6 Oct 2025 Council meeting Community

Downtown Nanaimo Business Association Business Improvement Area

Motion
That Council: 1. Direct Staff to work with the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association to establish a business improvement area for a term of five years starting in 2026; and, 2. Undertake the establishment of the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association Business Improvement Area as a Council initiative.
Minutes, page 8
Sources
Agenda itemCity agenda, whole meeting
Staff reportPage 1
Purpose
To provide information regarding the proposed Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Area bylaw and obtain Council approval to draft a bylaw to establish a business improvement area in Downtown Nanaimo for a further five-year term.
Staff report, page 1
Staff recommendation
That Council: 1. Direct staff to work with the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association to establish a business improvement area for a term of five years starting in 2026; and 2. Undertake the establishment of the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association Business Improvement Area as a Council initiative.
Staff report, page 1
DocumentsStaff report about Economic Development

Hilary Eastmure Yes

Okay. I appreciate hearing that. I know that the province. Does have securing small business rebate that potentially downtown business owners could access in the absence of the city's program, but I've heard certainly the benefits of having that study program. Especially some of the proactive steps that people can take. That we can help fund, which I think is really important. So thanks for your help and feedback. On that. Thank you.

Questions and answers

Councillor Ian Thorpe
Speaker identificationConfident
Yes

asked
Thank you very much, your worship. Through you. If I may briefly to Ms. Bowman. Thank you very much for being here and thank you for your work and your board. I think having a downtown business. Association is extremely important, and that's important. That council hears the voice of downtown businesses, so I was really pleased when you reformed, I think is the correct word, several years ago. And I do have a question, and I suspect I'm misreading this, or perhaps it's a typo in our report, but it reads that in 2020, The DNBA requested that council establish a business improvement area as a council initiative, and it says the petition against process was successful. Now. Am I misreading that? Because that would imply to me that you were not successful in forming an improvement association.
Laura Mercer
Speaker identificationConfident
answeredGeneral Manager, Corporate Services
Councilor Thorpe: It depends on whose side you're looking at. So the DMBA was successful in having their levy because the criteria wasn't met to not have it. So we're sort of getting confused by double negatives. Exactly. Thank you.

Councillor Janice Perrino
Speaker identificationConfident
Yes

asked
Prin. Thank you. You're worshiping a question through you. Thank you for the presentation. You're going to sleep well tonight. It went through an awful lot in your report. So just a question for you. How many businesses are part of the DNBA associate like the association how many businesses.
Speaker answered
Thank you for your question through the chair. We have approximately 257 businesses and community property owners. Any idea how many staff? Just out of interest, we are working on that data. As we speak. And the reason that I
followed up
asked the question is, like, all of our neighborhood associations, right, they support their own. And what I love about the work that you do is that you support the entire downtown community. And it's all their staff, the businesses, the work that the business that they generate and bring to town. I love it. I love it all. Thank you so much. It's great. Work. Thank you. Thank you,