Forest deal revealed Feds bought Mtn. Forest for $25,000 PRESERVATIONISTS OPPOSING the develop- ment of the North Vancouver District Mountain Forest area say the federal government is attempting to profit at the ‘expense of North Van- couver District taxpayers. By lan Noble News Reporter Mountain Forest is the object of a lawsuit, pitting Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the B.C. government against North Vancouver District. ; The land was expropriated by the Department of National Defense in 1928 for 2 court- ruled price of $25,000. ’ The. information, © con- ‘tained in a dociment obtained from the district's lands departinent, goes on to say the defense department originally “offered $6,725 to the munici- pality. The offer was rejected as iasufficient. Other information that has Seymour _ preservationists ~~; seething is contained in the Expropriation Act that Sierra Legal. Defence Fund lawyer Greg McDade says was in - effect in 1928 and 1967, when ‘the land'was declared surplus FACTORY FUTON [ teance in feat fae mw) B windshield washer D fiuid Coun ey nat be combined wih any Over lat, ‘Lonsdale at 13th by the Department of De- fence. According to McDade's reading of the act, the land should have been returned to the district when the army no longer needed the land for the same purpose it was expropri- ated for. Articles published in the Vancouver Sun at the time reveal the district offered to buy back the fand, which had been used for a rifle range, using the same fiscal formula under which the land had been expropriated. But the district’s offer of $55,000 — half the then- assessed value of $110,000 — was evidently not good enough. Real estate experts, said the Sun, believed the 295- hectare (738-acre) parcel could fetch well over $1 mil- lion on the open market in 1967. - The CMHC now implies its Mountain Forest lands were worth roughly $146 mil- lion before rezoning in 1995. The federal Crown corpora- tion’s development plans for the 206-hectare (510-acre) parcel were shot down when the land. was rezoned to Parks, Recreation and Open Space in October 1995 under pressure from Seymour resi- dents. In 1967, the feds said they were willing to try to work out a “mutually satisfactory” deal with the district before selling land on the open market, stat- eda newspaper article. The district said it was agree lactoes. said pine sefe bed frome, -- €67 E Ish; H.¥an ~ Nom Sat. 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Centrat Ambleside 147 1B Clyde Ave. 925-2833 Plus we accept VISA /MC alnoextracharge & willing to compromise, but added the federal government must remember that the land was expropriated and its use for developments and tax returns had been denied to the district. How much CMHC paid for the land is unclear, said McDade. Calls to CMHC were not returned to press time. McDade, the lawyer for GUARD, a driving force behind the Mountain Forest preservation effort, said CMHC is challenging bylaws popular with local residents and throwing around huge numbers, when the expropri- ated land only cost the gov- emment $25,000. ; “This is really the federal government is beating up on the taxpayers of North Vancouver,” said McDade, a Seymour resident. “They took it at the front end and now they are taking us:at the back end.” And, he added, the CMHC may not lawfully own the land at aij. Mcdade objects to CMHC. challenging the dis- trict’s zoning power, “which (the district’s) always had.” According to a CMHC press release issued when the court challenge was launched | in November, the land was acquired by CMHC at the dis- trict’s request in 1970 to pro- vide housing for North Vancouver residents. District lawyer Bob Bauman said he’s looking at the arguments put forward by McDade, but it’s inappropri- ate to comment on them because the issue is still before the courts. No court date has been set, he added. TO ALL OUR VALUED f CUSTOMERS ¥§ f who have purchased E B Nature’s Chote Splees at SuperValu in Edgemont Village or’ SuperValu in Royal Oak Mall: you are now able to purchase them at Quaensdale Market 3030 Lonsdale, N.V. E Thank you fer your past ol patronage g For further information, if f needed, please call 465-2100 i i i i i i | i | | ‘| | I. * ‘| | | t ‘| if l Did you miss your RRSP contribution this year? . Does this sound familiar? 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