A vacant building in west Windsor could soon be converted to a small grocery store serving residents in the Wellington Avenue neighbourhood, just south of Wyandotte Street West.
A proposal went before the city's development and heritage standing committee on Monday to change the zoning bylaw from industrial use to commercial use.
The building, located at 673 Wellington Avenue, has been vacant for a number of years.
Anthony Debly spoke on behalf of a number of area property owners who had some concerns, including environmental implications.
Debly reminded the committee that a manufacturing company operated out of the site for years using many different chemicals.
"Which brings concerns about contamination going from the previous use as manufacturing to the existing as retail grocery store for consumption of edible products," Debly said."
Committee member Anthony Arbour wondered if the site could be inspected prior to renovations inside.
"I mean if it's old industrial waste products, heavy metals, whatever else it is they're using for automotive, I don't think that's a good mix with a grocery store," Arbour said.
Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie wondered what could be done at the council level.
"I think there's a reasonable concern there, and I'd just like to make sure that there is some oversight that could potentially be in place to ensure they are operating safely," said McKenzie.
The committee agreed to have the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) review the file and request they come to the next council meeting to address any concerns.
The proposed grocery store would be 19,187 square feet within the refurbished existing building, and would offer a total of 43 parking spaces (including two accessible spaces) and four bicycle parking spaces.