Nanaimo may get a new downtown business improvement area again.
If it is established, the new BIA would be mainly centred around Commercial Street, including feeder streets up to that area. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really very much a centre-of-city initiative,鈥� Kim Smythe, chief executive of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, said Monday.
It would be independent of two other downtown associations, one in the Old City Quarter and another for the Victoria Crescent area, he said.
A new BIA would create an 鈥渙rganization that actually does speak on behalf of the businesses that are focused around the core of the city. Once they have a voice then they can advocate for themselves at city hall. They can market themselves because they are a compact shopping precinct unto themselves,鈥� Smythe said.
鈥淭hey can start to drive what they want to see down there in terms of events and promotions and marketing, security and beautification.鈥�
There hasn鈥檛 been a BIA in Nanaimo since 2017.Council voted early that year to halt more than $230,000 in annual grants, which matched the amount the organization received from its members. Nanaimo decided to pull its grants after an outside review found it was rare for local governments to fund BIAs.
A few months later, the organization voted to close.
After the previous BIA folded, the Chamber stepped in as an advocate on behalf of downtown, Smythe said.
鈥淎bout a year ago, we started to work towards re-engaging the downtown business community members and pursuing a BIA,鈥� he said. He anticipates that this fall, a petition will go out to property owners for them to vote on whether they want to be part of a BIA.
A new non-profit society has been formed called the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association.
If the petition is successful, then Nanaimo council would pass a bylaw in the new year and it would be official by July 2021.
The levy is based on property value, with thepercentage determined by city hall, Smythe said.
Success in a petition requires 50 per cent of the owners representing at least 50 per cent of the property value within a specific area.
