12-storey complex sets Ist approval City to change Official Community Plan A 12-STOREY seniors’ complex in the 100-block of West 2nd Street was ap- proved in principle after North Vancouver City Council voted Monday to initiate changes to the area’s Official Community Plan (OCP) that would allow the Swedish Canadian Rest Home Society to build the highrise on the city-owned land between the 28-storey Cressey condominium tower and the 15-stcrey Kiwanis seniors’ tower. By Pamela Lang Contributing Writer But the debate that reduced a previously approved plan by three storeys involved numerous angry comments by members of council, including Ald. Rod Clark’s challenge of Mayor Jack Loucks’ decision to allow reconsideration of the plan and Loucks’ participa- tion in the debate. Council approved a 15-storey proposal for the site last week during an in-camera session, but the issue was reconsidered this week at Ald. John Braithwaite’s request because the debate was conducted without a full council. Five councillors were involved in the initial vote; Ald. Barbara Sharp was absent, and Loucks had dismissed himself because of a conflict of interest. Also debated was who would be allowed to develop the vacant property. Loucks dismissed himself because he is a volunteer Kiwanis board member, and Kiwanis had also approached the city to devel- op the site. Qn Monday, Braithwaite asked only for the reconsideration of the building’s height, an issue that Loucks said did not put him into a conflict of interest position, But Clark and Ald. Stella Jo Dean said the issues of height and who will develop the land were in- tertwined. They argued that CELLET NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL Loucks should not allow Braithwaite to ask for the recon- sideration of only cne portion of the motion, and that the mayor should not be invoived in any portion of the debate. Both Clark and Loucks said they had consulted lawyers who agreed with their positions. Clark challenged Loucks’ ruling that the motion could be split into parts before debate, but only Dean supported Clark’s challenge. Aldermen Clark, Dean and Barbara Perrault voted against the motion to reconsider the approval of the 15-storey building. Braithwaite said that opposing the I5-storey building showed support for the current OCP building height limits, not opposi- tion to social housing. Perrault said council agreed that social housing would make the best use of the site. “If we want to provide the maximum use for this land, we have to go up,”’ she said. But Bell agreed with Braithwaite, saying that he favored the project but not the [5 storeys. “People fought an increase in heights, and now we are breaking our own guidelines,’’ Bell said. Dean’s suggestion to reduce the building’s height to 12 storeys was supported by Loucks, Perrault, Dean and Clark. The Swedish Canadian Rest Home Society’s proposal for the West 2nd Street development calis for a complex of between eight and 15 storeys with up to 58 seniors’ social housing units sub- sidized by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. The remainder of the complex (the 15-storey building called for a total of 110 units) would be co- operative housing for seniors. Although the developer would lease the property from the city rather than purchasing it, Dean said the developer did not ask for any subsidies, while the Kiwanis proposal required financial sup- port from the municipality. NEWS photo Terry Peters APPROXIMATELY 250 Hospital Employees Union (HEU) members empivyed at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) waiked oft the job Friday morning and were bused to an HEU rally in Vancouver. . LGH president Bob Smith sald the hospital was ‘‘out in a major way” in nutrition services, laundry, housekeeping, medical records, stores and purchasing, but he added that no plans were made to cancel scheduled surgeries. A total of 114 LGH beds were closed as of Friday due to the labor dispute between the HEU and the Health Labor Relatiens Association which bargains for 150 B.C. health care facilities. The two sides were scheduled to resume negotia- tions Friday with the help of a mediator. Two convicted in smash and grab 1991 robbery of Capilano Mall jewelry store A B.C. Supreme Court jury found two men involved in the 1991 shotgun robbery of a Capilano Mall jewelry stor guilty Friday on robbery charges. The 12-person jury also found Robb Edward Napope, 22, guilty of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, But Napope was found not guilty of attempted murder, the most serious charge he faced. The jury also found Darcy Theodore Olson, 24, guilty of robbery in connection with the jewel heist. Olson allegedly drove the getaway vehicle after Napope and a third man stole tetween $300,000 and $500,000 worth of diamonds and jewels from Lugaro Jewellers in a brief but violent smash-and-grab operation on June 7, 1991. The third suspect, Joseph Ken- neth Hleck, 29, has been charged with possession of stolen property. A warrant has been issued for his arcest. Napope, portrayed in court as a petty criminal who made a living By Robin Brunet selling stolen Zontributing Writer goods, used a sawed-off shotgun loaded with BB pellets in the robbery. While a cohort smashed several jewelry storc glass cases with a mallet, witnesses say Napope stood outside the store and ordered the riall’s Friday after- noon shoppers to “hit the ground,”’ One shot was fired in the direc- tion of the fooc! court; a second shot hit a maintenance worker in the arm, A man and a woman received minor shotgun injucies, and the co-owner of 4 smoke shop was hit in the eye by some pellets. During the month-long trial, various acquaintances of Napope testified that he repeatesdiy bragg- ed about perpetrating the robbery and was seen on several occasions with ‘ta big wad of cash.”’ One witness. testified that he was with Napope the evening Crimestoppers aired a recreation of the heist. “He'd already mentioned the robbery, but when Crimestoppers described the shootings Napope just smiled and said he forgot to mention that he shot someone.”’ Another witness said Napope “discussed the robbery whenever we got together, maybe 10 times in all.”’ The witness testified Napope even showed kim shotgun used on June 7. Napope and Olson grinned fre- quently as evidence was heard, and when cross-examined by the Crown last Monday, Napope claimed he couldn’t recall men- tioning the robbery or shooting to anyone. He said he was ‘‘elsewhere’’ when the heist was taking place. Mr. Justice L. G. McKenzie will sentence-the two men on May 21. Napope faces a maximum of 25 years in jail. that the Group lobbies Victoria for education funds $10 million sought to offset School District 44 deficit THE PROVINCIAL government should release money from an estimated $85 million school enrolment adjust- ment fund to help offset a $10.2 million deficit faced by the North Vancouver District 44 School Board (NVSB), a group of local union, parent and school trustees said this week. The delegation, which includes NVSB trustee Don Bell, North Vancouver Teachers’ Association president Linda Watson, Cana- dian Union of Public Employees Local 389 president Mike Hocevar and North Vancouver parents Barb Scobie and Diane Kennedy, travelled to Victoria on Tuesday and met with three North Shore MLAs to discuss District 44’s shortfall. .But North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA David Schreck said that while he sympathizes with the concerns being raised, the issue has to be settled ‘‘at the local level.”” Under current block funding, District 44 will face a $10.2 mil- lion deficit if current operations are carried over to the next school year. By Suij Rattan News Reporter Proposed District 44 cuts in- clude: @ the elementary French as a se- cond language program; @ the outdoor school program; @ suramer school; @ and music programs. °* Teacher and other staff layoffs are also likely. The education ministry has an $85 million contingency fund for projected enrolment increases in B.C. schools this September. NVSB superintendent Dr. Robin Brayne said each school districe calculates its actual enrolment in September, and if the number is higher than forecast by the education ministry in its block MLA Daniel Jarvis...‘‘We have a crisis on our hands in North Vancouver."’ funding grant then the ministry recalculates that grant. The North Vancouver delega- tion called on the provincial gov- ernment to release $10 million of the contingency fund to help off- set District 44’s mounting deficit. Said Scobie, ‘‘We pay tremen- dous school taxes, and a lot of the North Vancouver school taxes go into other school districts.” Scobie, who has children enrolled in Montroyal Elementary and Handsworth Secondary schools, also said she was disap- pointed in her discussion with Schreck. “It was really frustrating talk- ing with David Schreck. He kept saying that there was nothing they (government) could do,’’ said Scobie. ‘‘He was very defensive. He said we're not giving you peo- ple handouts. Well we’re not ask- ing for handouts.”’ She added that she was “‘really shocked at the NDP’s attitude.”’ But Schreck said he told the group that if they have any in- formation that suggests District 44 should receive increased funding then they should send it to him. He added that all school districts are hurting financially and that the government has limited funds, West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Jeremy Dalton, the Liber- al’s education critic, agreed that the provincial government should release money from its contingen- cy fund to help =ffset the District 44 deficit. “T understand that the govern- ment can’t just open the vaults and start shovelling out the money,’ Dalton said, ‘“‘but North Vancouver is one of the worst school districts (financially) in the province.”* North Vancouver-Seymour Liberal MLA Daniel Jarvis said District 44 ‘‘pays more in taxes per capita and receives less per capita in education dollars than the rest of the metro area.”’ “‘We have a crisis on our hands in North Vancouver, and if we don’t receive an emergency injec- tion of funds, the debt on the books will compromise the future education of our children in North Vancouver,”’ said Jarvis. District 44 will decide Tuesday night which areas of its budget will be cut.