se comegemseen NECESSITY OF FACILITY QUESTIONED N. Van City hel iport 3 ~ Sunday, August 6, 1989 - North Shore News landing pad decision left hanging in the air AN EMERGENCY heliport site is having a rough ride with some North Vancouver City aldermen. During a recent council meeting, a piece of land across from the tennis courts at Grand Boulevard and 14th Street was recommended for rezoning so a $44,000 emergency heliport could be con- structed for auick access to Lions Gate Hospital. “I will not go for the rezoning on Grand Boulevard Park because Business Classified Ads..........35 Comics...........-....d4 Editorial Page.......... 6 Fashion ..........--... 13 Horoscopes ............ Bob Hunter....... weeee & Litestyles........ seeee dl Mailbox .........--..-- 7 Travel ................ 26 What's Going On........17 WEATHER Sunny on Sunday. Increasing cloud an Monday and Tuasday. Highs near 20°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885 By ANNA MARIE D’ANGELO Contributing Writer the rest of the park is not resolv- ed,’’ said Ald. Stella Jo Dean. “And another reason why I’m against it is that the author who spirited this whole thing through wrote a letter and changed his mind. He said don’t do it.”’ Ald. Barbara Sharp also was against the rezoning. She said it would be difficult for future coun- cils to remove the heliport after spending $44,000 on its construc- tion, “Once you rezone a piece of property, you can’t turn the clock back. Until I’m persuaded there is enough of a problem with safety, | can't support (the proposed POSITIVE STEPS are finally being taken towards a resolu- tion of a 22-year-old conflict between the West Van- couverites who use the beach at Batchelor Bay and the two families whose properties front on the beach. Having reached a ‘‘fragile con- sensus in the neighborhood,’’ ac- cording to Batchelor Bay Commit- tee representative Penny Damm, the onus for action has now fallen on West Vancouver District Coun- cil, Council recently asked staff to come up with a proposal that would allow for public access to the beach and reclaim as much of the beach as possible from the rock yip-rap, which was dumped there more than two decades ago. At that time, a former owner of a Batchelor Bay waterfront prop- erty illegally dumped the rocks in front of his home to prevent fur- ther erosion of his land caused by storms. Siace then, residents have com- plained repeatedly about the resulting encroachment on _ the beach and demanded removal of the rip-rap. “It turned a lovely little beach into an ugly spot,’? Damm told council. The situation heated up more than a year ago when the two cur- rent owners of the beachfront properties found that a path built by the municipality on the top of the rip-rap intruded on their privacy. The path crossed in front of Dr. By MAUREEN CURTIS Frank Thompson's yard, diminishing his privacy, and en- couraged trespassing (there was no choice but to trespass during very high tides) on the neighboring property owned by local MLA Angus Ree and his wife Cheri. The property owners demanded the removal of the footbridge leading on to the path from the foot of Dufferin Avenue and plac- ed a couple of boats across the pathway where it led onto the Rees property. Following months of bickering between the parties and unsuc- cessful mediation through the municipality, a survey to determine lot lines was carried out and the removal of the boats ordered. Council was advised by consul- tants that removal of the rip-rap would lead to erosion and the pos- sibility of undermining the wall fronting the Thompsen property. Securing the property with a seawall would be expensive, an un- fair burden to put on the waier- front property owners (who were not responsible for the placement of the stones), and a project that would not guarantee public access heliport,)’’ said Sharp. Emergency Health Services (EHS) uses the Grand Boulevard area for helicopter landings in compliance with the Canadian Air Regulations. However, a cleared landing area with lights is believed to improve safety by reducing the number of pilot decisions. EHS estimates there wceuld be about 12 landings each year at the heliport, which would be desig- during high tides. Council was considering the consultants’ suggestion that a sim- ple pathway (an early cost estimate was $6,400) could be cut into the existing rip-rap. ‘This can be done quite cheaply and would allow people to travel safely and in most cases with dry feet,’’ said Ald. Alex Brokenshire at the meeting. That solution failed to delight WEST Vancouver Sager ...Ministry of “anus should take some responsibility for rip-rap. Ald. Mark those who love Batchelor Bay beach and were more interested in the removal of the rocks than per- petual high-tide access. At a neighborhood meeting July nated for emergency use only. Conceris over potential lawsuits against the city if an accident should happen at a heliport located on municipal property will be ad- dressed before council makes a decision about the landing pad. The rezoning recommendation comes after the completion of an emergency heliport report, re- quested by city council last September. Goose dinner CANADA GEESE take ad- vantage of a sunny morning by feeding at Waterfront Park in the City of North Vancouver. Cathedral can be seen in the background. The sculpture a 23, all parties (including the Rees and Thompsons) were able to agree that a retaining wall with a walkway should be built as far back to the property line as possi- ble in order to reclaim more of the beach. “It was a very fine meeting and there was a great deal of input on everyone’s part,’’ related Damm. The Batchelor Bay community was insistent the result be natural looking and designed for safety and stability. Council agreed t ask municipa! staff to address this by coming up with a more detaitect plan. Damm was disappointed. how. ever, with Mayor Don Lanskail’s refusal to bring the Ombudsman in to help negotiate a shared financiai responsibility for the project, which in similar cases has been apportioned between the water- front property owners, the municipality and the Ministry of Lands. Ald. Mark Sager said the Minisiry of Lands should take some responsibility. for allowing the placement of the rocks years ago, and that it should be en- souraged 19 contribute to the costs o1 the currently proposed project. “This kind of situation would never have arisen if our staff had been supervising the waterfront as they are today,’ Sager. said. ‘When this illegal intrusion of rocks was made, the ministry should have been watching.’’