. quent

Time running out
on solution to
‘monster houses’

Dear Editor:

The monster house issue in the
District of North Vancouver is
piesently in the hands of its plan-
ning department. They have been
instructed to solve the problem on
a_neighborhood-by-neighborhood
basis,

. But with the confusion by some
members of the district council, a
satisfactory solution is far. from
certain.

And time is running out.

In deciding ' this issue we as a
-community should be clear about
what. we: value most, what it is
that attracted us to the North
Shore in the first place, and what
we mean when we say North
Shore livability.

*. If, we accept the premise that
"land must be put-to its highest and
best use and that the return on in-
-vestment is the main criterion,
then we should obviously allow
monster houses.

__ It is absolutely true that a home
large. enough. to . accommodate
“several illegal. suites will increase
in value, at least in the short run.

Ms But before being lured by this.

' prospect, we'd better be aware of
“the implications. -
‘Itiis great to live in a 32-foot-

‘high’ house with all the neighbors...
living in, 24-foot-high homes, but’

what if all homes are 32 feet high
or even higher?.

What — if your, single - family
neighborhood is,..in reality,

| multi-family in disguise?

What if you are. not an absentee
‘landlord, but mereiy want to live
“and raise a family in'a low-density
“ helghborhood? :

The bottom line is’ that all
“height | ‘restrictions are arbitrary

“and, cannot be separated from,
‘community values. *
; To interpret those - values and

- height is 25 feet.

plan accordingly is the reason we
have a planning department in the
first place.

Zoning, height and site restric-
tions are, after all, merely tools.

And yes, in North Vancouver
people do pay more for having a
view. And, for the majority of
people, view, air and sunshine are
affected by height.

Just! look out from the kitchen
window of a home in a neighbor-

‘hood with 24-foot-high homes

and then do the same where the
homes including your own are 32
feet high.

As for investment, in the long
run, it is not the height of a home
or the number of plywood sheets
used in its construction, but the
livability of your neighborhood

and the. quality of your home .
its resale °

which will determine
value.

On the shores of Lake Geneva
villas have been Standing for cen-
turies without reaching the sky.
Try to buy one.

In the British Properties in West
Vancouver, - maximum allowable

Until. now, North Shore
livability. has been mostly taken
for granted — a residential en-

Vironment,, expressing human
. values rather than bank statements
‘of real

estate companies or
absentee landlords,

‘No one .wiil’ argue that the
North Shore should offer a choice
of different lifestyles and housing,
including larger, homes where ap-

_ propriate.”

But changes, if. necessary,
should. be made through zoning,
not through the back door cr at
the expense of North Shore living.

Coun. Erie Crist
District of North ‘Vaicoiver

4

- Vintage. Years delightful

Dear Editor:
“TY. am writing to convey my

thanks ‘to the powers that be at:

the paper who decide, in their in-
finite wisdom,
«. published and wio shall not.

1 speak, specifically, of ‘The
Vintage Years” columns written
by Eleanor Godfey. which I have
been reading with interest ever
‘since she started.

: Her clarity of style,’ high calibre
of content and unfailing wit never

- Cease to entertain me.

She chooses her subject matter
? well and always does an excellent
"job of not only putting forth her
own position but also offering a
" perspective from other points of

* view,

_ Thef ims

Open | letter. to ‘News columnist

' . Bob Hunter:

Thank: you for your many elo-
and . thought-provoking
Pieces on the state. of. our ¢n-
vironment, 1 envy the sense. of
hope that you seem to have,

How do you maintain your op-
timistic outlook?

It seems people choose between

|; ignorance and awareness. When |

chose awareness J became over-

* whelmed with the vastness of the

problems we have created.

who. shall be-

This initiative and talent i is to be
commended.

Having - been a member of the-

Vancouver City. Council Special
Advisory Committee.:on Seniors

’ for . the: past several years and

having: some. awareness of the

‘needs of the seniors population, I

also. commend your choice of
larger type-size for this particular
column, = “=

It’s a small thing that, I suspect,
means a lot to the target audience.

