Under Windsor’s current planning regime, PLE’s are permitted wherever business offices are allowed. Section 3 of the City of Windsor’s Zoning Bylaw 8600 defines a Business Office as any one or more of the following uses: commercial business, financial services including a bank, credit union, payday lender, savings and loan office and trust company; government; industrial business; non-profit or charitable organization; professional person.

There are two different beliefs when it comes to regulating land uses. One is to concentrate those uses into a single area, which limits any potential larger adverse impacts to the neighbourhood immediately surrounding those uses while eliminating adverse impacts everywhere else. There is also a better opportunity for policing and safety, and the concentration of uses may encourage competition.

The other is to spread them evenly citywide which usually means a lower adverse impact on the surrounding neighbourhood, but those lower adverse impacts may happen in several places instead of a single area. Having the PLEs spread out may discourage users from travelling to far flung locations. Instead, they have access to a PLE in their neighbourhood or nearby. Competition may be decreased and policing may be more difficult.

Social Services

Literature Review by Social Services:

Recent studies indicate that payday loans can negatively impact clients who cannot repay the original loan or multiple loans on time, leading to a cycle of stress and increased household debt. Epidemiologic research conducted in the United States shows users of payday loans had worse health across various health factors, including cardiovascular, metabolic and other general health indicators (Wysen, 2019) Another epidemiological study identified payday loan use was directly associated with higher blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference and future healthcare usage (Sweet, Kuzawa, & Mcdade, 2018). Research from the United States indicates payday loan establishments strategically target the most vulnerable consumers, those without good credit or access to traditional banking options and cluster in neighbourhoods home to low-income or minority populations. (Sweet, Kuzawa, & Mcdade, 2018.).

In Canada, one report states, “data suggests (sic) that dependence on payday loans extends costs beyond the borrowing household. The financial strain, health effects, and hindrance to the upward economic mobility of the household increase the burden on our whole society due to costs associated with health care, policing, low-income support, and other social services” (Dijkema, 2016).

The Canadian Payday Loan Association (CPLA), responsible for representing payday lenders collected data on its customers. The data indicated the working poor, who work usually full-time but live near or below the poverty line, were the predominant customer utilizing their services (Momentum, 2014). A separate survey conducted by the Government of Canada, found payday loans are also used primarily by low-to-moderate income households (Canada, 2016. p. 2). Although higher-income households also utilize payday loans, low-income households are two times more likely to have used a