NOT BEING a believer in pack journalism, { have not joined the throng that makes its living by bashing Bill Vander Zalm. But there are limits to shyness. Hence this column. The premier is like a gladiator caught in his opponent’s net. No matter how much he tries to ward off his adversary, he wraps himself tighter in the mesh. And I am not thinking about Fantasy Gardens and stuff like that, most of which is pumped up by the baying media. For me, the pension handed out to the bloody doctors is just about the final straw. Why, in God’s name, hand out $25 million a year or $25 million in three years, or whatever it turns out to be, toa bunch of guys whose average earnings are over $100,000? The answer, of course, is that it’s a sweetheart deal. A sickening sweetheart dedl. Are you off your rocker, Bill? You yourself have been saying recently that pecple are fed up with politicians and that disillusion is loose in the land. And then you go and doa thing like that. It’s not the $25 million as such. That’s small potatoes in a country where billions slip down the drain unnoticed. it’s that suclt charity was madness. People like me who have to provide their own pensions break out in spots when they see public money being handed out by the truckload to poiiticians and civil servants — and now doctors. The premier has set a precedent of which any socialist could be proud, and it will cost us more and more as time goes on. Not just for the doctors. Public employees of every description will be up there with their hands out. Hence their present cries of joy. There are other things that have been turning me off, most of them small enough in their way. Take those immigrant doctors, for instance, who are on another hunger strike designed to get them jobs in the hospitals. - What cheek! Did anyone ask them to come here? Did anyone guarantee them work in the medi- cal profession? Should immigrant bus drivers go on hunger strikes if they can’t get jobs driving the buses? If people emigrate, they damned well have to take their chances, be they doctors or dish- washers. But the premier has been drop- ping heavy hints that something will be done for them, when what he should have been saying was that if thoy want to starve thems-]\ cs to death, good luck. Jobs-by-hunger-strike is not the way we do things. Even less is it the way they do things in the countries from which those doc- tors came. Let them try that stuff in India or Romania and see how far it gets them. CANADIAN CLOSET BA Free home estimates a 986-4263 1385 Crown St., N.Van. A new spirit of giving Doug Collins ON THE OTHER HAND Bill’s TV tap-dancing act is pa- thetic, too, and should be beneath his dignity. Last year he got away with it because the media wanted to be suckered and were. It gave some of us the biggest laugh in years. But let’s have none of this Jan. 17th ‘anniversary’ nonsense. And he is mistaken if he thinks his every word is fascinating. The other day, when he was about to be interviewed on radio, | switch- ed him off. There are less boring ways of being bored. The main question is whether the Socreds are still the Socreds, or whether they have converted themselves inte “ushy me-too-ers. Why else did ihe party brass push Nicole Parton into the Burnaby- Edmonds nomination? For she is no more a Socred than lama commie. She is a bleeding heart (**Take a multicult out to lunch.’’) and would fit well into the NDP, in spite of her shrill denials. Didn't she take a kick at Vander Zalm within two minutes of getting the nod? There are other sigus that the Socreds are becoming a party like the others. By which | mean lib- eral and trendy. Pushed by the whining Michael Levy and Spider Lady Grace McCarthy, for in- stance, they finally took orders from the media and capitulated on the Christianity clause in the party constitution. Turbans for all! Carol Gran’s little act at the REAL Women’s conference was another bit of me-too-ism, that beirig when she slapped her allies . in the face and opted for the lib- eral line. So no wonder Socreds are confused. But what can they expect when they have a minister for ‘‘women’s issues,’’ one of the phoniest portfolios in the socialist book? For the rest, Vander Zalm will not be saved by doing the TV and radio rounds, because the more he struggles the more he wraps himself in that net. But there is one thing he could do that might save himself from extinction and the province from the hordes. And you will have to wait a while to learn what it is. oO DUPLEX ZONES will likely become part of West Vancouver's growing Development Permit Area, following the introduction Monday night of an amendnient to the municipality's Official Community Plan. By Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer The move followed the adop- tion Jan. 7 of the Phase Two Bulk Housing Bylaw, which utilizes de- velopment-permit-area designation to contro! subdivision develop- ment on steeper lots. Under the amendment in- troduced Monday night, a devel- opment permit would be required Wednesday, January 16, 1991 — North Shore News - Have Socreds WV Council eyes duplex controls gone mushy? | ? WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL in West Vancouver for any devel- oper planning a duplex that does