=nergy company answers critics f storage plan ‘om pagel ded by Westcoast Energy’s Wayne Soper, vice-president environment and pvernment relations, includes coler shots of scenic Howe Sound vistas. The G storage tank is invisible to the eye in photos identified as View from Lions Mgay, Simulation of Proposed Tank from Highway 99 and Simulation of mroposed Tank from North Shore of Gambicr Island. Point by point, the hot-button issucs — visual impact, noise, public health id safety, earthquakes, environmental concerns — are addressed. Howe Sound politicians, including Boname and Broughton, met on londay to discuss the Westcoast plan and grapple with the larger issue of plan- ming for the region.Said Boname, “There’s a fair portion of West Vancouver that fonts on Howe Sound. What started off as being a concern about the visual pact of the size of the storage tank has turned out to be the tip of the iceberg. - “Ie’s not only a very large structure, but there’s the earthquake chance that pEmething might go wrong and there's the scenario of of Howe Sound going p in smoke if everything did go wrong ... . And [ guess a third concern is the Mapiture of Howe Sound. Will it be another False Creck ar the turn of the cen- . ” - For the more immediate furure the West Vancouver mayor is considering a ublic open house with Westcoast representatives some time in January. Meanwhile Lions Bay's Broughton has taken heat from Sunshine Coast gional District Chairman Patncia Baldwin for actions “that side-step the view process currently under way.” The mayor made official representation pn behalf of Lions Bay residents opposed to the LNG project to the B.C. Btilities Commission on Nov. 25. She will take her community’s case to the Seenvironmental assessment office panel on Dec. 16. . Said Broughton of Baldwin’s criticism: “There is a difference of opinion bout the role of leaders. The Sunshine Coast beli¢ves that the igor (of review process) is in the hands of these studies that are being conducted. (But) this is bsolutely the public’s time. The public needs to be alert to this issue, other- ise the public is asleep during a very critical period.” fa. Westcoast’s Soper doesn’t want a sleeping public either. “I think we've been mecry forthright in terms of public consultation, being very open with the pub- mc in terms of what the LNG project means for the area. “One of the things I think we’ve been very clear on is that it’s important Migration to acentral Lonsdaie rea continues lews Reporter ian@nsnews.com S the centre of North Vancouver commerce shifts to Central Lonsdale, busi- messes and people in Lower sLonsdale feel the pinch. ~ The last bank to leave Lower Lonsdale was the Bank of Montreal, which closed its doors at Lonsdale and Esplanade Nov. 28 — even though there are big plans for the area. Now, seniors and the disabled liv- ing irr Lower Lonsdale must hike or bus up to Central Lonsdale for their banking services. Banks such as the Royal Bank, sCanadian_ Imperial Bank of Commerce and now the Bank of Montreal have left Lower Lonsdale. For ‘economic reasons, they consoli- dated their operations in major bank- ing.centres in the vicinity of 1Sth and # Lonsdale. But some customers won’t Visible Areas Map Arees from which tank is vile Cocherew Servis Assoc ictes Inc. Graphic submitted by Catherine Garris Associates Inc. A proposed liquid natural gas storage tank will be visible from @ 2.3 km stretch of coast north of Horseshoe Bay and south of Sunset Beach. thar we all stick to the facts. In the case of tiquefied natural gas, it is a cold liq- uid stored at armospheric pressure. It does not explode. The comparison to liq- uefied petroleum gas explosions is really not reasonable. It’s a facility in con- junction with the pipeline. There’s no linkage to other industrialization. There are no present plans, no fiture plan, no contemplation whatsoever of there being any shoreline facilities relating to LNG shipments or a port,” he said. oa, NEWS photo Pau! McGrath BANK of Montreal customer Sylvia Bendrodt says the bank’s move out of Lower Lonsdale shows a lack of foresight. However, she'll continue to use the bank's Park Royal location. follow the bank’s lead. Sylvia Bendrodt gets around in a wheelchair. She lives at 33 Chesterfield Ave., about a block and a half away from the former Bank of Montreal location. She said she won't use the bank’s loca- tion at 15th and Lonsdale. “Ie’s a trend and I’m bucking it. I won't go up to 15th.” However, she