NV Dis an electoral ‘ This is the second in a series of three articles on the North Shore’s three mayors and their unique styles of leadership within their municipalities of North Vancouver City, North Vancouver District and West Vancouver. NORTH VANCCUVER District Mayor Marilyn Baker has a wish list for her municipality, and one item on that list is the future amalgamation of the district with North Vancouver City. By MAUREEN CURTIS Contributing Writer “There should be one North Vancouver, just as there once was,’’ says Baker, pointing to the way the district and city already share recreation commissions, a chamber of commerce and school district. North Vancouver District is large, geographically, and with more than 68,000 people, it is a residential community which has experienced tremendous growth in past decades. It was this growth which first drew Baker, now 44, into municipal politics over 10 years ago. This fall she is running for a fourth term as mayor, hoping to rack up enough years for a “*Baker’s dozen” in municipal pol- itics. The mother of three children, now in their early 20s and ‘‘in and out ¢f the house,’’ Baker has always lived in the Seymour area, where most of the growth has oc- curred. She started in politics by joining a local ratepayers group and work- ing on getting the municipality to back up on development and allow residents to have a say in the plan- ning for phased growth and provi- sion of services and amenities. Baker became an alderman in 1976, and then, after an extended sailing trip with her family, took up the position of mayor in 1982. “IT now feel confident with the scale of growth we are seeing,”’ says Baker, who understands, nevertheless, when people become concerned and push for stability in their neighborhoods. The inclusion of social or coop- erative housing has worried some, 3 - Friday, November 4, 1988 - North Shore News ‘rict mayor tries for NEV?S photo Terry Peters NORTH VANCOUVER Distric! Mayor Marilyn Baker stands on the Lyan Canyon suspension bridge. Raker would like to see the district and the City of North Vancouver reunited. but Baker says that this is a way to provide a mix of housing for ‘ta variety of people in different ages and stages of life.’’ “it’s amazing how quickly a sense of community has developed in some of the newer areas,” Baker notes. Planning for this growth is ob- viously a priority, with the com- pletion of various small area plans leading up to the district-wide Of- ficial Community Plan, which should be finished early in the New Year. The district recently won a na- tion-wide award for its Alpine Area plan, which retains the beautiful mountain slopes thai provide the scenic backdrop for much of Greater Vancouver. Like North Vancouver City and the District of West Vancouver, North Vancouver District is also facing caanging demographics as the major portion of the popula- tion ages, as well as the problem of “infill housing,’’ as the older houses “re torr, down and replaced with structures that can often be totally cut of context with the neighborhood around them. A task force is addressing this problera, ind Baker is hoping that som: workable recommendations will result. Other issues that concern Baker hiclude gartage collection and the need for move emphasis on recycl- ing, as well as greater regulation of the transpo-tation of dangerous goods. While tremendous progress has been made with planning emergen- cy response to possible lisusters involving dangerous; good:, Baker is still! unhappy with perhaps the most crucial factor, namely the road transportation network, “Unfortunately, the solutions are not based on just one municipality taking action,’’ says Baker, referring to the bottleneck at the Second Narrows Bridge. This and other transportation problems, such as the location of the rail fines, are tied into the future success of the district, and will be a top priority for Baker in future years. She describes her day-to-day style of office as ‘‘fair and businesslike.’’ “At council I like to see a clean motion achieved that all members of council can understand and vote N. Van judge throws the book at man for undersized clams A NORTH Vancouver provincial judge has for the first time in recent B.C. history imposed the maximum $5,000 fine permitted under the federal Fisheries Act on a 40- year-old Nanaimo man who pleaded guilty to possessing thousands of pounds of undersizei clams. In his Nov. 1 sentencing of Hong Son Le, Judge J.K. Shaw said the circumstances surrounding the case ‘‘are outrageous,’ such that he wished the maximum fine he was permitted to levy ‘‘could be greater.’” Le, who was also ordered to forfeit the estimated $8,500 value of the clams seized, was originally charged with buying, possessing and selling the shellfish in connec- tion with a May 30 incident in which 7,443 pounds of Littleneck and Manilla clams were purchased from Le by Ken’s Shellfish Co. Ltd. and delivered to a North Vancouver fish processing plant. Approximately one third of the clams were under the minimum By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter legal commercial size of 38 millimetres (1.5 inches) in shell length. Le subsequently pleaded guilty Oct. 17 to possessing undersized clams. A stay of proceedings was entered in the other two charges. Crown prosecutor Bill Rodgers, who called for the maximum fine in the case, said, ‘'The sentence is a@ message io the people in the clam industry to strictly observe the regulations. The courts have shown that they feel it is important to protect the industry.”’ Fisheries officer Scotty Rox- burgh said Wednesday he hoped the fine would be a deterrent to everybody invoived in the ciam harvesting industry and make buyers more cautious about pur- chasing clams from producers. ‘*The size limit is there to pro- tect the species,’’ he said. Testimony given during the trial from fisheries research scientist Dr. Neil Bourne and other written information submitted indicated that the anly way fo ensure sur- vival of clam stocks was to regu- late the size limits of clams harvested. In his statement, Le said he forgot to measure the clams when he purchased the clams from his diggers on Vancouver Island and wus unaware that many were undersized when he soid the clams. Defence lawyer Tom Northcott argued that there had been no other attempt! to regulate the fish- ery and that it was improper for the department of fisheries to try to regulate the clam fishery by “hammering recent immigrants who have difficulty finding employment anywhere else’’ with the maximum fine. Le emigrated from South Viet- nam nine years ago. But Judge Shaw said in his sentencing summation that, because it was virtually impossible to monitor the clam harvest from B.f.’s estimated 4,000 clam dig- gers along the province’s 27,000 kilometres of shoreline, it was up to the commercial buyer to refuse to buy undersized clams from those diggers. He added that the premise behind fisheries legislation ‘‘is the laudable and necessary effort to maintain and perpetuate the various fisheries, including that of clams, for the enjoyment of all persons, be they native Indian, longtime residents of Canada or recent or not-fo-recent im- migrants.’ on. I like to see everyone have an opportunity to exchange and ex- press their views and I like it when we can achieve some sori of con- sensus.”” Baker tries to achieve a degree of comfort that allows people to feel they can ‘‘say their piece without being intimidated by council or other members of the public.”’ With her other involvements as deputy chairman of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the new president of the Union of B.C. municipalities, Baker puts in 12 to 14 hour days, but discounts the $43,296 annual indemnity she is paid. “ft’s rewarding when you can get things done and help peopie make a change for the better.’” Aute...............545 23 Classified Ads..........30 Doug Collins............ 9 Editorial Page......... .6 Home & Garden......... 15 Mailbox ......-......... 7 What's Going On........ 14 WEATHER Friday, cloudy with sunny periods. Chance of showers. Saturday, periods of rain. Higks near 13°C. Sevond Class Registration Number 3885