In an effort to attract
more industry to the District
of North Vancouver, council
Monday agreed that in-
dustrial and commercial
land would be offered for
sale outright as well as on a
leasehold basis.

Meeting as a policy and
plarining committee council
voted 5-2 to follow staff
recommendations to change
their current policy that
District owned industrial and

commercial land would ‘only |

be leased.

“If we want to attract
industries we're going to
have to make some con-
cessions,” Mayor Don Bell
said.

Bell said that only 15% of
the current tax base comes
from industrial and com-
mercial land and that this

Edgemont plan on hold

Plans to build a com-
* mercial building on the site
of an old gas station. in
Edgemont Village have been
delayed by North Vancouver
District council until it
decides whether an overall
plan to revitalize the area
will be prepared.

And a decision on whether
to hire consultants to go
ahead with that plan has
itself been delayed until
District staff has had a
chance to consult with area
merchants.

The proposed rezoning of

. leases.

hurts the residents.

He said he knew one or
two ‘clean’ industries, that
the District wants to keep in
the area, which are thinking
of moving away because
they cannot own the land.

“We need flexibility- to
attract industry to the
community,” Bell said.

“I know of business people
who do not want to be in-
cluded in long-term leases ...
they want to own their land,”
Alderman Jim Ball con-
curred.

Under the new proposals,
the District would retain
freehold interest in lands
already subject to ground
Any new industrial
land offered for sale could
be either freehold or
leasehold at the option of the
bidder except in the case of

a site at the corner of
Queens Road and Edgemont
Boulevard, which was ori-
ginally discussed early
in December, was de-
bated again at a public
hearing last weck.

Because of questions
regarding the development
of the_whole area, council
deferred the matter for
further discussion.

The District planning
department had recom-
mended that consultants be
retained “at a cost of not
more than $15,000" to

only

. special properties that would

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only be offered: on a
leasehold basis.

Alderman Peter Powell
was Strongly opposed to the

recommendations.
“I personally owe it to the
younger people not to

change this policy,” he said.

“In the long pull ... the’
retention of the leasehold of
our industrial-commercial.
property will be one of the
smartest things this council
has ever done.”

Alderman Jif Ball was the
only person who agreéd with
him.

Other aldermen agreed
the view was commendable
but felt it was obviously not
working. °

As council passed the
proposals Powell said the
future had just beén poured
“down the drain.”

e

prepare a_ revitalization
scheme for the village and
make an application for
funding under the provincial
Downtown -Revitalization
Program.

The department said this
is mecessary because
Edgemont Village “is poorly
laid out.”

Talks to see whether area
merchants want the village
improved have not yet taken
place, the District planner
said, because the president
of the Edgemont Mechants
Association has been away.

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