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Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Zoning Rules: Square Feet and Garment

zoning rules: A group of manufacturers, landlords, designers and politicians has a plan to preserve a remnant of the garment industry in a neighbourhood where about 5,000 people are still employed in workshops mostly serving higher-end designers, while doing away with zoning rules that critics said put onerous restrictions on prime real estate, according to CTV. City Hall wants to preserve at least 300,000 square feet for garment manufacturing, but allow real estate developers to bring in more 21st century businesses. But the city's garment district isn't dead yet. Property owners have already pledged to fill 300,000 square feet with apparel manufacturing, and the city is seeking to add more. The plan, if approved by the City Council, would lift 1987 zoning that reserved about 4 million square feet of space in the garment district's high-rises for apparel-production businesses. For now, that's millions of fewer square feet than factories occupied in the industry's glory days from the 1920s to the 1960s. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.