V residents 10t over slash wire pollution omplaints deluge fire dept. HE PHONE line to the West Vancouver Fire Depart- ent fire prevention office has been burning with com- aints from area residents perturbed by a pall of slash-fire oke hanging over West Vancouver since Oct. 19. According to West Vancouver wsistant chief Gerry Harrington, maeore than 50 people have phoned m to compiain about the local air mpoliution caused by land-clearing es burning at three West’ Van- ppuver sites. g The biggest burn, located on a -acre section of land owned by British Pacific Properties Ltd., is using the most concern. The West Hill area property is ing cleared to make way for the 9-lot Canterbury subdivision. 1 Said British Pacific vicc-presi- ent ef development Walter ornloe, ‘it will be another five lays. It’s almost over. ‘People have mostly been call- ig the fire department, but, yes, e have had some calls. If the ind shifts on us there’s not much e can do. “We're very careful to burn When the wind is in the right di- ection (north up the mountain). Vhen Mother Nature changes her ind it’s very difficult to put hese fires out,’’ Thornloe added. . Although residential back-yard burning in West Vancouver. was ancelled as of April 30, 1992, © remaining municipal bylaws it open burning in West ‘ancouver. Land-clearing fires are allowed hroughout the municipality. ach fires are permitted at bleside Park. Said Harrington, ‘‘As long as it Ms fire-safe, land clearing is per- Mnitted. Greater Vancouver By Michael Becker News Reporter Regional District (GVRD) air quality control has been advised of the burning. “The burning falls within their guidelines, and the burning also meets Waste Management Act provisions.”’ He said at least half of the complaints fielded by the fire department have originated in Vancouver. The developer has sold the timber, but debris and farge stumps left behind when the area was originally logged 70 to 80 years ago are now being burned. Said Harrington, ‘‘These stumps, the root systems of the stumps are up to 20 feet in diame- ter. And what happens is the root systems crawl over the rocks in the ground and the racks get con- sumed by the root, and you can’t niulcn that.”’ While British Pacific’s Thornloe said it was possible to chip some of the wood, the process would also create an environmental! prodlem. . Said Thornloe, *‘You solve the air pollution problera, but then you have another environmental pro.wtem, what do you do with the chips? You can’t just dump them. They contain lignin and tannin which are toxic to fish. You can’t just bury it.” O wi V police action upheld “WEST VANCOUVER Police action ina case involv- ‘ing the 1987 arrest of two Brink’s security guards, “who were attempting to fill a West Vancouver “automatic teller machine with money, has been upheld "in a recent B.C. Court of Appeal decision. David Freeman launched a civil suit after he and a second .Brink’s guard were arrested by West Vancouver Police Cpl. Barry Nickerson. Freeman’s partner had entered the wrong alarm code while servicing the automatic eller machine at the Marine ‘: Drive ‘branch of the Royal Bank. Rather than clear entry for the pair, the code given in- . dicated to the alarm company : that a holdup was in progress " at the bank. The police were alerted. fl. Freeman subsequently called - in, but Nickerson had already “peen sent to the scene on the assumption that a robbery was a] in progress. a). The police officer ; Freeman in uniform. >: Freeman’s partner, just transferred to the job, was not : in uniform. The two were using an un- marked armored Brink’s vehi- ‘cle. The guards were arrested and handcuffed. Freeman sued for unreason- ‘able and arbitrary detention. ’ He won his case and the B.C. _Supreme Court awarded him $10,000 for a breach of Charter rights. He received an found 4 By Michael Becker News Reporter additional $5,000 in exemplary damages. The suit was the first of its kind to be filed against the local police department. The West Vancouver Police Board appealed the award. A recent appeal court deci- sion overturned the award to Freeman. Three judges unanimously agreed that Nickerson had “reasonable and probable grounds” to arrest the two at the bank. Said Madam Justice Patricia Proudfoot in her written reasons, ‘‘I feel compelled to comment that this episode could have been avoided if Brink’s had suitably instructed their employees on the ap- propriate use of their code numbers; specifically, the emergency response that would be unleashed if the number ‘9’ was used. “Nickerson had his gun drawn, Freeman had a gun, fortunately not drawn. The scene was one of grave poten- tial danger, and the police, for- tunately, handled it with cau- tion and common sense,’’ she added. NEWS photo Terry Petors ENGLISH-SPEAKING West Vancouverites will be especially pleased to see this sign recently spotted in the window of the new VanCity branch at 14th and Marine Drive. The sign informs English, Slovak, and lranian customers that ‘‘we speak your language.” NVC called ‘slum landlord’ City properties in disrepair, Coun. Bell charges A NORTH Vancouver City councillor has accused the city of acting no better than a ‘“‘slum landlord’’ in the way it handles its housing property and the people who live in