns and wantmore variety along the artery that runs east-west through the borough.

"We're going to do what we can to make that happen," he said.

"People want to see more retail, people want to see different kinds of services, people want to see grocery stores, fruit and vegetable stores, bakeries, and not just certain types of restaurants."

The zoning change would still allow for food-related hybrid businesses, he added.

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"For example, if I wanted to open up a caf barbershop, that's okay," he said."That doesn't count as a restaurant, that's going tocount as something else."

"If you want to open up a record store, bar, that doesn't count as a restaurant, it counts as a hybrid."

The public will have a chance to comment on the zoning change at a meeting next Wednesday.

The vote on the change is expected at a borough council meeting on Nov. 1.