Parents’ outcry forces WV board to delay vote on school changes PLANS CALL FOR TEARING DOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL & ‘RECLAIMING’ E. HARBOUR CENTRE PROTESTING PARENTS have convinced West Van- couver’s District 45 School Board to postpone its vote on schoo! superintendent Doug Player’s recommenda- tions for massive changes in District 45 school facilities and land holdings. By PATRICK RAYNARD Contributing Writer Instead of making their final decision last Monday, as Player had originally hoped they would, trustees decided to go with his new recommendation that they leave their vote until Sept. 25. Parents and other community groups will also be allowed one more opportunity to express their views in a June 18 public meeting and the board wiil meet with West Vancouver District Council before the end of that month “to con- tinue discussions regarding (the) joint use of facilities,’ trustees decided last Monday. The board’s decision follows an outcry from hundreds of parents who jammed the West Vancouver Secondary School (WVSS) theatre on April 23 to speak out against Player’s original Facilities for the Future report, in which he propos- ed that the school district tear down three schools and sell two of the sites as building lots, renovate other schools, and move some lan- guage programs to different loca- tions. But at Monday night’s meeting, again held at WVSS theatre to ac- commodate approximately 100 parents, Player presented a revised Facilities for the Future report and provided an in-depth explanation of the reasoning behind his pro- sals. **Education in the future will be a good deal different than what you and I knew,’’ Player told parents and trustees as he took them through a slide show featur- ing each school in the district. “*I sense a need for renewal, and that renewal must begin now,” Player said emphatically, adding that ‘‘decisions need to be made, as opposed to staying with the status quo."" At Bowen Island Elementary, which is presently getting a $1.7 million addition, Player proposed that the board acquire more land for future expansions and playing fields. Also, ‘ta West Vancouverite and Bowen [sland property owner is considering donating six acres in a development-oriented area at Roger Curtis Point,’’ Player said in his revised recommendations. “This would offer another school site as development occurs.”’ At Gleneagles Elementary, Player recommended that ‘“‘the (school) district pilot the use of portable word processors as a _WEST VANCOUVER "SCHOOL BOARD | travelling computer lab” as ‘‘a solution to the crowding... until Eagle Harbour is reclaimed.’’ Eagle Harbour, which is pres- ently leased by the municipality for community services, ‘‘is needed to relieve the pressure on the elemen- tary schools in the western por- tion’? of the school district, and would house primary children (Pi to P3) and the Caulfeild preschool as of next September. Player repeated his proposal to tear down Pauline Johnson Elementary and a build a new “pj”? immediately east of the present building. But Trustee Mike Smith said the board should not rule out the pos- sibility of renovating the current PJ to meet earthquake safety re- quirements. Player also repeated that Hillside Middle School should be torn down and the site sold as building lots. He added that he supports the middle school philosophy and that this vould be maintained when the Hillside kids are relocated to a new building on the site of what is known as the Inglewood building of WVSS. The Inglewood building presently houses the YMCA. At the Mathers building of WVSS, Piayer’s plan calls for a three-year, $10 million upgrading that would see, among other im- provements, the complete replacement of the west wing. But Player changed his mind on the future of Hollyburn Elemen- tary. He had originally recom- mended that it be torn down and sold, but on Monday night he proposed that the board lobby the province for money to upgrade the building. Player recommended Monday that ‘‘beginning in September 1991, Hollyburn begin to handle some of the English population from the core area with the intent of becoming a K-6 (kindergarten to Grade 6) school.” On the question of the 13-acre WEST Vancouver School Board superintendent Doug Player ---“‘renewal must begin now.”’ site the school board owns across the street from the Caulfeild Village shopping centre, Player emphasized that he had never recommended that the site be sold for housing. “There is a growing desire for a secondary school in the western part of the school district,’’ Player said Monday, but added that there are as yet ‘‘not enough students to warrant a Grade 7 to 12 school there.”” Trustee Mike Smith was ap- plauded when he told the meeting that, ‘‘if we build a third second- ary school, we should build it on the Caulfeild Plateau.’’ 