Cates con

NV District Council
defers decision on
waterfront proposal

SY MARTIN ILLERGHIP
Contributing Writer
CONSIDERATION of a contro-

_ vetsial proposal for multi-storey
‘ waterfront apartments on the

“--Dollarton waterfront was deferred

. Monday by North Vancouver
. District Council so that alternate
*, proposals for the site could

. receive further examination.

. Debate over United Properties Ltd. latest
development proposal for the Noble Towing

.and McKenzie Barge and Marineways site at.

_ 3785-3919 Dollarton Highway never got going

after United spokesman Roger Moors indicated
.to council that his company would support a
‘compromise agreed to with some of the imme-
diate neighborhood.

The heavily polluted 6.25-acre industrial site
is generally referred to as Cates Landing and
has been the subject of several multi-family
proposals over almost 10 years.

Up for council's consideration Monday were
179 multi-family residential units in two apart-
ment buildings and 10 townhouse units.

Planning staff say the buildings would range
between two and three storeys {plus roof) above
the level of Dollarton Highway to five storeys
above the road.

And that makes Dollaston Highway resi-
dents like Rebecca Sjoblom angry.

“IT may not own my view but that docs not
alter the fact that the developer is planning to
sell my view for a profit,” Sjoblom told council.

Sjoblom says she doesn’t want to hear any
more about the district acquiring a free park via
the development.

“itis not free. The cost is being borne by
local residents in lifestyle, loss of privacy. You
are asking a dozen iecal residents to pay
between $20,000 to $40,000 each (in view loss)
for the purchase of the park instead of spreading
the cost over the whole district,” said Sjoblom.

“In an ideal world, the shipyard owners
would clean up their own mess and charge a
reasonable price for ihe land and the council
would purchase it as a park. But I save my

iO clas

flights of fancy for my children’s bedtime sto-
ries.

Instead, Sjoblom said inimediate neighbors
have worked hard with United to come up with
a compromise they can five with.

Placing 10 townhomes on the western side
of the site could result in apartments on the east-
em side being lowered by 10 to 16 feet.

Moors told council that “United is fully pre-
pared to suppon this plan.”

He fater told the News,
“They feel it will increase the
view of the immediate neigh-
borhood and we feel we can
accommodate that in the spirit
of cooperation.”

Warns Sjoblom: “! have only United’

Properties’ assurances that the proposed reloca-
tion and reduction would be an improvement.
We do stil! have considerable reservations about
the suitability of high density development on
this site.”

Angela Trudeau suggested that the site
would be more appropriate for “an internation-
al cente for marine and undersea resource
equipment.” She suid the concept was support-
ed by the district’s Waterfront Task Force and
would “bring together businesses building the
shipping applications of tomorrow.”

conti

District Council

Friday, July 26, 1996 — North Shore News ~ 3

Mmuecs

Dave Sadler of Save Our Shores Again said
the public had already rejected similar propos-
als from United as far back as 1988.

He accused council of allowing the Cates
Landing issue “to keep coming back and com-
ing back and wearing down the public's
resolve.” ‘

“It is not only morally wrong, it’s criminal,”
said Sadler.

“The public has been put
through this process enough
times for council to. realize
medium/high residential den-
sity is not desired on this site,
so Stop trying to shove it down
cur throats.”

Coun. Don Bell together with Coun. Emie
Crist and Mayor Murray Dykeman supported
deferment of the issue to Aug. 26.

“It will give us an opportunity to get clearer
on the changes that have been proposed,” said
Bell. However, Bell added that he was not.
happy with the current application and
expressed disappointment with the . “token”
commercial component of a marina office/pub-
lic washrooms/cafe. _

Commented Moors to: the News: “Time:
marches on: it seems like it will never end.
Hopefully. logic will prevail i in the end.” ‘

Seymour-area activists

tap telephone autodial

SZBY MARTIN MILLERCHIP
Contributing Writer

AUTODIALLING is coming soon to a.
neighborhood near you! Especially if
_.you happen to live in Seymour.

“Not everyone has experienced the annoyance of the
anonymous interview.

: The phone rings in the middle. of supper and against
your better judgment you pick it up, only to be greeted
by a-taped greeting and a request to participate in an
automated telephone poll.

: But a group of political activists in ‘Seyniour say the

ler

possibility of highrise development. ee ee
In three 12-hour days the. autodialler. reached 600... a
residents of whom 515 responded...” yo
“The polling capabilities ‘are tremendous. It would ‘
take a large group of people dialing to get the results we
are getting with ease,” says Kwan. 4s
Those who do not wish_.to participate: can’ “also”
request detetion’ from ‘the autodialler’ 5 s list and will Not, :
be called in the future. .
"Kwan is acutely aware of not abusing: the’ stirvey
potential and is looking at guidelines formulated bya
Vancouver community association that has. pioneere
-. the use of an autodialler to keep i in touch. without 7 ha'
ing to attend ineighborhood meetings
The Mount Pleasant Area Network promise:

-@ clear, comprehensible; factually accurate ‘ine:
that most people would generally want to. receiv
i messages that will fairly. represent an issue;

MK short messages of less than.75 words;

@ to only broadcast to th se wha ha

positives of an autodial community network far out-

; weigh the negatives. .
i They see short taped messages being sent quickly
and easily to thousands of residents whose numbers can
be isolated from a CD ROM containing all of the listed .

