index @ Automotives ........ 27 Mi Classified Ads ....... 60 WeEcoinfo............ 23 i Editorial Page ....... 6 @ Home & Garden..... 15 8 Mailbox ............ 7 @ Paul St. Pierre What's Going On ....14 Weather Friday, cloudy with afternoon sunny breaks. High near 10°C. Sat- urday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Low, 3°C, High, 9°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885 A MARCH 16 public forum has been scheduled by North Vancouver City Council to hammer out the long-term uses for the ci- ty’s changing waterfront. By Pesnela Lang Contrituting Writer The -edevelopment ef the western third of the seven-hec- tare Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. site and better public access to North Vancouver City’s waterfront were two priority issues discussed at a Jan. 28 city council meeting that dealt with the plans for the waterfront forum. The March 16 forum, which will help redefine the long-term land uses of the city’s waterfront property, will hear input from city residents, major waterfront industries and companies and the official governing bodies that have authority over the various city waterfront properties. The ideas gathered at the January meeting and the March forum will form the basis for possible changes to the city’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and zoning bylaws for city lands on or near the waterfront. Some of the ideas discussed included: ® Possible re-evaluation of the land use for the 68-acre Fuller- ton Fill (south of First Street be- tween Bewicke Avenue and Mackay Road), currently classified as a ‘special study’ area and considered ideal for future port use; ® Relocation of the SeaBus maintenance facility at the foot of Chesterfield Avenue, to im- prove the link between the Lonsdale Quay and Waterfront Park; *Re-introduction of a city streetcar that would run either along the waterfront or up and down Lonsdale Avenue; Friday, February 8, 1991 —- North Shore News - 3 AveD~FEB\S 2 ee 4 A NEWS photo Mike Wakefletd HANDSWORTH SENIOR Jazz Band students blow their own horns as they gear up for the band’s biggest annual concert...Sound Spectacular. The concert will be held Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cen- tennial Theatre in North Vancouver. Pictured are (left to right) Kevin O’Cain, Kathy Parslow and Doug Owen. watertront City wants public input on foreshore development * Low-rise development on the waterfront to preserve city har- bor views; © Construction of a Lonsdale Piazza that would create a public waterfront space at the foot of Lonsdale and encourage pedes- trian traffic, both north and east; «A continuous waterfront park running from the Fullerton Fill to Lonsdale Avenue; ¢{ncreased parking with the construction of a parking struc- ture on city-owned Block 14 of City to contront five IN A report on the future of North Vancouver City’s waterfront, Richard White, the city’s assistant director for planning, outlined five major water- front issues: Long-term port needs “The city has consistently put the port’s needs ahead of the ci- ty’s other wants as far as water- front development is concern- ed,’ according to White’s report. But, isased on Vancouver Port Corp. (VPC) data, ‘“‘the port appears to have adequate capaci- ty for the storage and shipping and most of the commodities that it handles,’’ he said. Because this projection is bas- ed on the port’s needs for the next 20 years and beyond, the report suggested the city consider changing the OCP to reflect alternative uses for lands now being held for future port use. Research done by the Fuller- ton Lumber Co., which owns the Fullerton Fill site, confirms the city staff's findings that a surplus of industrial land exists, Carrie Cates Court; * Extension of Carrie Cates Court through the unused por- tion of the Versatile Pacific land; @and creation of public view opportunities, like the ‘Q’ look- out at the Lonsdale Quay. City development planner Frank Ducote said the city’s shoreline is currently a working industrial waterfront that had had no public access until recent developments such as the Lons- dale Quay and Waterfront Park. NORTH Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks ... questions compatibility of industrial and land uses. said company president Dick Mann. The value of the waterfront lands should be tuken into con- sideration in any planning, sug- gested city resident Donald Cur- rie. At $1 million per acre, it is the most valuable land in the He said city staff sees some areas of the waterfront as being misused or underused, citing the Fullerton Fill as a prime exam- ple. Ducote added that past indus- trial uses have degraded the nat- ural environment in many areas. And while the city’s eastern waterfront is not expected to change siguificantly, with com- panies like Neptune Bulk Termi- nals and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool holding their ground, Ducote said the central water- Greater Vancouver Regional District, he said. Shipbuilding White stated that new eco- nomic realities, based on infor- mation obtained from _ federal and provincial governments and the shipbuilding industry, dictate a reduction of the North Shore’s shipbuilding industry. “The western portion of the Versatile Pacific Shipyards is closed; according to the projec- tions of the shipbuilding in- dustry, it is unlikely to open again,’’ White said. Mixed urban uses, similar to the Lonsdale Quay area, would be the preferable future use for the “‘mothballed’’ Versatile land, he said, with a buffer between it and the industrial land to the east, Mann said that the North Shore shipbuilding industry should be focusing on construc- ting smaller vessels such as tugboats and yachts. Such activi- ty, he said, would be compatible with other land uses such as res- idential, public use, or light in- dustrial. Economic development strategy front is under pressure to change. The unused portion of Ver- satile Pacific Shipyards is a prime area for redevelopment, with consideration being given to adapting heritage buildings on the site to other uses. Also to be examined, Ducote said, will be the future of the 100- and 200-blocks of East Esplanade if the Versatile land is developed, and the consequences of improving the Lower Level Road. issues While the North Shore Eco- nomic Development Stratcsy recognizes the long-term impor- tance of port-related industry to the economic health of the city, White said the policy states that land should only be held vacant for marine-related industry if its use can be determined and the land can be serviced to support it. . City staff recommended limiting additional fill to extend the shoreline and using areas like the Norterm fill at the foot of St. Patrick’s Avenue and the Fullerton Fill for future port- related industrial use. White said that the port has suggested retaining Fullerton Fill as a jand reserve. City resident Bob Dunlop said that while industry is an impor- tant part of the waterfront economy, it should be controll- ed. The city, he said, should en- courage the storage and move- ment of bulk containers and lumber rather than sulphur and coal. Al Pezzente, who markets in- dustrial land, said that with city industrial land valued at $1.4 See Waterfront page 5