Owners of commercial premises will no longer have to turn to the courts to evict resellers of trinkets of all kinds, whose business ambitions do not fit with the conditions of their lease.
If the City applies the new provisions of its zoning by-law, improvised flea markets are now a thing of the past on the commercial portions of 4th and 5th rue de la Pointe, as well as on avenue Grand-Mère and 105th Avenue.
Last summer, a recycling craftsman took up residence in two vacant commercial spaces on “the 5th”, with a disparate inventory of used items, which overflowed onto the sidewalk. The neighborhood was concerned about the hygienic conditions that prevailed around the premises, while vermin had supposedly invaded the place.
The court had agreed to the tenant’s eviction, but the episode had caused turmoil in the area.
Called to comment on the new regulatory provisions, Mayor Michel Angers makes no secret of the motivation of elected officials to act.
“We don’t even hide it, the objective is to avoid what we saw [l’été] last, with the clutter of all kinds of things.”
— Michel Angers, mayor of Shawinigan
Last July, the salvager in question, Éric Turgeon, argued that his work diverted significant quantities of material from landfill sites.
In the business community, the entrepreneur’s activities were rather perceived as a nuisance. A petition had even been launched targeting him specifically. “People need to stop renting to him,” argued the instigator of the approach, citing public health issues.
Mr. Turgeon would still be in Shawinigan, although he has become more discreet in recent months. In the fall of 2022, he left a large haul of used objects in a warehouse in the Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides sector, again raising the ire of neighbors and the owner of the premises. Motley, the pile was spectacular to say the least.
The amendment to the zoning by-law must still go through the public consultation stage and its final adoption, which should only be a formality.
