4- North Shore News — Friday, January 14. 2000 Waterfront debate reignited Apptication from waterfront homeowner sent back to staff Marcie Good Contrituting Writer A controversial permit that would OK illegal structures built on a waterfront home needs more scrutiny, North Vancouver District council decid- ed Monday night. The home, at 4555 Stonehaven Ave., currendy extends well past the district's required 25-foot (7.62 metre) setback from dhe waterfront. Two decks and a retaining wall also extend over the property line onto iand under the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Port Authority. The permit is contentious because of the recent attention on waterfront homes that encroach on the North Vancouver ‘ore- shore. Before the November referendum on the Waterfront ‘Task Force's plan to increase public access to the waterfront, several homeowners spoke against the plan to have a trail system along the foreshore. Proponents of the plan argued that many homeowners were unrightfully claiming public fand as their own. The first phase of the Waterfront Task Force’s plan, which was approved by council in June 1997, recommended that redevelop- ment of non-conforming buildings should comply wich the dis- trict’s setback requirements. Task force chairman Maureen Bragg spoke against the applica- tion at Monday’s council meeting. “This extension has been done without building permits. Staff recommends that you reward this blatant disregard of exisiing bylaws and issue a variance permit together with ‘after the fact’ building permits,” she said. “It would seem that it is casier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.” Although planning department staff recommended the approval of variance and building permits for the structures, coun- cil instead voted 6-1 on a motion by Coun. Lisa Muri to send the report back to staff for further study. ~ Muii told council she was concerned about questions of legal- ity and setting precedents. Coun. Ernie Crist, who voted against the motion, called the issue a “political” one which council, not staff, shouid handle. “The danger in regularizing something that is illegal in the first place is that it could lead to lawsuits in the future,” he said. “Other landowners could call it discrimination ifyou do rot allow them te regularize their illegal structures.” Other councillors, including Janice Harris, insisted that the issue should be dealt with as any other permit application, and not made into a political football. “I am concerned that we don’t play a heavy hard game with people’ s homes,” she said, and added that :ome councillors have a “bee in their bonnet” about the waterfront. ‘ssue. ‘The owners of 4555 Stonehaven Ave., Wayne and Arlene Reynolds, were granted 2 bu‘iding permit in June 1999 for fixing the roof. During the survey, planning department staff discovered “ the non-conforming structures, and required the applications as a ~ condition of the roof permit. Wayne Reynolds told council that the house was already built beyond the required setback when they bought the house three Need for From page 2 with the peak summer sea- son. Dykes said BC Ferries was conducting an environmental assessment of the nesting site area, which is in the middle of Snug Cove. The original time frame for repairs to the wing walls of the ferry berth was eight weeks. That figure has now been revised to 13 weeks in order to provide residents with some form of service to the mainland. Wing walls keep ferries in a stable position while load- ing and unloading traffic. BC Ferries say the berth wing walls at Snug Cove are dete- riorating and need to be replaced. The work will necessitate some weekday closures of the entire dock. As mentioned in a previ- ous News story, Bowen resi- dents have also expressed concern about the prospect of an extended dock closure and the impact it wouid have on local businesses. “We're suspicious of the work they want to do,” said Bowen resident Richard Goth of Ferry (Coalition of Users to Re NEWS photo Mike Wakefield BLUE herons on Bowen are delaying + dock . repairs.. _ ie NEWS phate. Mike Wakofletd NORTH Vancouver Waterfront Task Force chairman Maureen Bragg opposed Stonehaven plan. “We're caught in a real tough spot by inheriting somcone else’s mistekes,” he said after the meeting. “Believe me, if we could go backwards we would have made different decisions.” Before buying the home, he went to district hall to find out about previous permits. A building permit was issued in 1945 for the addition to the house, but he was unable to get full informas- tion because the records had been destroyed. He assumed the building conformed with existing bylaws. Now, he and his wife hope to have the site regularized because their fire insurance doesn’t cover 100% of the existing structure, and because of the impact on resale value. They want to have the application treated fairly. “We have been advised that it’s not an uncommon occurrence to have non-conforming structures regularized,” he said. In a report, planning department staff recommended that council change the rear yard setback on the property from the required 7.62 to zero metres. It pointed out that other homes in the area also encroach into the required setback area, and stated that “there are no impacts associated with the present siting of the house.” The Vancouver Port Authority did not object to the variance. The SVaterfront Task Force’s proposed wail system would not be affected by the home, said Bragg, because it follows along Stonchaven Avenue instead of along the waterfront. But the set- backs, she pointed out, aiso exist to protect marine habitat. “['m not out to penalize this particular owner,” she said, “but if you start legalizing u total disregard of the bylaw, then what's the point of bylaws?” repairs questioned establish Equity). “We've yet to be given any reports or Bowen Island counci! on said BC Ferries told the new. G8 Call or drop by for inore cetai ae, 1600 Mackay Rd. North Van NORTH VANCOUVER Ages * Work with o Personal Trainer * A nutrition & lifestyle workshops a ¢ Pre & post body fat assessment This is not a diet - iD Nap: * Mest 3x a week for 8 weeks * A variety of locations & fimes Le a bifestytes FREE O-ientation Night: E fanvary 17th, 7-9pm a! Andre-.s recCentre, 931 Lytion $1, Yon, Call 987-7329 for information & registration. CURE | data on the need for these improvemenis.” Goth said his group had been asking for hard facts on the renovation plans for six months without success. 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