NVD votes no to legalization of 2nd suites Family suites permitted; registered secondary suites to be phased out by 1995 AFTER WRESTLING with the slippery problem of secondary suites for over a year, North Vancouver ’ District Council has decided to preserve the status quo by voting against legalizing such suites. By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer Council was faced with the choice of: @ legalizing secondary suites under specified conditions and with questionably enforceable controls; @ retaining the present zoning bylaw which allows only second- ary family suites, which must be occupied by a member of the homeowner’s family, and regis- tered illegal suites, which are scheduled to be phased out in ei- ther 1993 or 1995. But under the district’s present policy only written complaints about illegal suites from im- mediate neighbors are investigated by district inspection staff. The issue of legalizing second- ary suites has sharply divided not only the current council and its predecessor but the community as well. Suite opponents fear the nega- tive impact of secondary suites cn single-family neighborhoods in terms of noise, traffic, school fa- cilities and overloading of municipal systems. But the district’s Housing Needs Study has suggested that second- ary suites perform an important NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL function in allowing many long- time residents to maintain posses- sion of their family homes in the face of hard economic times or retirement. Coun. Jim Cuthbert said ccun- cit is faced with achieving ‘ta balance between finding homes for people who want to stay in the district and a strong desire to maintain the quality of neighboz- hoods."’ Cuthbert was one of four coun- cillors who voted against legalizing and regulating secondary suites on Dec. 7. Councillors Rick Buchols, Janice Harris and Joan Gadsby also opposed the move. Cuthbert later told the News, “I'd sooner see us approach the housing problem by increasing density or approving higher densi- ty projects in certain areas than diluting single-family zoning throughout the disirict.’’ Coun. Ernie Crist, who favors regulating secondary suites, said the council’s decision takes zoning control ‘‘out of our hands."* Crist told the News, ‘‘We are washing our hands and shirking our responsibilities.’’ He called council’s decision ‘ta nail in the coffin of the famous North Vancouver livability."* An estimated 2,554 secondary suites were in the district in 1987 at the start of a vouluntary pro- gram to register illegal suites. That figure is now estimated to See NV City page $ Stong’s sells North Shore assets to IGA AFTER NEARLY 30 years of doing business on the North Shore, Stong’s Markets Ltd. has decided to sell its North Shore assets. By Surj Rattan News Reporter Stong’s president Bill Rossum said the family-owned chain of grocery stores has agreed to sell its three North Shore stores to IGA Stores ef- fective at the close of business on Jan. 7. Stong’s will continue to operate its Vancouver location. Rossum cited increased competition, labor costs and a depressed economy as the reasons for the sale. He added that all unionized employees currently employed by Stong’s on the North Shore will be offered the choice of staying with Stong’s or going to work for IGA Stores. Rossum said there are about 100 people employed at Stongs’ three North Shore locations. Stong’s has been an_ in- dependent family-owned F? STONG’S PRESIDENT Bill Rossum. business since 1931. The company opened its first North Shore location in North Vancouver’s Edgemont Village in 1963. That store was closed in 1987. Stong’s opened its West Vancouver store in 1972. It opened its Deep Cove store in 1973 and its Lynn Valley outlet in 1989, “It’s a decision that had to be made,’’ Rossum said of the sale. It is expected that three IGA Plus stores will be opened in the three North Shore Stong’s locations. Friday, December 18, 1992 - North Shore News ~ 3 NEWS photo Cindy Goodmen FESTIVE CHRISTMAS lights play off the rettecting pool in North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford Gardens. The display officially opened on Dec. 5 with c light-up ceremony and will remain for all to enjoy throughout the season. Group seeks preservation of Presentation House NV Community Arts Council fights to save home A LOCAL arts group will go before North Vancouver City Council] on Monday night to plead for the preservation of the Presentation House arts centre. ‘We'd like to stay. We don’t want a new home,’’ said North Vancouver Community Arts Council president Irwin Oostindie. The arts council’s office is located inside the 333 Chesterfield Ave. arts facility, sharing space with a theatre, museum and photo gallery. Presentation House staff has complained that chronic structural problems have made it difficult to maintain daily operations, but just how serious the building’s woes are depends on whom you talk to and how desperate the group is to see a new home built, said Oostindie, who supports the idea of a new facility for both the gallery and the museum. While the building requires By Evelyn Jacob News Reporter some major repairs, Presentation House has been ‘‘extremely well-maintained,’’ he said, adding that it should be preserved as a cultural centre. “It’s not suitable for a high- tech gallery, but in the long term, every aspect of that building could be used by different arts groups. ‘“‘There could be a com- munity-based gallery and painters’ studios. Other groups would work very hard to maintain Presentati- on House if they could be there.”’ Council has received a report from city staff outlining the art centre’s structural troubles but will not release details until Mon- day when it is scheduled to discuss Presentation House’s fate (council deferred the matier from its Dec. 14 meeting). Coun. Stella Jo Dean believes the art centre's physical problems have been exaggerated, echoing the sentiments of Mayor Jack Loucks. She said council should review Presentation House’s current lease and consider whether it should be changed so that the tenant — the Presentation House Cultural Society — is not burdened by huge repair costs. The current 1975, states that responsible for all repairs. Dean says putting that kind of onus on a non-profit group is “ridiculous.”’ lease, signed in the lessee is maintenance nr re