Signage regulation worries Décarie merchants

In 1986, St. Laurent’s city council suggested some changes be made on Décarie Boulevard. At that time, the objective was to make it a “strip”, so it could compete with the new shopping centres. In order to put the emphasis on the historical aspect of the buildings, a regulation on commercial signage was put in place. Strict rules regarding the surface of the signs, their location and the amount used were applied. However, the enforcement of the regulation was basically forgotten in the following years.

When he was elected mayor in 2001, Alan DeSousa revaluated the Décarie Boulevard situation and in 2003, he informed the merchants via an inspector that the regulation would be implemented again. “First, we made sure the merchants knew that it would soon be applied, but we didn’t hand out any fines,” said Mayor DeSousa.

Merchants agreed with the idea of having standards regarding commercial signage, but they asked the borough to improve the condition of the actual street before thinking about the signs of the buildings on it. “They were right. I walked on Décarie and realized that some of the urban landscape was in bad condition. So, we agreed to do the work before implementing the regulation”, Mr. DeSousa said.

Now that the road works are about to be over and the merchant have been made aware of the regulation, the mayor feels it’s time to implement it.

Claude Kaplo, who owns the Jean-Coutu located on Décarie Boulevard, doesn’t understand why he should change the signs on his building. “It’s OK to have standards, but why do we need to be different when our company has the same kind of signs everywhere? It’s not just me, it’s the same thing for the banks and the Couche-Tard,” said Mr. Kaplo.

Since setting to standards could prove costly for some building owners, the borough offers a support program. Merchants will have access to professional consultants and 35% of costs, up to $1500, will be covered. They also have three years to complete the necessary signage changes.

“If they want to spend money they should help those who really need it. On top of that, the money is not even divided properly. They give the money per address, but we pay taxes according to the surface we occupy,” said Mr. Kaplo.

The details of the program are not official yet and Mr. DeSousa indicated that there might be some minor changes brought to it. The same goes for the commercial signage regulation. Therefore, Destination Décarie members are invited to give their suggestion and the Mayor reminds that their engagement and their determination are needed to ensure the success of Décarie Boulevard. Mr. Vriniotis seems to feel the exact same way:

“It’s time to look towards the future and make sure that every step we make is the right one.”