Chatham-Kent councillors will be mulling over a proposal Monday night for two restaurants in the north end of Chatham.
The plan calls for a sit-in eatery and a fast food outlet on St. Clair St. near Pioneer Line.
Councillor Brock McGregor says a large portion of that site is vacant and new commercial development would be great.
"Whenever we're looking at development within the municipality and seeing those lands that are zoned and ready to go and starting to be used is always a positive," says McGregor.
The developer wants council to amend the zoning bylaw to increase the floor area.
There has been interest from several national restaurant chains that are aiming to open this year but who they are remains unclear.
McGregor says there's no doubt that the area can handle the extra restaurants and their traffic.
"That's how the traffic flow is managed and how the property was setup. So, it's something that's been vacant but has been a site that's ready for that type of development," McGregor says.
McGregor says the new commercial development will support residential development in that area down the road.
"People look at communities now for the type of amenities those communities have, whether that's amenities provided by the municipality or commercial establishments, that's all part of building a community. So, it's one of those small steps that helps make the community a little more vibrant and a little more attractive to people down the road," says McGregor.