3 - Sunday, May 20,’ 1990 - "North Shore News Big cleanup RAIL WORKERS begin the process of repairing damaged rail tracks and cars in the aftermath of the derailment of a CN Rail tank-car filled with chlorine. Grain and chlo- fine cars were damaged but no chloyine was spilled. The accident took place Monday near Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in North Vancouver. Tenants win damages in 3,000% rent hike dispute THE B.C. Supreme Court has awarded damages to residents of a North Vancouver City co-op following the first round of a massive legal battle launched by the resi- dents to recoup a portion of the $8 million cost. of ex- tricating themselves from a complex rent escalation clause that would have pushed their annual co-op rents up by over 3,000 per cent in 1990. But the lawyer handling 45 of the 48 lawsuits launched by Cedarbrooke Apartments Ltd. res- idents says he will appeal the dam- ages portion of the decision because the compensation awarded was inadequate and based on an inequitable formula. Reid Dobell said, however, that the recent B.C. Supreme Court test case, which heard four of the 48 plaintiffs, resulted in a partial vic- tory because ‘‘all factual issues were resolved in our favor."’ The 48 individual suits claimed a total of more than $3 million from a host of lawyers, real estate agents, developers and insurance companies. The plaintiffs alleged negligence on the part of the property’s real estate listing agents, the lawyers or notaries of the purchasers, and the company that acted for the devel- opers in selling the 3,190 co-op shares. Cedarbrooke sits on 7.3 acres in North Vancouver City on the nor- thwest corner of Westview Drive and 28th Street, just north of the Upper Levels Highway. It was built as Cedarbrooke Village in 1969 and operated as a rental property until 1974 when it was converted to a co-op. The originai 66-year lease for the property, which began Feb. 1, 1968, provided for an annual property rent of $21,225 for the in- itial 22 years, but, according to an unusual rent escalation clause, two subsequent rent revisions would be based on assessed property value. From 1990 to 2012, the annual property rent for Cedarbrooke would have been 7.5 per cent of the property’s value as assessed in September 1989. And from 2012 to 2034, the rent would have been 7.5 per cent of the land’s value as assessed in September 2011, Appraisals of the Cedarbrooke Property earlier this year put its value at between $6 million and $9 million, which would have raised By TIMOTHY RENSHAW Managing Editor the property’s rent froin $21,225 per year to between $450,000 and $675,000 in 1990. Annual rent per co-op share would have jumped from $6.65 to $211.59. dissuaded co-op members from buying into Cedarbrooke. They also maintained that the residents had suffered no loss because they had avoided the rent hikes by purchasing the property and had gained equity in that pur- chase. But in his recent decision, Mr. Justice Ron Holmes found that none of the four plaintiffs in the test case were aware of the rent clause. He also found that they would not have bought into the co-op had they known of the clause. He awarded damages based on the difference between what the co-op members originally paid for Some of the members were forced to sell their interests in the co-op at below market prices, as the public became aware of the situation faced by co-op members. ”’ In order to avoid the massive rent hikes and to secure some equi- ty for their co-op shares, Cedar- brooke residents negotiated a deal to purchase the co-op from Stand- ard Life Assurance, the property owner, for $4.2 million. But because many of the co-op’s members could not afford their share of the purchase, additional financing was arranged. The cost of financing raised the total pur- chase cost of the co-op property to approximately $8 million. Some of the members were forc- ed to sell their interests in the co- op at below market prices, as the public became aware of the situa- tion faced by the co-op members. According to the Cedarbrooke plaintiffs, none of the defendants informed them of the terms of the rent escalation clause. But lawyers for the various defendants named in the 48 suits denied any negligence on behalf of their clients and argued that knowledge of the rent revision clause in the lease would not have their co-op suites and the real market value of the suites had the rent review clauses been commor knowledge. Anticipating that the plaintiffs would also be forced to sell their interests in the co-op, Justice Holmes also awarded them dam- ages to cover moving costs. But Dobell said the formula for assessing the damages was incor- rect. He said the residents should have been awarded their share of the $8 million cost of purchasing the co-op, less the overall better- ment value they received in the purchase, which has been estimated at approximately 10 per cent. Damages awarded in the test case ranged from $8,000 to $20,000. Individual Cedarbrooke residents were seeking between $60,000 and $90,000. To press time, no court date had been set to hear the appeal.