8 - Sunday, March 24, 1991 ~ North Shore News

Residents fear the loss of
single-family neighborhood

A PROPOSED three-
storey, 14 unit- rs -tment
building near NM oriz: Drive
and Capilano nuad was
described as ‘‘the first step
in the destruction of the
Lower Capilano communi-
ty’’ at a recent public hear-
ing.

By Martin Millerchip
Contributing Writer

Hugh Murray, president of the
Lower Capilano Community Res-
idents Association, urged North
Vancouver District Council to re-
ject the proposal submitted by Pas
Enterprise Ltd. for three lots
located on the east side of
McGuire Avenue, just north of
Marine Drive.

District planning staff said that
the lots were zoned C2 (commer-

cial) in 1982 for a mixed-use
building (that did not proceed at
that time) ‘‘in accordance with the
Capilano Corridor Report.’’

But residents said they
remembered the properties being
bought and allowed to deteriorate
until one house was demolished
for parking, while the other two
were used for storage.

In April 1990, a three-storey
building was proposed with com-
mercial space at grade and a total
of 11 apartments on the second
and third floors.

District planning staff suggested
the developer eliminate the com-
mercial component and that the
site be rezoned to muiti-family
residential after concerns were
raised over the bulk of the build-
ing and the marketability and ac-

7

NORTH VANCOUVER

DISTRICT COUNCIL

cessibility of the commercial
space.

But neighborhood residents still
appeared unhappy with the size of
the apartment building at the
March 12 public hearing.

Howard Barber, a Bowser
Avenue resident, pointed to an ar-
tist’s rendering of the development
and said, ‘*That doesn’t even look
like single-family, doesn’t have the
appearance of it. No way. That is
a large building that has the same
effect as having a large commer-
cial building sitting next to a
single-family residence.’’

Other residents expressed con-
cerns over the traffic that would
be generated by the development.

They pcinted out that there is
no eastbound turn onto Marine
Drive from McGuire, with the
result that all eastbound traffic
would have to drive north along
the length of McGuire Avenue be-
fore turning east.

The fact that McGuire is only
19 feet wide for much of its length
and often has tour buses parked
at its northern end compounds the
problem, residents said.

David Knee, president of the
Norgate Community Association,
claimed that while the building
would have no impact on Norgate
directly, the zoning would.

“If you do accept this proposal
now for RH2 (high density resi-
dential) you are going to set a
precedent which is going to
destroy the rest of the develop-
ment in that area, and we are go-
ing to have a hard time getting
densities down lower when devel-
opers see this going in across the
road,’” said Knee.

Ald. Joan Gadsby moved to
return the bylaw to council with
the intention of defeating it
because ‘‘it is obviously unaccep-
table to the residents of the area.”

But Ald. Ernie Crist reminded
the residents that the land is pres-
ently zoned C2, and under that
designation a building 40 feet high
with up to 20 residential units and
space for 60 cars could he built on
the site.

Council returned the bylaw to
its Policy and Planning Commit-
tee for further discussion. ,

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