By CHRIS LLOYD

The question of
whether or not a house
‘in North Vancouver

District becomes a
group home _ for
children in care ap-

pears to hinge on the
interpretation of just
two words in a clause
among the District's
bylaws.

And Human _ Resources
staff, already rebuked by
aldermen over their
“secretive way” in acquiring
the house and declaring it
would be a group home, now
think they can convince
council that such = use
complies with a District
bylaw referring to people
with “special needs”

Council had informed
Human Resources they must
either conform with the
conditions of the bylaws or
else apply for a rezoning

Regional manager of
Human Resources Bill
Macbeth now says he
believes the would-be oc-
cupants of the intended
group home do fall within
the category of “special
needs” and thinks he can
persuade council that such is
the case.

STRETCHING

But Mayor Don Bell has
told the News he doesn’t
want to see the District's
bylaw concerning group
homes stretched further than

very much
alive in NV

was intended since it 1s
already the most liberal on
the North Shore.

Prior to receiving
notification from Macbeth
of the ministry's intention to
try to air its case, Bell
commented he was satisfied
the occupants of the home
would definitely not fit the
category of “special needs”
as presently defined.

Aldermen had objected to
the approach of Human
Resources staff who had told
neighbors of the home that
the house was to become a
group home whether they
liked it or not and that they
were simply being informed
out of coutesy.

District Social Planner
Lenna Jones, who later
claimed she was misquoted,
told the News at the time
that the situation was correct
and nobody could prevent
the use of the house as a
group home since the oc-
cupants would be a:bona fide
family according to one of
the District's definitions.

She referred to a
paragraph in the bylaws
which referred to a family as
being a unit of up to eight
people, of whom not more
than six have special needs.

Mayor Bell explained to
theNews: :

“She (Jones) was in error
in her interpretation,”
adding: “It is not the
definition of ‘family’ but
‘special needs.’ The part (of
the bylaw) she didn't give

you is the definition of
special needs.”
That section, he says,

defines people with “special

daniadown

A quilt for year
round comfort!

Down Is G2 natural insulgtoe ifr wart in winter yet ngnt ing
CQO} IN the summer Ther Quilt gn ¢ Ose foesttier: ceapatan es oll
CONwETITIONCH De dtng you Ow use Wee Onstatihy eupwtey ous
slec fon of Jesigns IN PeMMapress Per Olas Gee) crisis fo

endless dec orotag  fsocssttoilihers

avotlatie

Moat) ting Wt apes

en

CAPILANO DRAPERIES, INC.

Down Quilts

Bedapre sds Rugs

Carpes Custom made Drapes

1641 | onsdate Ave
North Vancouver

YBBR 5627)

S&S

PICTURES FROM

AROUND THE

ccnaw vente, choos Lib st be tha toe tte tbe ea bee NVE Oto

SERNA

WORLD were among

news editor Chris Lloyd (extreme right) watches . (Terry Peters photo).

needs” as being “either an
individual with a physical or
mental disability which has
been so diagnosed and
classified by a qualified
medical practitioner, or an
individual 65 years of age or
older.”

Bell commented: “] think
what is happening is that the
definition ts being in-

and best

Would YOU accept up to

$500 Grant -

...for us to do this?

* ABS

("For houses but before 1961)

terpreted more loosely than
council meant,” adding:
“The word disability was
included to distinguish it
from a problem. It refers to
something you were born
with or had as a result of an
accident rather than a social
disbility.”

The bylaw section is being
considered by the municipal

Phone Dave Woodhouse now for a free estimate at:

NNINE Insulation Ltd.980-2712

658 Westview Shopping Centre North Vancouver

solicitor, he said, for
determination as to whether
it excludes such use for a
residential home.

Meanwhile, Bell has no
particular objection to the
idea of such youngsters
living together in the
District.

He feels much of the
resistance to the home by

many aspects of newspaper production which fascinated
children from Irwin Park Kindergarten in West’Vancouver who visited the North Shore News offices for a tour last
week. Managing editor Andy Fraser shows pictures fresh from the United Press Canada wire photo machine, as

=

neighbors may be largely
due lack of public relations

thought by Human
Resources.

“There was this attitude
-that ‘we're going ahead with
this and we're not asking
you, we're telling you’ and
they rubbed people the

wrong way.”

_ oy

For ONLY $98 actual cost to you Pennine will cover your 900 sq ft attic with a cosy quilt of fibreglass the safes!

20 Year Guarantee on Materials and Workmanship

24 hours