will continue to use the Bank of Montreal at its Park Royal location. That way, she me can do the rest of her shopping at Park Royal, Romney Copping runs an insurance and notary public business and has been in Lower Lonsdale 38 years. He’s seen the big, banks pull up stakes and move up the hill. The transfer of banking has had a devastating effect on Lower Lonsdale merchants, Copping said. He added thar thousands of clients who for- merly banked in Lower Lonsdale walked around and shopped in the area. Those customers are no longer around, he said. His annoyance at the banks’ move is tempered by the fact he is close to retirement. “If 1 was young I would be really annoyed by this,” he said. His anyst has been heard by North Vancouver City Council. It passed a motion Monday to try to invite all North Shore financial institutions to dis- cuss redevelopment plans for Lower Lonsdale. Coun. Darrell Mussatto suggested the motion. He said that over the next decade or so, another $,000 to 4,000 people will move into Lower Lonsdale and an equal number will move into the former Versatile Shipyard site. The banks, he argues, lack vision. “They are just not looking into the fucure far enough because we've got big plans for Lower Lonsdale,” he said. At an Oct. 27 meeting, ceunci) passed a motion asking Bank of Montreal vice-president of community banking Rob Serraglio to explain why the bank moved. in a written reply dated Nov. 18, Serraglio said . his bank decided to consolidate the Esplanade and Central Lonsdale branches with regret. He added the branch had experienced minimal growth, With other banks leaving the area in recent years, the Bank of Montreal had hoped to pick up some of their business. That didn’t hap- pen, said Serraglio. He added that the overwhelming majority of | banking transactions at Lonsdale and Esplanade are performed electronically. Customers can still perform such transactions through automated banking machines at Lonsdale Quay. Richard Ramey, the Roval Bank's North Shore manager, said his bank still has its eve on Lower Lonsdale, even though it closed its branch in the area. “I foresee being back down in the Lower Lonsdale area some time over the next five years in some capacity because it looks like it is the fastest growing area an the North Shore,” he said. Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com FRANK Williams Junior used his father’s name to - rip off two mortgage companies of about $47,000. Williams, 27, was sentenced last month to a six-month con- ditional sentence and 12 months’ probation for the crimes. North Vancouver provincial court Judge Doug Moss ordered Williams to pay $44,308.86 restitution to the L.S.B.C. Captive Insurance Corp and $5,500 to Burnaby- based H.F. Heritage Financial. Williams, a New Westminster resident, was required to perform 200 hours of community work service. In July 1996, Williams received a mortgage loan from Buruaby based Aaron Acceptance for $13,200. Williams told the mortgage broker he owned a house at 6422 Burns St. in Burnaby. The house was actually owned by Williams’s father, a man named Frank James Williams. Frank Junior signed mort- gage papers with the name “Frank Williams.” He used his teal birthdate and an expired driver’s licence for idennitica- tion. Aaron Acceptance gave him a $13,000 mortgage. Frank Junior received $6,575.06 worth of cheques trom Aaron Acceptance which he cashed. , About three months later,. Frank Junior contacted H.F. Heritage Financial Corp. Again, Frank Junior said he owned the - Burns Street property that was valued at $322,000. Frank Junior said he needed a second mortgage that day of approximately $46,000 on the house. He was issued $5,000 as an advance. The cheque was cashed at a Surrey Money Mart. A few days later, as per Frank Junior’s request, two cheques totalling $34,978.96 — were deposited into the Surrey account of Frank Junior’s girl- friend. Two months after thar in December 1996, Frank Junior approached = Time — Realty Mortgage Corp in’ North Vancouver. Using the same story and identification he tried to get a mortgage oof more — than $25,000. A suspicious Time Realty Mortgage broker did some dig- ging and called police. Williams was arrested by North Vancouver RCMP eco- nomic crime section officers when he arrived to sign the mortgage papers ar the ‘Time Realty office a few days later. Police said that Williams did hot own any property and he benefitted “tremendously” by impersonating his father.