What is a BIA? BIA Background Information

A Business Improvement Area is a self-help mechanism designed to assist local business people, property owners and city councilors in upgrading and promoting their business and shopping district to further trade and commerce in their area.

Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are specially funded business districts. The districts are managed by non-profit groups of property owners and business tenants whose goal is to promote and improve their business district. Vancouver has 22 BIAs.

BIAs are active in their communities, promoting business, tourism, safety, and street beautification.

Under the BIA concept, a business community can request to be designated as an improvement area by its municipal council. Once this is done, the BIA can develop and undertake programs to improve and beautify the Improvement Area. Tree planting, street furniture, improved parking, flower boxes and baskets, and street banners are typical examples of commercial area public improvement which can be implemented by a BIA. In addition, BIAs promote their areas as business and/or shopping areas, not just as a group of individual shops, restaurants and offices. Promotional activities may include special events and ongoing advertising programs which aim to keep the BIA area foremost in the public’s mind as an attractive, pleasant place to shop, to be entertained, to work and to live.

An area of importance to many BIAs is the introduction of social programs and community work programs. Many BIAs, are picking up government slack by initiating programs that deal specifically with homelessness in downtowns, graffiti, pan handling, youth and anti crime related programs, safety, traffic and green space issues. In addition, BIAs have expanded their roles to include community planning and business recruitment to their list of goals.

The formal designation as a BIA provides a forum for business member participation through the Board of Directors and its communities. It also allows for a planned program to be developed with an annual budget contributed to by all its members. The cumulative effect of BIA activities will attract and maintain customers, clients, and shoppers to the commercial area as well as attracting new business to the market.

BIAs respond to and reflect the needs of individual areas. They can be merchant associations, initiators of revitalization projects, coordinators of civic planning process, a key spoke in economic development teams, and a positive voice when addressing street issues.