“review,”

West Van finance director's
view enhancement queried

A CITIZEN task force will be
reactivated to take another
look at tree cutting in West
Vancouver's Caulfeild Park.

WEST VANCOUVER
‘DISTRICT COUNCIL
By Maureen Curtis

The controversy over several

- cutting incidents in what parks and
recreation director Kevin Pike
called “West Vancouver's most
scrutinized park,” has spanned five
years and does not seem to be abut-

- Vancouver - District

Council recently received a report
on the December 1993 cutting of
trees in the park from municipal
manager Doug Aflan. Council
agreed that there should be a 30-
day posting period before addition-
al tree work is done in Caulfeild
Park, ,
Over Coun. Pat Boname’s
‘protests, council also decided to
reactivate the task force assembled
“several years ago-to study.a 1989
tree cutting incident in the park that

“benefitted West Vancouver finance
‘director George Horwood’ 's nearby -

‘property,
“Since 1989 there has been a lot

“of time ‘arid expense and emotion

on the part of staff and members of

the community..." said Coun. Pat
-Boname. '

Any. further time. and money.

should. be‘ used for: work in the
~ park, rather than more study, ‘said

“. Boname.

“The intention i is not to open it

‘all wide again and undo the work of

~ the task force, but to go back and

said. Coun. Diana
Hutchinson.

According to Pike, 34 park trees

below the Horwood property were

*--cut:in 1989 to create “view corri-

dors," as agreed to by the former

municipal parks and © Fecreation

director, 2.0

4 Trees were also removed at the

.. Tequest of another local property
owner. ._.

: - Park users protested and council

+. appointed Ed Peck to conduct a

‘study. and created a task force to
. examine the issue and make recom-
~ mendations, ; os ;
.-. The findings ©. became — the
’ Caulfeitd “Park Management Plan

(CPMP),.
|. When several trees were cut in

"December 1993, also at Horwood's

' request, local resident Steve Aberle

"-: questioned the procedure followed.

The manager’s report on the
incident concladed that procedures

Inid out in the plan and West
Vancouver's Tree Management
Policy (TMP) had been followed.
Decisions on the tree cutting
had been made by municipal

arborist Shirley Nicolson, and tie.

Horwoods had paid for replanting
the area in which trees were cut.

As well, Pike concluded that
staff had gone out of their way to
treat the Horwoods impartially,

“Suspicions were aroused no
matter what was done,” he said in
his report.

In a recent letter to council,
Aberie disagreed that CPMP and
TMP guidelines had been followed.

How could a “natural feeling”
prevail, as stipulated in the CPMP,
when trees are being cut in a land-
scape “already — littered — with
stumps...” he asked,

Aberle did not agree that the
municipality had used the balance
of vegetation that existed in 1980
as a guideline or that the re-plant-
ing that occurred was as set by the
plan.

- He went on to question whether
the December 1993 removal of
three firs could be considered ' ree
thinning and window pruning,”
described in the si wage posted that
November.

Aberle also questioned the prin- |

ciple of staff compromising and
working with residents to accom-
modate requests for views.

“In this case, compromise has
come to mean death by attrition,”
said Aberle.

_He- discounted the manager's .

argument that outright rejection of
applications for tree removal often
results in clandestine cutting.
“Does he then. recommend that
no application be rejected, since
every rejection is a potential cata-
lyst for vandalism?” Aberle asked.
He recommended council over-
see all tree cutting applications
from municipal staff. or council
members and asked the municipali-

ty to acknowledge that the extent of .

tree removal had been “excessive
and unfortunate.” ; ‘
Task «force . member - Bob
Sexsmith urged council to follow
Aberle’s recommendations.
But fellow task force member

and professional forester Glen

Paterson felt the municipality
should leave the past behind and

work to implement its management’
_ plan.

He emphasized maintenance of
the 1980 vegetation and view bal-
ance along with windowing ‘and
removal of “truly dangerous trees.”

_ -Paterson said that it would be a.
mistake not to plan the future of the
; park forests.

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