COMMUNITY PLAN W. Van residents say no to change WEST VANCOUVER should stay the same. By MAUREEN CURTIS Contributing Writer That was the overwhelming opinion expressed Tuesday even- ing at the public hearing to con- sider the municipality’s Official ‘Community Plan update. 4°). -’ With the exceptions of West Vancouver's Chamber’ ‘of ‘Com- - :merce, :school” board. and Tocal real estefe- board, most of those ‘attending ‘the. meeting at West . Vancouver Secondary. ‘school ‘showed © great . resistance change... They. doubted the ibenefits - ‘of: future development: “above ‘the: Upper:.Levels High- sway, and ‘were: especially unhap- -py- with ‘the: prospect’ of further “encroachment: of : higher density. residential .development;. an q- Whe ‘replacement of smaller, a 28, with’. large,’ high-. ‘priced mansions < lamented by: esidentsy particular- to live in 7 ‘concerned . “apzoning * came’ from the. side: and: Dundérave: areas, : " ; arge:: homes”: becatise “the: land: piece have: now, exceed- Fisherman’s s°: Cove: residents were “uohappy-¥ with, any. mention", was” also’. the 2.5 unils-per-acre ceiling. Ancore’s land is in Area Two of the Upper Levels, which is zoned at 1.5 units per acre, but allows up to 2.5 units per acre. Arca One to the east allows 2.5 units per acre. Area Three fur- ther to the west, and Area Four, to the north along the Squamish Highway, are now zoned only for 12,000 and. 20,000-square-foot and two-acre lots. _ Although there were many complaints during: the meeting : about West Vancouver traffic congestion, the. suggested upgrading of 15th Street was op- posed by local residents, who felt . it would benefit only those ont- side the immediate area. At the same time, Marine Drive and Lions Gate Bridge traffic congestion was seen as - good reason ‘to: lower the pro- jected number of dwelling units estimated for the undeveloped area ubove the ‘Upper Levels Highway. - ‘ “The replacement of ‘smaller,: Older. homes, ‘with large,. high-priced. faisions ’ the* “draft com-, “munity : plan’ ‘also. included : charges: that it. was “hard ‘to understand", and “non-specific.” it Is & well;presented and . permitting everything). ‘and. -committing nothing.. Put some direction and teeth in Iteasgl stated | resident . Hin, a written: ‘submis; West Vaacouver” We recommend, a he: said, ‘that’ council” ‘exercise extreme caution ..before designating - a ommercial cenire above the Up- per. Levels tS ee and consider, a place. for vain families to. neration of. school- nage 3 - Sundays, March 6. TORR - North Shore News NEWS photos Nell Lucents UP, UP and away! To test air currents and flight patterns, Grade 6 students at Norgate Elementary School! in North Vancouver launched 45 helium balloons with messages attached at the beginning of February. To date, they have received four responses from the finders of the balloons, with the furthest away being from Spokane, Washington. Teacher Ted Hayes says there is a contest on until June to see which balloon travels the greatest distance. W. Shore citizens lobby for child abuse program THE NORTH Shore Coordinating Committee on Wife Assault appeared Thursday in Vancouver before the Royal Commission on Education to lobby for the inclusion in public school curriculums of a program to help children deal with abuse. The local committee consists of 14 community professionals repre- senting organizations that include local Crown counsels, West Van- couver Police, North Vancouver RCMP, North Shore Family Ser- vices, Lions Gate Hospital, Emily Murphy House, North Shore In- formation And Volunteer Centre, and psychologists in the mental health field. The group wants province-wide adoption of a preventative pro- gram already in place in southern Ontario called P.S. (Personal Safety): We Care. The program was created and adopted by the Lincoln County Board of Educa- tion in 1985. The goals of the program, which is designed for kindergarten to Grade 12 students, are to attempt to ensure that children have the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for dealing with sexual abuse, assault and violence; to teach children their rights and responsibilities toward themselves and others; and to teach that school, family and society are prepared to assist them in personal crises relating to abuse, assault and violence. Committee member and Emily Murphy House executive director 3s Reporter Valerie Atyeo said children cepre- sent 60 per cent of the residents us- ing the focal transition house. EMILY Murphy House executive director Valerie Atyeo...‘‘family violence is learned behavior.” “We believe family violence is learned behavior,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s necessary to instill in kids the sense that anger is a legitimate emotion, But if it gets out of hand and becomes physical, it's not accept- able.’’ The kids Atyeo and staff see are either witnesses to or victims of violence and abuse. While most transition houses do not specifically address the needs of the many children passing through the doors, Emily Murphy House recently implemented a cre- ative therapies program to help the troubled kids cope. A child-care worker is also designated as the children's advocate. “A lot of their time is spent validating the chiid’s emotional reactions to the situation they are in,"’ Atyeo said. Mary Ellen Meunier, director of the Playcare Special Needs Preschool, which is operated local- ly by the non-profit North Shore Playcare Society, sees the emo- tional fallout’ in families . with children aged 2% to five. The preschool, funded by the Ministry of Social Services and Housing as well as private dona- tions, takes in a maximum 17 children with social, emotional and behavioral problems. Typi- cally one third of the children enrolled come from violent homes: Parents of children using the preschool must meet regularly with a family support worker for counselling. Parents and counsellors explore realistic child expectations, new communication skills and new child: management techniques. ‘“Overall we've been very effec- tive. But as long as violence con- tinues at home, it’s difficult to make inroads,’’ Meunier said. Marmots make way for mall SPRING IS sprouting and North Vancouver’s yellow-bellied marmots are on the move to make way for the $25 million Seymour Crossings shopping centre. Wildlife Rescue Association staff, supplied. with vegetable- baited cages, began luring a colony of the 40-plus marmots away from their “burrows Wednesday for transport to a wilderness site in Boston Bar. The first marmot was snagged Thursday night. The marmot colony is located on a piece of Squamish Indian Band land near the Seymour River. The land has been ‘leased by Intrawest Properties Ltd., and the company plans to begin excavation work on the shopping centre in April. The yellow-bellied marmots are indigenous to grassy areas and the fower rocky mountain slopes and lowlands of B.C’s Interior. Wildlife officials believe . the “local colony’s founders may have . been unwittingly transplanted to their North Vancouver location in By MICHAEL BECKER ~ News Reporter a transport truck. The marmots’ hibernation schedule happily coincided with developer’s construction plans, giving the colony an undisturbed stretch of rest from late August to Feb, 29. Wildlife Rescue spokesman and marmot eviction coordinator Liz Thunstrom said the transplant is a first for the organization. Thunstrom praised Intrawest for allowing the orderly eviction: ‘‘It’s unusual to have this kind of coop- erative approach from a developer.’’ Intrawest vice-president Bob Mason said the company wasn’t aware of the marmots’ existence until after it had negotiated the land contract with the Squamish Band. “T grew up in the country and I'd never consider disturbing any wildlife no matter which company | was with,’’ Mason said. .‘‘The public sometimes thinks developers don’t consider. these issues, but that’s not the case.”’ But trapping the creatures may be a tricky business. Thunstrom said a male yellow- bellied marmot may weigh in at more than 20 pounds. : Once the marmots are relocated in Boston Bar, a Wildlife rescue- affiliated biologist will monitor the colony’s progress at the new loca- tion. The new shopping mall is scheduled for completion in late fall or early 1989. But shoppers may notice some unusual neighbors near the Seymour River — Thunstrom says the marmots have expanded their territory to populate the river banks.