Plans to create the new East Kamloops Business Improvement Association cleared another hurdle Tuesday.

The new EKBIA, which will stretch from the Valleyview interchange to the Dallas Industrial Park, is in line to get about $2.1 million between 2025 and 2029 to help with start up and operations.

Acting Deputy Corporate Officer Denise Anderson says it comes as a counter-petition process that wrapped up on Aug. 23 did not gather enough opposition from business owners in that part of Kamloops.

“We received 22 petitions. That represents 9.7 per cent of the Class 5 and Class 6 property owners, and 16 per cent of the assessed value and land improvements,” Anderson said. “So sufficient petitions were not received for this.”

“If at least 50 per cent of the Class 5 and Class 6 property owners representing at least 50 per cent of the assessed value and land improvements submitted valid petitions, the local area service would not proceed.”

Anderson also says there was not enough opposition towards the extension of a similar five-year levy to the existing North Shore Business Improvement Association.

“For the NSBIA, we received 29 petitions,” Anderson said. “That represents 9 per cent of the Class 5 and Class 6 property owners and 8.4 per cent of the assessed value and land improvements.”

That means the NSBIA, which was founded in October of 1988, will get around $1.9 million over the next five years enabling it to continue operations as well.

The Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association’s five-year levy will be up for renewal in 2027, as its existing levy came info effect on Jan. 1, 2022.