The City of New Westminster needs to address transportation, taxation and affordable housing if it wants to attract and retain businesses - and clean up people’s perceptions of its downtown.
Those are some of the findings of a recent survey done for the City of New Westminster by the Mustel Group. The survey of local businesses, done in the fall of 2016, will help the city update its economic development plan this year.
A “quantitative” survey featured online or phone interviews with nearly 700 local businesses, including home-based businesses. Overall, 70 per cent of respondents indicated satisfaction with their direct dealings with the city.
When asked what actions the city should make a priority to attract or retain businesses, the top two responses, cited by 21 per cent of respondents, were for the city to be more business friendly (such as providing incentives, better communication, lease rates and better distribution of businesses) and to address transportation infrastructure issues. Eight per cent suggested lower taxes/fees, while seven per cent wanted the city to encourage affordable housing as it provides a home for employees and builds the customer base for businesses.
The Mustel Group also did a “qualitative” survey by conducting in-depth interviews with a dozen key people in the business community.
“The level of satisfaction was really high,” said Kathleen Roach, the Mustel Group’s qualitative specialist. “I have to say, I was most impressed with their level of satisfaction. Everybody consistently said, ‘Yes, we really, really like dealing with New Westminster.’”
These businesses cited a number of positives about doing business in New Westminster, such as the ease of access to city staff and council, the city’s responsiveness to suggestions and its proactive approach to developing a prosperous economy, as well as the city’s central location in the region, accessibility because of SkyTrain and growth potential as positives.
On the flip side, respondents cited a number of areas of concern – many dealing with social issues and the city’s reputation.
“There is still this sense that New Westminster has a reputation that carries over from the past and is still seen as a tough place to live and work because of the levels of homelessness and drugs,” Roach said. “Some people felt that was more historic than current, but it’s still there. It’s something they felt needed to be addressed. In that sense upgrading the image of New Westminster is what they see as important.”
Businesses expressed concern about homelessness and drug use in the downtown core; the cost to businesses, institutions and landlords of hiring private policing to ensure safety; the lack of affordable housing; a shortage of mixed-use developments, which contribute to a thriving city; and traffic and parking issues in the downtown.
“Affordable housing, including student housing, was the big one because that contributes to the overall growth and development of the city and it can help to create a balanced city,” Roach said of the top change these businesses would like to make. “That’s something that seems to be important to people.”
Businesses also expressed a desire for the city to create a strong brand identity to counter the negative image it carries of being a tough city with a lot of homeless people and considerable drug activity. They also want the city to develop a more desirable downtown core and to provide them with a newsletter containing statistics and information about the positive changes taking place in New Westminster.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said the survey results are “pretty positive” but highlights some of the challenges in the community and identifies areas the city needs to work on in regards to economic development.
Coun. Bill Harper said the comprehensive report will be invaluable to the city in terms of seeing where improvements need to be made. While council members see the transformation that’s taking place in the city, he said there is still a “lingering reputation of the city” so action must be taking to brand it as a progressive city on the rise.
“We have transformed ourselves in many ways but the job is not finished,” he said. “I think we need to continue to do that in a really thorough way.”
Coun. Mary Trentadue said all cities have issues with homelessness and drug use, but New Westminster must consider what can be done to change the perception of the city’s downtown core. She suggested the city should take steps to make entrances to the city, such as SkyTrain stations, more interesting and animated through better signage and public art. She said that may help to quickly change people’s perceptions of the city while the city continues to work on issues that can’t be solved overnight.
“We are not going to solve homelessness or affordable housing immediately, but maybe we need to highlight some of the more playful aspects of the city or the creativeness or whatever that message is that we want,” she said.
Survey Says:
The “quantitative” survey conducted by the Mustel Group included more than 600 telephone and online surveys. Some of the findings included:
* Key strengths of doing business in New West: central location (51 per cent); transportation - access to highway, SkyTrain and public transit (25 per cent); small-town atmosphere (23 per cent); and a strong/loyal customer base (18 per cent.)
* Challenges of doing business in New West: transportation issues – such as traffic congestion and bridge accidents (39 per cent); increased cost of doing business/financial concerns such as taxes and high rents (18 per cent); and parking issues, problems with municipal government/not business friendly, and location issues such as building/office size, hills, noise (all at 17 per cent).
* Two key suggestions to attract and retain businesses: Be more business friendly by offering more incentives to operate in New West and communicate clearly and get feedback from business owners; and address various transportation infrastructure issues, such as traffic congestion in the city and bridge repairs.
The “qualitative” survey featured 12 in-depth telephone interviews with senior executives, managers or property owners.
* The majority of respondents suggested no new services are needed, but some offered a few ideas: offer services that support entrepreneurs; create a forum, outside of the existing business improvement areas, where businesses owners and council can meet and share their thoughts or concerns; provide more policing, particularly at the Columbia Street SkyTrain station; and offer incentives and work to fill vacant buildings.
* How does New West compare to other municipalities? These businesses say doing business in New West is easier than elsewhere, believe having access to municipal leaders is key and view the city as having leaders who think in entrepreneurial ways. However, some think the city’s image needs an upgrade because the levels of homelessness and drug use make it difficult for landlords to attract new tenants.
* Suggestions to help attract and retain tenants or workers: increasing policing in areas considered uncomfortable or dangerous; developing a balance of residential and business so the city is a good place to live and work; continuing to focus on the growth of the community; being more flexible and offering incentives for larger tenants to stay in the city; focusing on educational or health institutions to raise the city’s profile; and developing the business community.
