Queen Street BIA a possibility by Bill MacLean Members of the Beaches Business and Professional Association (BBPA) and the community gathered at the Balmy Beach Club Sept. 16 to learn more about forming a local Business Improvement Area (BIA). The concept of the BIA began in 1970 when the merchants and residents of Bloor West Village approached the municipal and provincial governments for help in countering the loss of business to sprawling suburban malls. Bloor West Village has since become the standard on which countless other BIAs in Canada, the US and Europe have been modelled. Joe Abbinante, current President of the BBPA, has also assumed the Chair of the Steering Committee which has been formed to launch the BIA. He said the establishment of the Beaches BIA will be of benefit to everyone in the neighbourhood, businesses and residents alike. He referred to the successes of other BIAs in our area such as the Gerrard India Bazaar and the Danforth Greektown, as examples of what the Beaches model could attain. Sue Zindros, President of the Danforth Greektown BIA, was on hand to offer words of encouragement. She stressed that creating and maintaining a BIA depends on hard work from the businesses and residents involved. “What I learned along the way,” she said, “is how hard BIA volunteers work.” Zindros also put to rest the notion that BIAs are run by a clique of local businesses for their own benefit. “It’s not about some dictator running his own show,” she stressed. Henry Byres, Commercial Area Advisor, BIA Office, City of Toronto, Economic Development Department, explained that there are currently 45 BIAs in Toronto with two new ones being established on average each year. Toronto City Council has recognized the value of BIAs and has budgeted to match business levies 50/50 towards maintenance, streetscaping, advertising and events planning. In fact, Byres noted, the BIA budget was the only one that has not been cut in recent years. The City also assists in budget planning and overseeing, as well as offering a grant to help strategic planning. John Kiru, the Executive Director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) said that his umbrella group has fought hard to get such benefits as twice-weekly garbage collection for BIA groups, better merchant credit card rates, a lower rate for the yellow commercial garbage bags to $3.10 from the proposed $4.75, and is currently working with the provincial government to establish a new “main street tax rate.” Henry Byres explained that after all the various steering committee meetings, the community is polled about its decision; a three-month process. If everything is acceptable to everyone concerned, the Beach BIA could be up and running by next summer. When the subject of parking rates and ticket fines was raised, both Byres and Kiru were in agreement with local frustration. And both stressed that as a BIA, the area would have more clout at City Council with regard to parking rates. Kiru said that he is working with the Parking Authority to get more access to their funds, and hopes to get a seat on its board. Juri Berzins, a 20-year resident of the Beach and a BIA consultant, told the audience that in his opinion a Beach BIA would be a very powerful entity. He reminded everyone about the recent TVO designation of Queen Street as the best main street in the province – without having a BIA – and said that with one, the area would be that much better. And, he stressed, with $2.9 million available to BIAs,the Beach is not getting any of it at the moment. And, after sitting patiently through the meeting, Briar de Lange, a Beach resident, and General Manager of the powerful Bloor-Yorkville BIA, stood to say she was tired of reading letters in Beach Metro News about how shabby Queen Street was looking, and how “they” should plant some flowers. She encouraged area residents and businesses to support the creation of a BIA. “You have to do it,” she said.
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