4 DRUM E PSs, AE rl sy age wee. oe, eset 4 SE Psy, sem Rain, Sain NEWS photo Terry Peters MINI MAN Murray Uncyk mourned the loss of a rare Austin Mini Cooper § he had spent three years reconditioning. The car was stolen last Friday but was recovered in Burnaby after b:ing abandoned by thieves Tuesday. See story page 1. FORMER ST. ALICE HOTEL SITE Developer refused land lease NORTH VANCOUVER City Council refused a temporary lease to Cressey Development Corporation for land on which the company planned to store materials during the construction of its 28-storey tower on the old St. Alice Hotel site. Council members said a lack of cooperation from the developer in the past was not a good indication that he would follow through on earlier suggestions to create a park-like atmosphere with public paths at the base of the tower. “_ don’t intend to support fur- ther uncooperative methods,” said Ald. Barbara Sharp. City planner Richard White agreed there was no guarantee that Cressey would not simply build a high wall around his property. White said Cressey has not responded to city staff requests for finalized landscaping designs to confirm the developer’s intentions. “We more or less depend on the developer’s good wiil,”’ said White. But Ald. Rod Clark said refus- ing to allow Cressey to lease the By CORINNE BIORGE Contributing Writer land was “‘very childish."” “‘Now we're going to turn our backs on the facilitation of the building. And we're turning our backs on $7,800,'’ he said. ‘‘(It’s) crying over spilt mifk,’’ he said. White said the developer would have been charged $7,800 for six months' use of the city land as well as being required to put down a $2,500 bond fer the restoration of the site after use. Ald. Frank Morris said Cressey can re-apply to use the city land, but added that the city would be in a position to negotiate some terms of the landscaping agreement. Several members of the public spoke against the leasing of the site, Helen Millard, coordinator of a citizens’ action group in Lower Lonsdale, suggested the city use the application to pressure Cressey to provide social housing, or lower the tower height. “The city always seems to be in a reactive position, rather than a pro-active position,"’ said Millard. But Morris responded that the city was bound by the Municipal Act and could not use land as a bargaining tool when it came to zoning decisions. Ald. Stella Jo Dean said if council had allowed Cressey to use the site, it would not have been favoritism, as had been suggested by a member of the puvlic. Dean referred to a develepment by the Bosa Brothers that currently leased city land. Ald. John Braithwaite said he was displeased that no Cressey de- velopment representatives had at- tended the meeting to answer ques- tions. ‘It’s a little arrogant that (they) did not show up.”’ Tenders called for new school EDUCATION MINISTER Tony Brummet and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Jack Davis recently jointly announced that the contract to build a new elementary school in the Indian River area of North Van- couver has gone to tender. The provincial government has approved spending of up to $3.762 million to build a school for 475 children. The Dorothy Lynas Elementary Schoo! wiil include a dual-track French immersion program. The new school project is one of eight B.C. schools worth a total $26 million recently approved for various stages of construction. Said Brummet: ‘‘Mr. Davis’ in- terest in Dorothy Lynas Elemen- tary has helped move the project forward.”’ Concerned North Vancouver residents, school board repre- sentatives and North Vancouver District representatives had lobbied the government to assure funds fur the school last year. 3 ~ Friday, April 21, 1989 - North Shore News Tax cap on property assessments viewed cautiously VICTORIA’S MOVE to previde some tax relief by capping property assessments is being viewed with some caution by North Shore municipalities. The capping of land assessments at 15 per cent over the municipal average was agreed to by the pro- vincial government because of pressure from the City of Van- couver, where some 16,500 houses will benefit from some tax relief. But it’s an optional move for other municipalities, such as North Vancouver District, where only about 1,164 homes are affected and West Vancouver where 1,730 properties would get some relief. It’s not so much of an issue in North Vancouver City, where assessment increases have not been as great (20 to 21 per cent) and on- ly 150 or so homes could benefit. “The matter is under review. There are a lot of legal questions,’’ commented West Vancouver direc- tor of finance George Horwood. Whether to go with the capping option is a decision that the North Shore municipalities will have to make prior to May 15. “This will avoid a sharp increase in taxes for the few,’ explained Horwood, who has many concerns about the capping option. In West Vancouver, where the average land assessment increase is about 56 per cent, the cap will limit assessments to no higher than an additional 15 per cent, or a total of 7) per cent. Property owners with assess- ments over the 71 per cent will have their assessment brought back down to 73 per cent. According to North Vancouver District director of finance Michael Hoskins, property owners who have experienced anything greater than 15 per cent over that municipality’s average 34 per cent tand assessment increase would get relief under the plan. As the same amount of money will have to be raised for taxes, the rest of the municipality would take up the slack. North Vancouver District resi- dents would pay a .i7 per cent higher tax, while West Van- couverites would take on an extra. one per cent (about $9 more for every $1,000 of taxes). West Vancouver’s Horwood is not sure that the capping pro- cedure will get wholehearted sup- port at council, which will have to come up with a two thirds majority decision. . ‘“‘There are some interesting features that may cloud the issue,”’ said Horwood. Auto..................28 Classified Ads..........33 Doug Collins........... 9 Editorial Page.......... 6 Home & Garden.........17 Mailbox............... 7 What's Going On........23 Second Class Registration Number 3385 Contributing Writer Technical problems with draft- ing the legal documents to enable the change could cause problems for the municipality in the future, Horwood said. “It’s also a question of who is going to benefit from this? Who are the 1,700 property owners and could it be that they have less of a fegitimate concern than others?” queried Horwood. He explained that some property assessment increases may not be the result of market factors, but the re-evaluation of properties that have been undervalued in the past. Horwood also said the proposed change is getting away from the essential philosophy of the tax system: ‘‘Capping is toying with the system and putting an artificial anomaly into the system.’’ Horwood agreed that the pro- posal could heip people with very large land assessment increases. “But it’s not helping some of the people I hoped it would hefp- such as the person who is living in a little old house, but is being hit by high property value increases that aren’t within the prescribed percentage," said Horwood. Some of the people who will benefit, however, will actually find their assessments plummet to below the average, because the increase in house improvements is low relative to a high Jand value increase which can be capped. West Vancouver would have preferred to have Victoria consider its own proposal, which would be to institute a moving average over a number of years. “This would not redistribute the taxes, but it would smooth out the peaks and valleys,”” he explained. As the municipality collects the school taxes as well, Horwood is also concerned about how the capping procedure would fit in with the school district and its budget, which has to be in by May 1. ‘There would be a problem with timing,’’ he said. Hoskins is not making any rec- ommendations to North Van- couver District Council regarding its option to go for the capping procedure. “This is going to be a political decision,’’ he said. Friday, cloudy with a few showers. Saturday, periods of rain. Highs near 12°C.