Barnett survey househokis through eutodianing.

ull arts fun

Boname added that the district has its own n cultural

WEST. Vancouver will pull its
$50,000. annual funding for the

ning in’ 1997.

; said commission secretary- gencral Roger
Nelson:':will mean his organization will carry on
with:a smaller budget and scale back, pursue more
funding from North Vancouver City and District, or

to raise funds another way.

“There are a lot of questions it presents but not

y answers,” * he told the News Tuesday.

West Vancouver's contribution totalicd 25% of
the arts. organization’s $200,000 budget. Another
$50,000 ‘comes from North Vancouver City and
$100,000 from North Vancouver District.

-Pat Boname, a West Vancouver councillor who

been on the arts commission since its inception
in..1989,° said West. Vancouver is. pulling out

diuse.of the commission "Ss changing  directi«n
duplication of services. j

An April, West Vancouver Community Servic eS

Committee report said the arts commission's origi-

nal mandat was to take the lead role in developing .

telephone numbers in Canada. . “-
“We only intend to send, messages people want to

receive,” Chris Kwan told the News...

| “We. envision our .network sending out messages

announcing, for example, community association mee!-

‘ings, special local and cultural events or district devel-

opment proposals and public . hearings,”

“ council Monday.

| public input on United Properties Ltd.'s latest develop-
ment proposal for Cates Landing. ;
Since the auiodialler has computer-generated polling .
idents ‘Chris. Kwan (feregrsund) and Keren’ :. capabilities Kwan and Dollarton resident John Addie’
' . have set out to survey all Seymour: households on the”

$50, 000 in annual
_arts commission
funding dropped

and coordinating cultural resources on the North
Shere. '

However, said: the committee, which includes?

Boname, the commission hasn't reached its poten-
tial And a new establishment agreement proposed
by the arts commission takes the commission fur-
ther from where West Vancouver wants the com-

. mission to go.
The agreement adds a cultural industry aspect to

the commission's mandate that West Vancouver
should not endorse, said the committee's report.
Under the agreement the commission will pur-

_ sue programming, which was absent from the com-

mission’s original mandate. The cummitiee wor-
ried that such programming could compete with
existing agencies.

The committee added that West Vancouver,
unlike North Vancouver, seldom uses the arts com-
mission as an advisory body.

Committee. members: said West . Vancouver
already successfully . provides arts ‘services and

- She unveiled the first use of the autodialter during.

“or individuals. :,

Kwan told

department. She said the commission wants to pro-
vide programs and raise funds rather than be a body
that commissions other groups to do that work.

Nelson, who sits on the four-member commis.
sion executive committee, said the commission’:

brought in-a new establishment agreement because
some on the [4-member board weren’t pulling their
weight. The voluntecr board consists of representa-
tives of the three North Shore councils, school
boards, Capilano College, recreation commissions,
and artists.

The, commission wants to, eliminate all con-

stituency representatives except the councillors and

repkice them with more arist representatives and
people interested in the arts. Approximately
$125.000. of ‘the commission's. budget goes to
administration and overhead. But the intention is to

reduce that by recruiting commissioners who will. |

put in more cffor. said Nelson.
Nelson said the commission provides a database

forthe arts community, assistance in budgeting and .
grant applications for local arts organizations, and
‘coordinates activities of smailer arts organizations.

i Italso produces the 6.000-circulation Arts Alive
magazine and Shaw program. The new establish-
ment agreement has been endorsed by both North
/Vancouver councils.

autodialled messages: :
“i not broadcast. messages ‘th: ‘are largely pol
torial or polemical in nature or that attack. other groups

‘--. Federal regulations forbid: commercial: messages. 2s
well as those containing racist‘or sexist material:

‘the Seymiour’area but say they. are’ A
_community associations usé ‘he nate in connec-
tion with neighborhood organization. |
As for the results of: the fi
re pondents to.the question “Are ‘you in favor of high
in anh wT 87 (or. 17%) responded Yes."

From page 1 :

removal orders from Canada.
According to the Immigration

official , Shirali came to Canada

as. a. visitor.’ He: was ‘ordered

deported after an inquiry in April,
1994, Zarandoo:

laimed refugi

status when she“ arrived’. in
Canada. She. was given a removal
order. Her .refugee ‘appeal case,

-was denied, said the Immigration |

official. -

_ Meanwhile North Vancouver

MP Ted White suid he could not

help the distraught mother, :
The situation, he said, should’

“be handled .by the External

Affairs department in Ottawa. .
~ The MP said he was contacted
by a lawyer on Tuesday to write a:
letter supporting Zarandooz "for

landed immigrant status.

White declined. ° '
hite said there are cuirenily
60 cases in Canada in which par-
cents have. abducted . Csnadian-:
bom children and‘ ‘fled’, lo the
Middle East: ‘