‘6- North Shore News — Sunday, October 8, 2000 a J EW POINT: en, GUARANTEE _ (MAKE You ALL PAST ADORED, RESPECTED, TRANSGRESSIONS WORSHIPPED Anb | witt BE FORGOTTEN BELOVED BEYOND / — WITH ONLY GNE \__BELier... wd cAICH. WE HAVE AN ELECTION STRATEGY THAT wiet Boost YouR POPWARITY TO NEW HEIGHTS... processes, it was also, we believed, local democracy in action. Two recent decisions by our pre- sent council make us wonder whether some members feel they know better than the public. One hundred Jocal business owners ray ie — put their signatures on the line to: fF O Wat § ERS oppose the recently — approved =f IC - ‘i th i ! Wy “HERE is a disturbing trend to . _ recent decisions made by North Vancouver District council. This was a council that, despite its reputation for long-winded process, was clearly 2 regional trend-setter in its willingness. to allow the public meaningful access and input into the decision-making process. “Both former. mayor — Murray | Dykeman and Don Bell (in his previ- ‘ous term) took it on the chin fur their failure. to. contro! lengthy council debate. and staff processes that appeared to drag on endlessly, But in . fairness to both, gentlemen and their » Fespective councils, public input to — «and in some cases, control of — plan- ning’ that was’ previously only.in the hands of municipal staff was a con-_ tributing factor. And while such input sometimes « - created: long-winded Canadian Tire “big box”. and four fast food restaurants slated for the jj ; ae NC, traffic-choked Main Street corridor. Result: ignored. Meanwhile, not one single Deep Cove resident asked for the area to be excluded from the district’s sloped-lot building restrictions. But staff came forward with just such a recommen- dation to, coincidentally, our new council. Result: approved. ’ Public. process does not mean lis- tening selectively vo the public. _ AN. Van . ANOTHER seafaring yarn for impairment! - : ayy arth, Vancouver | pro witncial court ‘Judge Reginald salty. dogs and other deep water Gr: ndison fiiids it hard'to believe Dr. Asif Ali Syed had fans: no- alcohol in, his -system the:day he drove through the | This one, however jow of a’ Park Royal store an caused a saulti- “car pile-" “won't get t00 far from up. (From an Oct::4 News story.) at . dockside.” =. >! ; pele ks eee When we fast left: The ay some councillors jump. to ‘conclusions; we Diamond Almas, the® could have sent.them to Sydney a and got some Seven Seas skipper was medals out of it.” "© on the bridge of his vin- ; North: Vanceaver. District. councillor Bill Denaul: Says - | taye. Burrard Inlet ferry 0): olleagu Werreacting to a decision parting local - contemplating dark improvement projects in the hands of community Broups.- ‘bureaucratic thunder-”. Story.) we “heads on the horizon. -) North Vancouver” City had informed him =. : ~that the vessel, which has been anchored at TS VRSVtans © x NMOS. yw ~ North Shore residents that the restaurant is” ©: either closed or about to be closed. . The Seven Seas, however, remains open, : albeit only five nights per week (Wednesday to. Sunday). arnnr Good news for the 30 or so people who work at the restaurant; good - news also for Seven Seas and Almas fans; good , news again for local her- ‘tase fans... 3 : But the rope is fast run- “; hing out on the Seven ‘Federal Court of A athe sect .. - But that appeal likely won't be heard before the Jan. 10 eviction date. So the Seven Seas appears heade : first voyage since the fate 1950s —'d -tion unknown. Af the appeal is successful, the resta will reappear at the foot of Lonsdale an More legal. sparks will fly over loss of busi ness etc: If it fails, the city ill be miaus’ dents, "Especially considerins that ing reasons for the. whole legal wrestli match remain unclear. The city, wl hich maintains Jim ‘Almas hoped his cole er Ferry No. 5:is unsafe, has ‘drink Ig drivers during * the nationwide 6 Neirs the foot of Lonsdale as a floating restauran' since 1959, was duc to sail quietly and per- manently into the sunset. Reasons for the directive were tinclear.. en and remain unclear. to Almas now.” ‘Not part of the new city \ waterfront, is ¢ best he can figure,» .. ‘That was back in September 1998: “Two years later, the Seven Seas has stil " “secured a court order, to have the vessel “removed from its moorage at the foot of . ae Lonsdale on or before Jan: 10, 2001, : No more stays of execution... In a'Sept. 13 ruling on a question of = - Faw at the heart of the Seven Seas dispute; “. Madam Justice Eleanor Dawson deter:** + “mined that, contrary