NORTH SHORE [OWNED AND MANAGED Business .......... 168 Editorial Page...... G TY INDEX Listings...... ..19 Classified Ads......20 Bob Hunter........ 4 Whct’s Going On. ..14 Doug Collins....... 9 Basen — pede wEWS spot Tey Pats : ENJOYING. THE last traces of the pre-Christmas snowfall, local youngsters Adam Alcalde, Zach Pender and Claire Mechan take aim at a North | : : Shore News photographer who o caught them ina a Grand I Boulevard romp. “ Of AES DESPITE OPPOSITION from area residents, a group home for mentally-ill adults on East 26th Street in North Vancouver has received an interim licence and eight River- _ view transfer patients have moved in. Sherwood Park Group Home at 310 East 26th St. opened Nov. 18 immediately after receiving the licence. A permanent licence will likely be granted within a month, according to a provincial gov- ernment official. The home, which houses mostly chronic schizophrenics, has been the target of protest from neighbors who have said the home is incompatible with the area, rep- By KAREN GRAM Contributing Writer resents a danger to their children and will result in reduced property values, North Vancouver City Council recommended «::2 provincial licen- sing board reje.: the application in late October af.-- hearing petitions from 60 residents. At least 300 patients are ex- pected to be moved from River- view Hospital and transferred to group homes around the Lower Mainland over the next five years. An estimated 750 Riverview beds will also be closed. The three North Shore municipalities wrote to Victoria asking that applications for group home permits be frozen until the process has been reviewed and re- quested resident concerns be con- sidered before permits are issued. But altnough the Provincial Adult Care Facilities Licensing Board considered North Van- couver’s recommendation, it ap- proved the group home because it met all the requiremenis spelled out in legislation. Next door neighbor Leneen Webb said Tuesday democracy has been thwarted by the decision because, despite the opposition of ail elected municipal officials, an appointed board allowed the home to open. Webb said there has been one minor inc*tent since the home opened and her only complaint thus far is increased traffic and parking problems, but, ‘‘the neighborhood is nervous.”’ She said if the resident numbers had been limited to four or fite Brey ie RRR “there would not have been the outcry."* Government representative An- drew Hume said last week, neighbors concerns are beyond the jurisdiction of the licensing board. Sherwood Park owner Lydia Jaworsky said she is ‘*very reliev- ed”’ by the licence approval. ‘There was no reason not (o get (the licence),’’ she said. “‘It was well overdue.”’ Although Hume said a permanent licence would be granted in a month, Jaworsky said hes interim licence lasts 34% mon-