F NORTH ANE vi i FONE ST RENT RST Po ee 3 ES Senge 986-6222 R wer to block WV residents’ view RESIDENTS turned ont to West Vancouver Council Mon- day to protest anticipated blocked jews and traffic jams if a proposed 12-storey condominium apartment building is approved. The residents voiced their con- cerns at a public meeting that the views of 17th Street and Duchess Avenue residents would be adversely affected. Norbill Investments has an ap- plication for development of a 10-apariment, #2-foor building at 687 17th Street and 1721 Duchess Avenue. ; Joe Wertman, representing the management of a building at 1740 Esquimalt, said if the Norbill development goes ahead, ‘it's go- ing to block off every tenant in my By PAUL HOU Contributing Writer property...they’re not going to have any view at all." Wertman said he is not trying to block development in the area, but added: “My concern is that we've had the property there for 12 to 15 years — we've had tenants in the building (at Esquimalt) since we've had it. These people enjoy a beautiful view of the ocean.” The Norbill development —in- cludes nine condominium apart- ment units (one per floor) and a wwo-storey penthouse on top which will be occupied by the developer. The cost of the project and the selling price for the condominiums have not been determined, Two old houses on the property would be demolished to make way for the development, but they are not considered to be of heritage value. Despite rumors, there are no plans to demolish the historic Lawson home nearby. fn addressing concerns about possible increased traffic from the project, architect Leo Lund noted, “We don't anticipate a great in- crease in the amount of traf- fic. awith as much as only 10 fami- lies coming and going, it’s not go- Local jock hits big time PAGE 15 le records icoss:3 NEWS photos Nell Lucente Firefighters race at Hose Reel Festival A WEST Vancouver firefighter heaves a water-laden bucket to his bucket brigade team member (far left photo). The bucket brigade was one of the events at Saturday's 6th Annual North Shore Hose Reel Festival at Mahon Park, which attracted approximate- ly 2,000 residents. Above, UBC firefighters run, pull- ing a 150-pouid steel hose reel behind them. Left, a UBC member wrestles with his hose. The object of this event is to be the first to turn on the hose and douse a mock fire at the end of the run. ing to generate nearly as much traffic as any other high rise in the area." In a letter sent to council, Basil Favelle, chairman of the Strata Council (which represents the resi- dems of 17 condominiums at 747 17th Street), said, ‘We feel very strongly that our long-term resi- dence should not be encumbered due to a development of the pro- posed proportians...thus creating a depreciation in property value due to dack of view and outlook.’ The Norbill project mieets pres- ent zoning requirements. Mayor Don Lanskail noted that the area is already zoned for high = rise buildings. District called “configuration” bylaws allow what is deseglop- ments in the area, This includes a wide building of eight stories, a tall, slender structure going up more than eight stories, or a mix- ture of both. As part of the development permit application, Norbill will be required to post a $2,000 to $9,000 bend to protect the heritage trees on the property. The developer would have to forfeit all or part of that money if the trees were dam- aged or destroyed during construc- tion, Council decided to adjourn the public hearing tc its meeting of May 25, Ald. Mark Sager re- quested that district staff get a lawyer’s opinion as to the legality of the overall height and shape of the proposed building.