Have you noticed the growing number of empty storefronts in Vancouver?
Advocacy group LOCO BC thinks the solution is a ban on chain stores and restaurants and is lobbying for the city to take the bold action.
LOCO BC’s Amy Robinson told CTV News that the city has set its sights on residential real estate with a tax on owners of empty homes, but there are also several blocks throughout the city that are dotted with empty storefronts including West 4th Avenue and West Broadway.
In addition to a possible tax on empty storefronts, the non-profit organization wants to see restrictions on big box stores and chains to increase the presence of local businesses in B.C.
“Many whole blocks of independent businesses are taken out and what might go in are one of the big five banks and chain stores, so what we’re really concerned about is the loss of affordable space for independent businesses,” Robinson told CTV.
The move would follow in the footsteps of San Francisco and New York, cities that have enacted rules governing where chain stores can set up, to help small businesses survive.
