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roup vows to hound
Council from office

RESIDENTS HOPPING MAD
OVER REZONING DECISION

June 6, 1990 News 985-2131,

NEWS photo Peters

WES ‘VANCOUVER Citizens For. A United Canada (WYCUC) | formed recently after]
up of friends decided to coordinate:a petition ‘drive in support of national: unity.

F Harry ‘Macdonald displays a copy of 2 petition which will be available for supporters

B= Of national unity to sign thi
Vancouver: businesses

16,000 signatures over the weekend, then the petition will -be sent to West Vancouver’s@

is weekend at Park Roya! North and South and various,
and churches. The grovp will attempt to collect 5,000 tog

ler city, Ve: erdun, » Quebec. See story Page 3.

A GROUP of West 17th Street residents is vowing to turf
North Vancouver City Council out of office at the coming
municipal elections if council refuses to listen to its concerns
over a controversial arca rezoning application.

And Citizens for Responsible
Development (CFRD) has also
hired a lawyer to determine
whether it has any legal recourse to
block council’s approval of the
rezoning application.

On May 28 council passed, sub-
ject to reconsideration, a bylaw
that changes the zoning at 232 and
238 West 17th Street from RKT-2
{two-family residential) to CD-199
(comprehensive development) to
make way for three townhouse
units.

Two single-family homes cur-
rently sit on the two lots.

But CFRD spokesman Donna
Rossi charged that the proposed
development is too large for the
site.

She also claimed that the
townhouse development will block
area views and result in ‘‘dras-
tically reduced’? space between
buiidings and lot lines.

“Council goes according to their
planning department,’’ said Rossi.
“This planning department does
not know the exact size of it (site)
or if it’s on natural grade. The lot
has not been surveyed."’

“We feel council is not tistening.
If council is not listening now,
they'll listen at election time.
We're asking council that if they
do not have enough interest in this,
then they should step down at the
next election.”’

She added that there are “‘sever-
al discrepancies’ between the fig-
ures submitted by the project’s ar-
chitect and the’ planning commit-
tee.

Rossi said Bylaw 511 was origi-
nally designed to ensure that large
developmerits would be located in
a central area of the lot at a rea-
sonable distance from the property
next door.

She added that Bylaws 510, SI!
and 404 are being ‘‘overridden.’””

“If the project proceeds, | will
be deprived of my north, west and
southerly views. Everyone knows
in North Vancouver how a view
can bring added value to a proper-
ty in a resale market. The devel-
oper next door knows that, that is
why he wants to build so high,”’
said Rossi, who presented council
with a petition of over 60 names of
area residents who oppose the
proposed development.

The proposed development
would result in the area’s current

height restriction being increased
from 25 feet to 34 feet.

Some changes were made to the
original proposal, including a

“Tf council is
not listening
now, they'll
listen at election
time. ”’

— CFRD spokesman
Donna Rossi

two-foot height reduction of the
townhouse complex along the back
of the properties.

But, said Rossi, ‘“This council
either does not care or sadly lacks
progressive thinking. Only tooking
into the side of the developer is ir-
responsible and amounts to a lack
or interest which is a lack of care.’’

She also criticized council for
giving the rezoning application
third reading at its May 28 council
meeting and then going to a Fed-
eration of Canadian Municipalities
(FCM) convention in Quebec City.

“‘These people (council) were so
uninterested in our situation they
moved it (rezoning application)
through the third reading faster
than you can say ‘election time’
and then they left town for a con-
ference,"’ she said.

‘‘Imagine a council that won’t
take the time nor show the respect
by studying a researched pres-
entation...a council that ignores
the signatures of 60 people.”

CFRD plans to hold a
demonstration at the site of the
proposed development on Satur-
day morning and has invited city
council to come and view the site.

City council members, who are
currently at the FCM Quebec con-
ference, could not be reached for
comment to press lime.

NORTH SHORE SPORTS: 13