52 pages Classifieds 986-6222 Office, Editorial 985-2131 " " ~~ NEWS photo Terry Peters JENNIFER MCMOHON leads a group in a fitness test to promote the upcoming Mass Aerobic Fitness Test at the North Shore YMCA, Monday, Feb. 17. The event is held to raise public awareness about Heart Month, which is February. Using the Canadian Standard Fitness Test for cardiovascular strength, the ‘‘Y’’ will have a mass test in the gym using benches. People must pre-register by calling 926-5541. Fashion fads: 15 Special Valentine’s Day feature: 29 Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution 986-1337 Council discovers site is a dedicated city park NORTH VANCOUVER City Council rejected a proposed golf driving range at Fourth Street and Ken- nard Avenue Monday after council was asked why a dedicated city park was be- ing considered as the site for a commercial venture. By Pamela Lang Contributing Writer Council had initiated a rezoning application for the 4%-acre city-owned property near the bot- tom of Third Street hill — cur- rently used as a gravel storage site — after the driving range devel- opment plan was presented to council in December. But city staff told council then that the property was zoned for public use and assembly, not park. Council later learned that the property had been dedicated as a park through a city bylaw passed in 1972. The driving range proposal was originally discussed late last year, and a Dec. 9 in-camera motion approved proceeding with the rezoning that would have paved the way for the driving range. But that motion was reconsidered and rescinded Monday before the mo- tion to reject the driving range was put forward by Ald. John Braithwaite. Braithwaite said the land had been set aside by the public for park space and should remain parkland. “We shouldn’t be looking at it for any commercial reason,’’ he said. Other counsellors echoed that sentiment. Even before the vote was taken, it was clear that council members had no intention of approving the proposed driving range on the site after they had discovered that it was a dedicated park. “It’s clear that the driving range (on this property) is dead,”’ said Ald. Stella Jo Dean, adding that counci} should endorse its commitment to retaining parks. Ald. Rod Clark said council would have looked at the intitial proposal differently if city staff had provided correct information on the property’s status. “If we’d known at the beginn- ing, as we should have, that this is dedicated parkland, it would not have been looked at seriously back in December,’’ he said. But Braithwaite pointed out that the site, known as Sunrise Park, has always been in the city’s NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL park plans; he said he had tried to tell council that it was a dedicated park during the December meeting. “‘Nobody would believe me,"’ he said, ‘‘and nobody would defer it."” Braithwaite said he took excep- tion to the statement that council members didn’t know it was dedicated. ‘Darn it to hell, we did know.”’ Mayor Jack Loucks said he assumed staff had looked it up, but added that records aren’t 44 Darn it all to hell, we did know. 99 - North Vancouver City Ald. John Braithwaite always accurate. The majority of council took staff’s word. “I certainly thought it was dedicated, but 1 didn’t have any facts or figures,’’ he added. Council took action on the issue after Cloverley Area Residents Association (CRA) president Cara Shorter appeared before council to oppose the development. “Preserving our parks is a sacred trust,’’ Shorter said. She also pointed out that with the Park and Tilford shopping centre, North Shore Studios, and Neptune Terminals’ new potash storage shed all within sight of their neighborhood, ‘‘the area has taken up its share of industrial development.’’ As well as the rejection of the driving range on the Fourth Street and Kennard Avenue site, Shorter called on council to move the gravel stored there, to plant some natural vegetation on the site and to budget for the proper devel- opment of it as a public park. She suggested to council that 20 years after its dedication is long enough to wait for the property to become a usable park. The 30-year land lease with a private developer to create a golf driving range on the site would have created $3.6 million in reve- nue during its tenure.