city-owned homes. Coun. Bill Bell said it has come down to the crunch for an East First Street man living in a dilapi- dated house slated for demolition. Said Bell, ‘‘He’s very upset. He was given two months’ notice at the beginning of September, and he technically has to be out by the beginning of November. ‘*However, staff have indicated to me that they are willing to let him stay there until he can find another place if it’s one month or two months extra, but the staff report to us stated that the place was a safety hazard — because the city is unwilling to fix the place up.” But at least one councillor says tenants living in city-owned homes are well-housed and pay low monthly rental rates. Said Coun. Stella Jo Dean, **tv’s just the one (property) he’s concerned about. I don’t think we have been bad landlords. We're going to demolish that house eventually. “Our staff have said that they By Michael Becker News Reporter won't evict him until he’s properly placed, so 1 don’t know where he (Bell) gets the idea that we’re slum landlords.” Bell said the issue was discussed at an in-camera council meeting held three wecks ago. “tf we don’t make that house safe over the winter time or we don’t find this guy another place then I feel morally responsible for him,’’ he said. Bel! said there are several houses on the city inventory list in need of repair. “How can we as a city ran these places without fixing them up. There are three in one block and one in the next block over. “The city owns lots of places. The city is a big Jandlord. They buy up land. They’ve been buying up land for years and years. “The city is trying to basically consolidate land, live on the tax sale of land and keep taxpayers’ costs” low. It’s a strategy that’s worked very well for the city. There’s nothing wrong with the strategy as long as we’re willing to pay the price of it in a morally and socially conscionable way,’’ Bell added. , The city would have to spend approximately $30,000 to repair the house located in the 100-block on East First Street. But said Dean, ‘‘Eventually he will have to go because that build- ing is coming down: we’re not spending any more taxpayers’ money. It’s old and the man himself has not really cared for it _ it’ 's deteriorated because of him.” But Bell said people living in city-owned homes are afraid to complain tu city hall when repairs are needed. “The tenants are very reluctant to complain about holes in the roof and water pouring down through the ceilings in the walls, They've all been scared stiff to complain, because if they go down there the city will say, ‘We’re not going to fix it. We'd rather tear it down and you're out.’ Well that’s wrong, it’s just dead wrong,’’ he said. Subdivision approved for Caulfeild A ““NEW” approach to development in West Vancouver has resulted in development and blasting permits being approved for Palazar Development Corp. The permits cover an eight-acre, 30-lot subdivision in the Upper Caulfeild area near Sprucefeild Road. “I wish these people had been around for earlier subdivisions. It’s a good plan — the best we’ve seen for a while,’? Coun. Rod Day said following an Oct. 26 West Vancouver District public meeting held to address the Sannis 3 de- velopment. Council approved Palazar’s plan. The plan features retention of trees and rocks as a priority. Palazar’s Garth Braun said his company’s three criteria in devis- ing the plan involved: @ mitigating blasting; @ mitigating the loss of in- digenous plants and rock out- croppings; @ creating meaningful greenbelts and open spaces. In an area where major blasting and earth moving for development has transformed the topography and endangered lives and property from falling rock, Palazar first identified the areas where building Sy Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer was least practical and then designed lot lines around those areas. Braun said the amount of blasting for the development is reduced 60% by combining driveways and bypassing rock outcroppings. A greenbelt will make up about 23% of the total development area. It will be protected with a $100,000 bond during construc- tion. Although the greenbelt is nar- row and without trees in places, the developer said existing trees are not in danger of being blown down. Palazar proposes that a landscape architect be hired to assist in tree retention efforts. At one point, the greenbelt is wider to protect an indigenous Dn mpnaremeiamrnmea ameaanmee ol WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL growth of arbutus trees. In another, the developer plans to build a berm and landscape it. Pedestrian links with Monte Bre Place and a small park are also pianned. Local residents were encouraged by the plans, but registered con- cerns over the possibility of dam- age to homes during blasting. Res- idents were also concerned about the provision of, adequate finan- cial compensation in the event of damage. A woman, who had just been paid over $50,000 by an insurance company for damage caused to her home by blasting, reminded council that everyone in the area “lives on the same rock.’’ Others complained about the disruption and noise caused by previous blasting end construction projects in their area. Coun. Day added to the ap- See Concerns page $