Amend Model BIA Grant Allocation By-law

Motion 7 · Council Meeting, March 7, 2023

On Consent

Summary

Council is asked to update the Model Business Improvement Area (BIA) Grant Allocation By-law, which serves as a standard template used whenever a BIA is created or renewed.
The Model By-law was last updated in 2017; this revision addresses several issues identified over the past five years through collaboration between the City and the Vancouver BIA Partnership.
Key proposed changes include: ensuring BIA societies have rules for distributing unspent funds if dissolved; prohibiting inequitable voting rights and paid salaries for elected directors; allowing virtual meetings; and clarifying that BIA grant money need only be tracked in a separate ledger rather than a separate bank account.
The amendments also add privacy requirements governing how BIA societies handle personal information from commercial property owner and business licence records shared by the City.
The updated Model By-law will apply to all future BIA renewals and new BIAs going forward, with existing BIAs adopting the new provisions at their next renewal.
The Vancouver BIA Partnership supports all proposed amendments, and staff confirm there are no direct financial implications from the changes.