What is a Business Improvement Area (BIA)?
A Business Improvement Area (BIA) is a geographic area in a municipality.
A BIA board of management is an organization set up to provide certain
business promotion and improvement functions.
A BIA allows local business people and property owners to join together
and with the support of the municipality, organize, finance and carry out
physical improvement and promote economic development in their district.
The local municipality is the body that is responsible for approving the
budget of the BIA.
In 1970, the province passed enabling legislation in response to a
request by the business community in the Bloor and Jane Street area in
the City of Toronto for special authority to establish the Bloor West
Village BIA. Provisions for creating and operating a BIA are now contained
in Section 220 of the Municipal Act.
In addition to Bloor West Village, there are now more than 230 BIAs in
place across the province. They vary in size from less than 60 businesses
and property owners to more than 2000.
The BIA concept has also spread beyond the boundaries of Ontario. Then
concept has been adopted by more than 1500 communities across the United
States and in most provinces in Canada.
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