10 — Sunday, August 18, 1996 - North Shore News NEWS photo Brad Ledyddge ’ NORTH Vancouver wouldn't buy his home, so now Prospect Road homeowner Terry Mulder ponders his future ag neighbor to the Montroyal Connector. Link too cl fort for ¢ OSE Engineering complaint made By lan Noble News Reporter TERRY Mulder says his once half-a-million- doliar home on Prospect Avenue has been ruined. | He still has an expansive view from his spacious deck, but the landscaping and trees ‘he looked down on have been replaced by noisy road- ‘building machinery. ~ The lawn and many of the adjoining trees were on North Vancouver District and. When the district recently began constructicn on the $1-million Montroyal Connector right beside his property, Mulder: lost tis quiet home. He said the district has ignored his requests to pur- chase the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house, val- ued « month ago — before construction — at $559,000, “I don’t know what we can do,” said the retired man, “We have to wait and see if the house is livable after they are done. I don’t think it will be, bur...” District manager of “administration and_ traffic _ Gavin Joyce said the road fits _ within the existing dedicated ‘road allowance so the district had no reason to purchase Mulder’s home. “There was ‘never any consideration of , purchasing the property,” he said. ; Mulder said the district allowed the house to be built in its present location and then ‘delayed the connector for 35 years. Putting the connector in now causes more expense for people, he . said, “particularly me.” Mulder bought the home 18 years ago. At the time, he did not know about the right-of-way the district had. Mulder thought the adjoin- ing property was a vacant lor. He learned of the right- of-way months after he bought the properry, when he received a lot plan from his mortzage company. He said potential home buyers should have been ‘informed of the right-of-way. If Mulder had known, he would not have bought the property. Joyce said. the Mulder home is non-conforming under today’s bylaws. But when it was built more than 30 years ago, it conformed. Under current bylaws, the home, Joyce said, is not set back far enough from the side property line, When finished, the 10- metre wide connector will be 5.2 metres from the Mulder property. A 1.5-metre to two-metre high — granite retaining wall will also be built, said Joyce. The possibility of extend- ing Montroyal Boulevard through to Rockland Road and Lonsdaie Avenue has been bitterly argued since about 1959, when the option first appeared in the Five-Year Street Plan. Proponents of the plan, including district staff, cite better traffic flow, improved emergency response times, transit and bike route oppor- tunities and better overall service to the driving public with the connector. Mulder, a transportation engineer formerly employed by the City of Vancouver, said he’s filed complaints with the Association’ of Professional Engineers and Geophysicists of — B.C. regarding the road's’ engi- neering. Fire strikes on Gambier Island By laa Noble News Reporter A 10-man crew snuffed out hot spots Thursday morning after a Gambier Island forest fire was brought under con- trol by the B.C. Forest Service. Crews limited tthe destruction to a 1,5-hectare (3.3-acre) area just north of Halkett Point on the cast side of the Howe Sound island, said Ministry of Forests fire information offi- cer Sylvia Pang. No homes on the sparse- ly populated island were damaged by the fire, which was reported Wednesday at approximately 3 p.m. Pang said the forest ser- vice fought the blaze with ground crews, Fire retardant was dropped from a plane, Helicopters also dropped water on hot spots. The 10-man crew on hot-spot detail Thursday cooled warm areas to: make sure the fire did not flare up. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Pang, said 50% of fires are light- ning related. The other 50% are human related. About 94% of the more than 3,000 annual forest fires in B.C. are put out within 24 hours. Taio RMOTIVE™ ALIGNMENT SPECIALISTS : B.C.A.A. « 1.C.B.C. - A.R.A. APPROVED CENTRE - ALIGNMENT - BALANCING - TIRES ESTIMATES TALKING YELLOW PAGES CONSULTATION 299-9000 985-7455 (riaisis.. J | OUR 38TH YEAR R176 PEMBERTON AVE. N.VAM, | mTOR Free Initial Consultation Douglas W. Lahay CLARK, WILSON BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS 800-885 West Georgia Street; Van. 687-5700 B 24 HOUR MESSAGE 643-3161 ICBC’s policies are not law. | will get . you a fair settlement or trial award. mys ENTER TO WIN $500 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES At Capilano Mall, we want to make going back to school fun. So from Menday, August Monday, September 2, you can enter to win a $500 shopping spree. Simply pick up an entry form at any CAPILANOMALL SEARS © WAL-MART * PACIFIC LINEN 19 through of our participating retailers and drop it in one of the prize barrels in the Food Court or Grand Court. , So before you head back to school, head to Capilano Mall. And make this fall a lot more fun.