Please continue. to carry this
delightful columnist, as it
brightens my day and increases my
‘awareness every time I read her.

Marsali Meciver
North Vancouver

= NDP move
closer t centre

Yebate the basis

of true de

Dear Editor:..”

Keep up your efforts to re-
tain freedom of speech and
information, in the New Dem-
Ocratic People’s Republic of
B.C.

I believe your newspaper is
providing us citizens of the
North Shore with an equivalent
of London’s Hyde Park Cor-
ner, and that is something to
be cherished.

Controversial columnists
spark debate, and debate is the
basis of a true democracy. ©

A recent ‘‘man in the \itreet’’
Correspondent who “Tirmly
believes in freedom of speech”’
has written in opposition to
your: allowing Collins to have
his say.

“You have the authority to
censor Collins but choose not
to exercise it,’’ writes Le. This
sounds like freedom of speech
as practised in a police Hate to
me.

I think Collins is very wrong
about the Holocaust, but I do
Mot believe he should be
silenced by the law.

mocracy

If it had not been for our
stupid hate laws, we would
never have heard of a little
weasel called Zundel who
gained all the publicity imagin-
able because of them.

Lastly, | would like to thank
you for the accurate reports on

‘the visit to North Vancouver by

the leader of a federal political
party, Preston Manning, to

.deliver a major speech on

resolving Canada’s No. 1
problem, the deficit.

I rushed out the day after the
speech to buy (my mistake) the
Vancouver Sun for full details.
The only mention of Preston
Manning was a long, whining
letter in the editorial section
where the correspondent
believed Manning did not want
homosexuais in the military.

Not one word about Man-
ning’s inspiring speech. —

Please, don’t let the North
Shore News. become like that
correct excuse for 4 newspaper,
and keep Collins controversial.
C. Spink
North Vancouver

RETIN
wa ES Sh

Sesame St.

version of

‘reality’
unwanted

Dear Editor: : .

I am appalled at the news report
on Midday this past July 9.

Valerie Pringle reported . that
Sesame Street will be showing
skits that will teach children
“homosexual parenting as nor-
mal. ”

The producers of Sesame Street
said their reason fer doing this is
because homosexuality is a reality
in the real world. Because of this

‘they said children need to be ex-

posed to it. .
1 have'a question for these pre-"
ducers.

Prostitution; drug addiction and. -

alccholism are also realities of the
real world, but they haven't ‘‘ex-
posed’’ children ‘to. these
“‘realities’’ — and they shouldn't!

1 encourage parents to write |
letters of protest to Sesame Street.

J am proud to stand up and
have my | name. associated . with —
being pudlicly against homosex-
uality.

Earl Banks |
North Vancouver

line: so many have chosen ignorance

in each direction I look I see
such destruction.

Walking the beach shows me -

clams and mussels that I dare not
eat...
Lush old growth
Opens to clear-cut. ;

My vegetables, if not chosen
carefully, poison the drinking
water.

And every answer that is of-
fered is crushed by the greed of
those who choose not’ to look
forward.

invariably

Even those who have fought for
years seem to grow tired and turn
away from their awareness.

They eave the struggle to the -

young or to those who cannot let
it go.

The ones who remain are
labeled fanatics; and if the label

won't stick, efforts are made to -

silence them.

Multinational corporations hit
people with civil law suits,
“SLAPPS”
Against Public Participation).

(Strategic Lawsuits -

Those who choose ignorance
never know these things.

They can eat their fish without
thinking about the dragger boats
clear-cutting the ocean floor.

They can drive their cars
without seeing the yellow poison
over the city.

They can ridicule the protester
and swear at the tree spiker
without ever understanding the

_ desperation of the fight.
i cannot close my eyes, though, .

and become unaware.

‘I long for the hopefulness that
characterized the environmental
movement in its infancy. But in-
stead | am forced to join when it
is becoming a desperate race.

What frightens. me is that it.
seems so many have chosen ig-
norance. So many don’t see how.
near the finish line is. ;

The answers elude me. But keep’
writing, Mr. Hunter; you help me
to believe that they exist.

Diane Selkirk
North Vancouver