Richmond Review, February 14, 2014

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Steveston merchants divided over BIA bid Efforts begin to start levy-funded business association in Steveston by Martin van den Hemel

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Martin van den Hemel photo Steveston Merchants Association president Jim van der Tas believes a Business Improvement Area—a levy-funded association tasked with stimulating business and promoting a commercial district—would benefit business owners in Steveston, and plans face-to-face meetings with shopkeepers and landowners in the coming months to state his case.

Property owners and shopkeepers can find out exactly what they would be contributing by e-mailing organizers at stevestonbia@ gmail.com. van der Tas envisions a budget of roughly $200,000, which would fund the hiring of one or more staff tasked with bringing more business to Steveston, and enough funding to turn marketing and

event plans into reality. He said he’s spoken to dozens of business owners who were initially against the idea, but when they learned their annual share might only be $200 to $400, thought it was good value. There are 39 such BIAs in the Lower Mainland, with Richmond being the sole major area without one, he noted. While the potential benefits of a BIA are enticing, van

der Tas is a realist, and believes that if the people in Steveston don’t want it, a BIA won’t form. Asked what a BIA might do, van der Tas shared how one merchant suggested a massive Steveston celebration timed with the World Cup soccer championships being held this summer in Brazil. It’s one of many great ideas for Steveston that van der Tas believes

could reap rewards that would benefit businesses there. “What we really need is somebody dedicated to it and more funding behind it,” van der Tas said of initiatives of this sort. But not everyone is convinced adding another cost to running a businesses in Steveston is the right way to go. See Page 4

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If you’ve noticed a little extra tension in the air in Steveston these days, that’s not your imagination playing tricks on you. Emotions are running high, and in some cases tempers are flaring, over a proposal to start a new levyfunded business association for landowners and merchants along Chatham Street, Bayview Street, and Moncton Street west of Easthope Avenue. The effort is being spearheaded by the Steveston Merchants Association, and president Jim van der Tas, who once had a passerby flip him the bird after word of the proposal went public late last year. “I had no idea what a BIA was until 18 months ago,” said van der Tas about the proposal to start a Business Improvement Area association. With the merchants association having been in place for four years, members discussed what the next step would be in growing the effort to better market Steveston. van der Tas, who owns Blue Canoe Restaurant, said some members had friends who owned businesses in other cities with a business association, and the conversation grew from there. Merchant associations are limited by a reliance on volunteerism and a lack of a budget, he said. The Business Improvement Area would be funded through an annual levy, charged to landowners and merchants based on the assessed values of their properties.

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