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Permalink Reply by Chris B on July 7, 2009 at 9:54am

I thought there was a Leslieville BIA already - usually that's the only way you get the street signs with the neighborhood names on it - typically, the City only does that if the neighborhood has a BIA. Of course, it could be that the BIA has gone dormant over time, since those street signs have been there for a few years now. I'm kind of surprised, since any kind of "organized" neighborhood events tend to happen almost organically (such as the recent Leslieville stomp, which more or less happened as a result of this site). There doesn't seem to be much BIA involvement, so I do have to question if one actually exists anymore.

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Permalink Reply by Nolin (Admin) on July 7, 2009 at 10:29am

I've had a few people contact me asking about the level of interest in a BIA. To my knowledge, and from conversations I've had with some of the local merchants, there is not one presently. It's quite a lot of administration to start and operate a BIA, and along with it comes a surtax levied to all businesses within its boundaries, so given the already strong relationships and participation levels in our area I agree with you that the value of a formalized BIA is something we'd want to consider very thoroughly before moving forward with it.

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Permalink Reply by Maia on July 7, 2009 at 12:14pm

You're right, Nolin: there isn't a BIA at present. When I was going around to the various businesses to get them involved in Leslieville Stomp, quite a few of them expressed interest in forming a BIA, and others were reticent to pay the fees. I think that in the past, there has been some interest, but a few "personalities" got into some drama and the whole thing was scrapped. Darlene and I were talking about getting some of the Leslieville Stomp organizers and interested participating business owners together right after the Stomp, but it didn't happen. It would still be good to meet and figure out what went right or wrong at Stomp and organize next year's event.

There's an interest in forming a BIA, but not being a business owner, I don't think it's my place to try and organize it. Wouldn't know where to start. Anyway, perhaps we can organize a group get-together at Joy Bistro, where business owners and organizers for next year's Stomp can talk about next steps. The Stomp and other neighborhood festivals/activities would benefit from a BIA. Any more ideas on how we can get it together? Funny thing is, Riverside has a BIA, as do most other neighborhoods. Riverside biz owners were amazed that Leslieville has yet to form a BIA.

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Permalink Reply by Jen Orenstein on July 7, 2009 at 12:50pm

Hi everyone, I am a business owner with my father in the neighbourhood and we have been here over 25 years. There is no present BIA in the community but there is a history of trying to start one. Leslieville over the past years, has discussions to start a BIA but there is a division between the community to start it. There are local residents who have vocally tried to get involved with starting one but have not pulled all the business owners together. There is a problem having to pay extra taxes to cover the BIA costs. With the area changing, there might be the interest to start one again. The signs where changed due to a local resident who got money from people to change the signs rather then just a BIA. As a business owner, the BIA does have its benefits but also has its draw backs. As the area is changing, there might be an interest to start one up again, but it needs to have most of the business support.

Jen
Joel Orenstein M.B.A. C.A.
944 Queen Street East

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Barns on July 7, 2009 at 3:00pm

I'm sure there's nothing standing in the way of getting business owners together to sit together and discuss. BIA is more of a formality and should be re-investigated, based on the numbers that are interested.

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Permalink Reply by Nolin (Admin) on July 7, 2009 at 5:26pm

It's more than just a formality... it means levies applied to every single registered business registered within the boundaries via City property tax bills. That's one of the big reasons that it requires the support, and active participation, of the majority of businesses within the proposed boundaries. It also requires agreement amongst the proposed participants about those boundaries so that the City knows how to implement the fees.

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Barns on July 7, 2009 at 5:51pm

Yes, but nobody can tax a group of business owners just getting together. Only through discussion can you realize what the goals of such a group might be. Only through models can you realize if it's a benefit to actually form the BIA,instead of providing internal funding for initiatives. The City cannot just slap a tax on businesses that are talking amongst eachother. That was my point. The whole situation needs to be managed.

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Permalink Reply by Nolin (Admin) on July 7, 2009 at 7:01pm

Agreed, and hopefully a significant portion of the business owners also agree.

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Barns on July 7, 2009 at 7:27pm

Was it you that was calling for video clips of the hood? I do quite a bit of that, and thought video could really produce a library of possibilities. I'm a software developer that's currently working on something quite similar.

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Permalink Reply by Jen Orenstein on July 7, 2009 at 11:44pm

I would say that not every business owner was known about the Leslieville Stomp. Some of the neighbours, in my block, including myself, did not find out about the Stomp until a day before it actually happened. This is why there was a problem with starting a BIA before is that not every business owner knew about the interest of it. Also, a BIA has to run on a basis of a percentage of people who want it. If you look at Leslieville is that there is still a pocket of empty stores. I am personally not opposed to starting one but there has always been a history of interesting personalities that have tried to get involved.

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Barns on July 8, 2009 at 3:26am

Diversity is cool, as long as the understanding of the goals of the group is clear amongst people. I tried something a couple of years ago that I completely shunned away from, due to its focus, but that's a lifetime ago, and it's closed.

If there's a way of getting people together, without the BIA, and only going there if needed (not like Paula is going to negate initiatives), then that's a positive move.

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Permalink Reply by Nolin (Admin) on July 8, 2009 at 11:35am

Despite our close proximity to one another, we actually live in a pretty big neighbourhood. Informing every single person in Leslieville about any one thing is never going to be a realistic possibility, especially when it is being done by people voluntarily in their spare time.

The Leslieville Stomp was no exception. We tried for about 6 weeks to solicit involvement from the community via discussion on this site, and a significant door-to-door effort distributing postcards and flyers throughout all of Lesliville. The early response was minimal, and only once we had generated sufficient interest from some business owners willing to take the leap on a new idea did the more risk-averse merchants start to show interest. Rather than put off the event for months and months to wait for interest to build, the small group of organizers thought that holding the first event would be the best way to let the community know about it.

Some of the responsibility for increasing awareness of community initiatives and getting involved rests on the shoulders of the individual. I would go out on a limb and say that there is quite a bit going on in this neighbourhood, and every other neighbourhood, that suffers from lack of awareness. Hopefully efforts like this site will make it a little bit easier for some people to stay informed.

If people want to know more about what is happening in their neighbourhood sooner, maybe they should reconsider their aversion to community meetings, conversations about ideas like the BIA, talking to neighbours on the street and in the coffee shops, and take the "no solicitations or junk mail" stickers off their mailboxes.

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