NVD OKs waste plan Marcie Good Contributing Writer NORTH Vancouver District council has endorsed the second phase of the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s (GVRD) liq- uid waste management plan. Bur the scheme will nor see an upgrade of the Lions Gate treatment plant for at least 10 years. Letters to the GVRD from Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans urged the GVRD to upgrade the Iona and Lions Gate sewage plants to sec- ondary treatment capabilities as soon as possible. The plants currently only provide prima- ry sewage treatment. The GVRD’s plan states that studies have shown dis- charges from the Lions Gate plant, including levels of . ammonia, are not harmful to the environment. While the Federal Fisheries Act classifics ammonia as a “deleterious substance,” the GVRD hopes to persuade the federal gov- ermment to recognize its plan and revisit the levels it consid- ers harmful. But said Coun. Ernie Crist on Monday, “It’s a disgrace that we allow ammonia into the ocean.” He was the only member of council to oppose the plan. “All of us should be ashamed. We kill marine life because we have our priorities all haywire.” Crist wants the Lions Gate facility to be upgraded to a tertiary level, an improve- ment which could cost $20 million. Such an investment would remove ammonia. Many other measures included in the plan, hewev- cr, aim to reduce the pollu- tion reaching the streams. The entire pian, said Coun. Janice Harns, puts priorities on projects that will provide maximum environmental impact for the cost. “I suppose what the GYRD is doing is saying, ‘Where is the biggest bang for the buck?’ Is it worth it to go the extra distance?” A storm-water task group, made. up of citizens and rep- resentatives from various lev- els of government, has been- formed to address liquid waste management issues. Harris and Coun. Glenys Deering-Robb spoke in sup- port of a new approach to storm water management which allows water to sce; through the ground and fol- low a natural course to streams and rivers rather than being diverted through con- crete curbs. The plan also proposes: Ga aa million sewer replacement and rehabilita- ion program. The net increase in ‘sewer rates to each household at the end of the five-year imple- mentation period will be between $8 and $16 per year, See Call page se NEWS photo Julis Iverson ARTIST Elizabeth Smily (left to right), Pilar izzard, executive director of the Canadian Institute of Portrait Painters, artist Daniel Izzard and scuiptor lan Rowles say a proposal by the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce to move to the Ferry Building is “outrageous.” Michel Comte Contributing Writer West Vancouver Council people in Ambleside, Dundarave, Caulfeiid and Horseshoe Bay,” Boname said. . If they cannot find space in those areas, accom- THE West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new home, but council is not keen on its first choice of where to pitch its shingle. At Monday’s West Vancouver council meeting, chamber president Barry Lloyd proposed moving offices into the Ferry Building at the foot of 14th Strect in Ambleside. He foresees having the chamber’s offices on the second floor of the historic buiiding while the first floor could house a tourist information booth. The highly visible location would help raise the chamber’s profile in the community, Lloyd said. Currendy, chamber staff are pigeonholed in a municipally-owned house with no parking near 15th Street and Fulton Avenue, behind a fire hall and far from: West Vancouver's business district. Council rejected the proposal because the Ferry Building Gallery has become a cultural institution rejects chamber request to move into facility in the community, Mayor Pat Boname said. “It’s the one art gallery we have and apparently, it’s che most visited gallery in the Lower Mainland,” she said. About 50,000 people visit the gallery annually, More than 200 artists are exhibited in the space every year. The gallery opened in 1987. “It’s aiso a heritage building and we spent a lot of money on Ambleside Landing (which surrounds the building) as part of the Ambleside revitalization in 1986-87. We have our Canada Day ceremonies, the Harmony Arts Festival opening and the Coho Festival there. It’s the ceremonial heart of the municipality. “Ideally, the chamber needs to be in the heart of the business area. Their clients are the business modations could be arranged at one of the munici- pally-owned houses on Argyle Avenue, the mayor said. The historic homes have a good profile and there is ample parking in the area. The second floor of the Ferry Building is now the city’s cultural services office and the first floor gallery displays and sells art by Jocal artists includ- ing Daniel Izzard and Elizabeth Smily. “We are appalled to hear the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce president Barry Lloyd sug- gest to council this week that the chamber’s prefer- ence for relocating its offices would be to displace the Ferry Building Gallery and move into that soca- tion,” said artists Daniel Izzard, Ian Rowles and Elizabeth Smily in a prepared statement Wednesday. “Let us hear no more of such outrageous sug- gestions. There are numerous location options available to the chamber, but the Ferry Building location is not one of them.” Daredevil dies in tram mishap Bob Mackin News Reporter GROUSE Mountain will examine ways to prevent another daredevil from climbing its tram towers in the wake of a 41-year-old North Vancouver man’s death. Grouse Mountain president Stuart McLaughlin said Angelo Porchetta was the first person to die after falling from Grouse Mounnain equipment. Porchetta plunged 100 metres (330 fect) to his death from a Grouse Mountain SkyRide cable after scaling a tower on Sunday. “It was a tragic result and we have regrets and concern for the family at this point in time,” McLaughlin said. “But Angelo had to go to some extreme effort to accomplish what he did. It’s just amazing he even attempted. “We will look at the situation and see if there’s anything more that can be done to make it more difficult. Unfortunately some people who insist on doing something this daring often will find a way. We hope and pray it never happens again.” Porchetta was found before noon Wednesday with a grease- marked sock on one hand, indicating he moved along the cable. His other hand also was greasy. Porchetta broke several tree limbs during his fall. An autop- sy was scheduled for Thursday. Porchetta went climbing on Sunday and made cell phone calls to friends from one of the towers around 8 p.m. He told them he would spend the night cn the mountain. Porchetta wasn’t reported ‘missing to North Vancouver RCMP until 1:36 p.m. Tuesday. By 4 p.m. North Shore Rescue (NSR) began a search of Grouse Mountain. But volunteers and Grouse staff were hampered by pea-soup fog. When the weath- er improved, two helicopters were employed in the search. Search leaders quickly concluded Porchetta was not at Grouse to commit suicide. “He was doing personal risks that were worrying his friends,” said NSR’s Tim Jones. “This cell phone cail did not give any indication to his friends that he was going to take his ifc, in fact he was planning to get out the next day.” Porchetta was described by North Vancouver RCMP Const. Heidi Hoffman as “a troubled individual at the time of his leath.” He had apparently sustained a back injury and was hoping for assistance from the Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C. He was estranged from his wife and suffered depression. “This appears to have been a very foolhardy incident that ultimately ended in tragedy,” she said. . Porchetta’s body was found 115 metres (377 feet) above the Grouse Mountain parking lot. NSR’s Allan McMordie said there were 20 volunteers from NSR and Lions Bay involved in the operation Wednesday morning. Porchetta’s body was lifted onto a SkyRide around 3 p.m., he said. Arelative of Porchetta’s in Burnaby declined comment when contacted by a News reporter. . Causeway meeting rejected Michel Comte Contributing Writer THE Vancouver park board refused an invi- tation to appear before West Vancouver council on Monday. The board is not responsi- ble for deciding the width of the Stanley Park causeway, park board commissioner Alan Fetherstonhaugh wrote in a letter to Mayor Pat. Boname on Sept. 30. Refusing an invitation to appear at Monday night’s council meeting to discuss the matter, Fetherstonhaugh instead pointed the finger at the province to take responsi- bility for public discontent See Wider page &