Dear Editor:

As an active member of the
Blueridge Community
Association and a resident of
Seymour, | must object to whar
D. Darlington so kindly refers
to as ‘the East Seymour gang’
(Oct. 20 letter to the editor).
Just because the majority of the
people cast of Seymour want to
preserve Mountain and Cove
Forests for the public does not
mean that we have “our heads
in the sand.”

The $360 million quoted
by D. Darlington as being the
amount lost to North
Vancouver District is so exag-
gerated that it barely deserves a
comment.

Anyone attending the pub-
lic hearings last year would
have heard CMHC’s own envi-
ronmental experts clearly
explain that vast portions of
Mountain and Cove Forests
could not be developed for
environmental reasons.

D. Darlington’s comments

also imply that there is no value
in keeping parkland, which
most of the public will enjoy
now and in the future.

What D. Darlington s2ems
to ignore is that taxes are not
“kept under control” — by
expanding the taxbase. One
good example is New York,
which has been on the edge of
bankruptcy several times in
spite of a very large tax base.

My wife and I moved to
North Vancouver District in
1986 and over the last 10 years,
our municipal taxes have gone
up by 75.1%.

Granted, the value of our
house went up, but so did
everybody else’s. Meanwhile
the population increased from
roughly 68,000 io 80,000 —
or 17.6%.

With D. Darlington’s thea-
ry a tax decrease should have
taken place. Not only is this not
the case, but the average taxes
are likely to go up by another
1.54% in 1997 just to maintain

News editorial response:

Yes, we are net

Dear Editor: .

North Van City ‘resides:ts
are not a bunch of bananas
(Oct. 20 News Viewpoint -—
Banana Sunday). We are con-
cerned citizens who are notall
wealthy: and we are not in
". favor of paying hiehzi taxes to
support a competitive run-
ning track in Mahon Park.

Leave Mahon Park for
everyone to use. There are
people walking and playing in
the park from first light until
late evening. A running track

Jananas

for a select few will close the
baseball diamond that gives
enjoyment to many.

North Van City railroaded
a veferendum = question
through after a dubious
process — ignoring the oppo-
sition of at least 300 area resi-
dents.

Now it’s time to vote “no”
— we do not want to pay
higher taxes to support a run-
ning track in Mahon Park.
Leilah Baker
North Vancouver

the present level of services, In
addition to this we are also
asked the $26 million referen-
dum question which will cost
the taxpayers another $95 per
year starting in the year 2001.
This is to cover the infrastruc-

“Experience
teaches us that an
increased taxbase

will not
necessarily result
in lower taxes.”

ture that an increased popula-
tion requires!

During the entire period
from 1986 to 1996 the district
has been selling land and using,
parts of the proceeds to subsi-
dize the operating budget. This
malpractice is (far too) slowly

MAILBOX POLICY

LETTERS to the editor must
be legible (preferably type-
written) and include your
name, full address and tele-
phone number, Due to space
constraints the News cannot
publish all letters.

cl

changing and will be climinat-
ed by 2001. What it means is
that we all — D. Darlington
included — should have been
paying more taxes if we had not
been artificially subsidized, and
ifour municipality had used the
proceeds from the land sales for
capital projects and/or to build
up the Heritage Fund.
Experience teaches us that
an increased taxbase will not
necessarily result in lower taxes.
Quite the contrary, higher
demands for services — new
roads, sewers and schools to
name three — would further
in-rease our taxes. Therefore,
to keep our taxes down and to
retain the livability of our com-
munity, you will see chat an
increasing number of residents
from the district —- and defi-
nitely not just cast of Seymour
— are getting very concerned
about the growth in the dis-
trict.
Eric Andersen
North Vancouver

JOHNSON |

GOD BLESS
AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL
NOV, 167 CIVIC CANDIDATES

| = —- = n

| Listen jirst, voters,

then back the best

Dear Editor:

In Trevor Lautens’ recent
writings in the North Shore
News he characterizes Jim
Hogan's entrance into the
West Vancouver race for the
mayor's chair as a “good
thing.” This because Hogan
apparently leaps to the top of
organizations he joins.

If Mr. Hogan wishes to
attain high office anywhere,
he would be well-advised to
seck a position from which he
could not only gain the nec-
essary experience but also let
the whole community
observe his abiliiy and perfor-
mancé over a period of time
so a vote for him could be
cast in an intelligent and

informed manner. It is not a
great or controversial news
item I realize to say that our
council has worked well, taxes
have held while services have
been maintained, land has
been preserved, community
infrastructure has been
enhanced or citizens have
been listened to; however, it
would be accurate to state,
“Boname Leaps to Mayor’s
Chair,” because it really is just
a natural progression after so
many years of service on
counci, school, _ parks,
GVRD, hospital, etc. Let’s all
get out there and vote for the
best person for the job.
Timothy W. Pegg

West Vancouver

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Saturday November Z
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