not comply with all relevant council policies and bylaws and lacks advisory design panel ap- provat. The »mendment affects the 119 lots that have duplex development potential in West Vancouver. But West Vancouver planner Laura Lee Richard said the amendment does not actually change existing policies. The current municipal policy, she said, already requires review and approval of all duplex pro- posals by the advisory design panel prior to the issuance of a building permit. But the current policy lacks the basis for enforcement that council is now planning to create with the amendment, Although applicants have usual- ly complied with the current poli- cy, anyone that disregards the ad- visory design panel’s decision can still get a building permit. The 119 lots that could accom- modate duplexes include 50 in Horseshoe Bay, 36 in Dundarave and 27 in Ambleside. Development permits cannot vary the use or density of the duplex-zoned land, but can in- clude requirements respecting the character of developments, such as landscaping, siting, exterior design and finishing. ‘Brew’s’ favorite tree saved IT WAS a= win-win situation Monday night at West Vancouver District Council as the developers of a small subdivision at Keith and Meadfeild roads secured vir- tual approval of their developme xt and local residents left with assurances that the scaled-down project would be iess disruptive to their neighborhood than originally anticipated. By Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer After meeting with West Van- couver Mayor Mark Sager Mon- day afternoon, the developers agreed to a three-house subdivi- sion instead of the original four- house plan that had upset residents. The new proposal requires the acquisition of less property than the original. I includes three houses at the end of a shared Two to stand trial on assault charges A 34-YEAR-OLD North Van- couver man will face two assault- related charges in B.C. Supreme Court after a Jan. 2 preliminary hearing in North Vancouver pro- vincial court. John Richard Wasson is charg- ed with assaulting a man with a jack knife and possession of a weapon for purposes dangerous to the public peace. The two counts stem from alleged incidents on Sept. 15, 1990. Wasson will make his first ap- pearance Jan. 23 in B.C. Supreme Court. In an unrelated case, Leanne Margaret Kaufmann of North Vancouver was also ordered to stand trial on an assault charge after appearing Jan. 4 in North Vancouver provinical court. The 19-year-old woman is charged with aggravated assault of a man in connection with an inci- dent alledged to have occurred Aug. 25, 1990. Kaufmann’s first appearance in B. Cc. Supreme ¢ Court is Jan. 23. TILE SALE 5%-50% Off NOW ON! This is your chance to save up to 50% on our entire Vancouver inventory of floor & wall tile from France, Italy, Brazil and Mexico. Monday - Friday 9-5, Saturday 10-3 Warehouse Closed Saturday WORLD MOSAIC (B.C.) LTD. 1665 W. 7th Ave | CASH & CARRY — 736-8158 =oene NO REFUNDS/RETURNS WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL driveway, plus a greenbelt to the rear that wraps around one end, preserving a tree favored by canine TV star ‘*Brew,’* who lives adjacent to the subdivision. Each lot is over 12,000 square feet and accommodates minimum 10-foot sideyards. The residents complimented the developers for their willingness to change their propesal, but held out for further assurances that the issue of increased water run-off would be addressed and that the amount of blasting would be minimized. An earlier proposal called for the removal of some 315 truckloads of rock from the site. The blasting moratorium in place in the Caulfeild Plateau area does not cover the three-house subdivision. B.C. land surveyor Bill Chap- man, while noi the surveyor for the project, estimated that 2% cubic metres of rock would have to be removed for the subdivi- sion’s three garages. On the advice of West Van- couver District planner Steve Nicholls, council decided to restrict blasting on each lot to 25 per cent of the allowable building footprint, which is restricted to 30 per cent of the lot. “This is to encourage devel- opers to design more site sensitive developments,”’ said Sager. But Ron Wilson, a Caulfeild resident who has represented his area in its concerns over the dangers posed by rock blasting, said the proposed blasting restric- tion “‘sets a maximum amount that is far greater than neces- sary.”’ “You are dealing with a specific subdivision here — not establishing policy,’’ said Wilson. Ald. Andre Danyliu reminded fellow council memibers that the developers, if turned down on this proposal, could go back to an earlier and fSarger, conventional subdivision for which they had al- ready received approval. “Our 1994 North Shore Dreain’” “MICHAEL. GREEN'S UCCESSFUL LIVING IN RECESSIONARY: TIMES This wilt help you: * Understand the keys to successful living * Remove the road blocks to your family’s success * Learn to maximize your opportunities for success * See a blueprint for lasting succ THest **Celebration of Hope”? evens are sponsored by 42 different North Shore Churches that have a sincere desire that 1994 will be a year of great hope for you. 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