A12-Wednesday, February 6, 1980 - North Shore News

#

~~ “FROM PAGE At

In his letter, Crist states:
“It's time that our elected.
representatives at ali levels,

__camera, confidentially or in _ one to be forthcoming in the

about the danger of a

unpdate on their report and

secret. I want to see it in
public, at an open meeting
of our District council,
where the media and all
other citizens can also see it.

next few weeks.

“Generally, I agree the
public has a right to know,”

stopped passing the buck to
each other.’

“ You, Mr. Mayor, have no
right to keep from the public
a report prepared at tax-
payers’ expense, on the
grounds that it may unduly
alarm people.

“Who are you to play God
with

the lives of our
citizens?”
POLITICAL

However, Bell replies that
Crist is fully aware that
council is considering the
report even at the moment
and is preparing to make a
public statement on it and he
accuses the alderman of
“going overboard” and of
“political grandstanding.”

“I am disappointed that
Ernie has taken this ap-
proach,” he says. “He is
aware we intend to make a
release on this subject and
the timing of his letter to the
editor is most inappropriate.

“I think it is_ political
grandstanding to make it
look as though he is the one
to make some kind of action
take place when council has
been dealing with it all
along.”

The matter was scheduled
for discussion at Monday's
meeting of District. council
but Mayor Bell told the
News that once again the
public and press would
remain ignorant as to any
decision as the meeting
would be in-camera.

In his letter, Crist said: “I,
as an alderman and a citizen,
want to see that report. I
don’t want to see it in-

Development rules
easing in West Van

West Vancouver property
owners stand to enjoy much
more flexibility than at pre-
sent in developing their pro-
perties if council decides to
modify current zoning
regulations by introducing a
proposed new system of
voluntary development per-
mits.

Residents will have a
chance to air their opinions
on the proposal — which
would extend voluntary
development permits to all
zones of the municipality —
at a pubhc heamng which
council voted Monday night
to hold at 8 p.m... Monday.

March 5, at West Van
municipal hall.

Alderman John Hum-
phriecs expressed some

doubts about the proposal
“Extending development
permits to all zones might
make it cumbersome for
residents wanting to build a
single-family dwelling.” he
warned.

Humphries indicated that
this could discourage ap
plications for voluntary per
mits. But alderman Robcrt
Hicks told council that

municipal, provincial and
-— ... federal, stopped skating “And I don't want to see _
around this issue and ‘

any edited version, any
watered down version, any
version submitted first to
Hooker Chemicals for its
approval, or any pablum
summary. I want to see the
original - the real thing.

‘BIG BROTHER’

“I don't need any Big
Brother to tell me what's
good for me - I want to make
that decision for myself.
The same applies to other
citizens of North Vancouver
District. They too have the
right to see and judge for
themselves.”

Bell says there are various
reasons why council has
made nothing public about
the Beak report which it
commissioned in
preparation for development
planning of the Seymour
area.

“The prime one is that it
was commissioned as an in-
-house document in technical
terms and not written to be
shown to the public. It was
not written to be understood
or appreciated by _ the
general public.

“The other question is that
when we ask for a report,
what is our responsibility as
a government in releasing
information? How much do
we release if we consider it
to be of a_ confidential
nature?”

Bell says the decision to
keep the report from the
public was made by the
council, although at the time
he supported the idea. Now

he says he feels it may be.

time for some _ kind of
statement on the subject by
the council and he expects

“there is no way” the present
zoning bylaws can reflect in-
dividual situations as ade-
quately as a_ voluntary
development permit.

“Under a choice of a per-
mit or complying with the
bylaws no one avoids the
law,” Hicks added.

Alderman Don _ Lanskail
cnticized the present zoning
bylaws as “nat coming to
gmps” with the unique pro-
blems of West Van
residents. “Zoning bylaws
are designed by people who
have the Praines in mind”,
he declared

“With a voluntary
development permit there is
more flexibibty still under
control,” Lanskail told coun-
cul

The municipality's Ad
visory Design Panel has
recommended that) council

approve the bylaw amend
ment, under which property
owners would be given the
option of applying for a
voluntary development per
mit of conforming to existing
zoning regulaGons

_ ALD. ERNIE CRIST
he says. “But it’s a matter of
whether they have a right to
know everything. There are
some items which should not
be released and I don't know
if this is one of them.”

Crist says he wants to
know what is being done

chlorine spill and Bell says
council has already acted on
the Beak report. :

MAYOR DON BELL

“We're taking ongoing
action right now,” he says.
We have been discussing
with Beak and Hooker the
récommendations in that
report. Hooker has been
acting upon them and we've
asked Beak to make an

for your
shopping
convenience

Wolo

Le ale}

am)

- probably still not

that is just coming in.”

Such an update, he says, is
intended to be non-technical
‘and in language un-
derstandable to the general
public, although he says the
general public” would

the hope that nothing tragi
will happen.”

gel a
chance to read it. ) a
But Crist insists: “Let's IS. DYNAMITE! j

stop being secretive,
Mayor. If we should have a, .-
tragic accident it would be
too late for you to say, if you >:
survive, to those that have .
survived, that you didn't

2)

think it was really that
important, or really that
dangerous, or that you didn’t
want to unnecessarily
embarrass Hooker
Chemicals.

“It's the lives of our

citizens that are on the line,
Mr. Mayor, and neither you

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