More details have been released about the upcoming Cloverdale BIA annual general meeting.
Last month, Paul Orazietti, the BIA’s executive director, opened the meeting up to the non-members and encouraged attendance.
Orazietti said, along with the usual AGM items, the City of Surrey will be on hand.
“We’re going to have the city come in and give a more up-to-date report on the town centre plan," he explained. "We’ve left it open. (Non-members) won’t be able to vote, but they can definitely come down and visit and see what’s going on.”
The meeting will highlight changes coming to the plan and thus Cloverdale.
Dean Moore, BIA president, revealed that Hamza Farooqui, a City of Surrey associate planner, will talk about what will be included in the changing plan.
“(Farooqui) will make a presentation on the ongoing update of the Cloverdale town centre official community plan,” Moore noted in an email update about the AGM. He said at the end of the city presentation, there will be a Q&A session.
AGM-goers will also be updated about the BIA’s plans for 2025 and 2026. The BIA will have its 2024 financial statements on hand as well.
“The Cloverdale BIA will also present its position on expanding the commercial district and adding more mixed-use and commercial development to the town centre,” Moore noted. “The Cloverdale BIA will also discuss a variety of future capital projects that include public parking lot upgrades, additional placemaking signage, an accessibility plan to make the town centre safer and easier to travel around.”
He said there’ll also be an update on how BIA-supported events—such as Cloverdale Market Days, Ladies Nite Out, the Surrey Santa Parade of Lights, and several pre-Cloverdale Rodeo events—benefit the community.
Moore noted the BIA will seek member approval to renew on a three-year term from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028, after which the BIA will renew on its usual five-year term.
(The BIA held an extraordinary general meeting in September to vote on changing its renewal to a three-year period, as it needed to be done ahead of the AGM. The three-year renewal was done at the behest of the City of Surrey. The city wanted all BIA’s across Surrey to renew at the same time for administrative purposes. There are four BIAs in Surrey.)
Moore said there is continued support for the renewal by members, but it needs to be confirmed through a majority vote by property owners.
In the municipal setting, a BIA is like a Local Service Area. The city collects money via levy from properties within the BIA’s boundaries. The levy then supports local events, special projects, and pays for the BIA to have a staffed office.
Attendees may take part in the AGM in person or via Zoom. Registration for the meeting is required and a registration page can be found online by visiting cloverdalebia.com/agm.
The AGM will be held at Crossridge Church (Clova Theatre) located at 5732 176th Street. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will commence at 6 p.m.
For more info, call the BIA office at 604-576-3155, or email cloverdalebia@telus.net.
