est Van halts Greystones Wednesday, February 24, 1993 - subdivision North Shore News - 3 Lower Caulfeild resident pleas help save 1.5-acre property from four-lot fate IMPASSIONED PLEAS from Lower Caulfeild residents West at Monday night's Vancouver District Council meeting helped save a !.5-acre estate containing the 1927 “‘Greystones’’ house frora being subdivided into four lots. Council was able to reject the subdivision proposal in the area immediately south of the 4600- block of Marine Drive because of a new “monster house’? bylaw that requires developments on land with more than a 30-degree slope to obtain a’ development permit from council. “Without that bylaw, there would be no public meeting,’’ said Mayor Mark Sager. Whether council can stop a less dense development on the two legal lots that make up the prop- erty or prevent an owner from By Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer replacing the attractive Greystones Structure are questions that re- main. But on Monday there was hear- ty applause at council’s response to the speakers, most of them res- idents of Lower Caulfeild, a pic- turesque neighborhood laid out by pioneer Francis Caulfeild in the rambling style of old England. Plucking quotes from Scripture and popular music, Marine Drive NVD rejects plan for neighborhood pub on Cap Road THE CONTROVERSIAL proposal for a neighbor- hood pub at 1765 Capilano Rd. near Marine Drive was rejected Monday night by North Vancouver District Council. By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer Pub proponents Marjorie and Roger Gibson appeared before council’s planning and develop- ment standing committee last week to argue that they should at least have the opportunity of a public hearing. But despite staff and advisory planning commission support for the pub site, council decided in a 5-2 vote to stop the application in its tracks withcut initiating the public-hearing process for site rezoning. .. Roger Gibson later told the “News that he felt two councillors - (Paul. Turner ‘and Janice Harris) had indicated support for the public-hearing process and pointed out that “if they hadn’t changed their minds’? the vote would have been 4-3 in favor of a hearing. : But. Lower Capilano residents left the meeting jubilant. “If they had gone to the resi- dents first in a properly organized fashion, the proposal would never have gotten this far,”’ said one. Council stopped using polis or referendums to collect public in- put on pub ‘applications in January 1992, Instead, a system: was adopted that requires the applicant to con- duct a’ public meeting in the comminity with staff present in an advisory capacity. The meeting must be advertised, but the applicant is also required ‘to distribute an information package to all property owners and residents within a 350-metre (£,150-foot) radius of the propos- ed development site. a Budget Beaters 2 Business Gi Classified ® Editorial Page & Frugal Gourmet NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL | Local residents maintained that 63% of the residents within that 350-metre zone were opposed to the Capilano Road pub plan and that their opinion should. count for more than the 200 letters of support collected on behalf of the Gibsons. Coun, Joan Gadsby agreed. Citing concerns about’ parking spillover, traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, Gadsby said, “My mind has been made up from the beginning. 1 do not sup- port a pub here.”’ Gadsby also suggested that the RCMP report on the pub proposal was not an endorsement. She quoted from a letter to district staff from Sgt. B.R. Douglas that noted the business owners would be “facing a few challenges’’ because cf the intend- ed. location, which was on the west side of Capilano Road be- tween Fullerton Avenue and Curl- ing Road. “The business will be located in an area where police are often called for all types of services,’’ wrote Douglas. But area motel ported the proposal. Zahir Karim of the Maples Motor Lodge told council that he had numerous discussions with the Gibsons ‘‘regarding concerns that I envisioned.” Karim said he concluded the pub ‘‘would be a positive con- tributor to our neighborhood.” But the majority of council disagreed. Coun. Jim Cuthbert said the site created serious land-use ques- tions. Coun. Ernie Crist and Mayor Murray Dykeman cast the only votes for a public hearing. Crist warned the gallery not to assume support from his stance, but he argued that ‘‘everyone has a right to the democratic process that we have set up.’ operators sup- Weather Thursday, cloudy with showers. High 5°C, low -2°C. - Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Numbe: 0087238 DISTRICT COUNCIL resident Stephen Aberle asked council to protect the ‘noble heritage entrusted to you’? and not allow the beauty of the area to be lost due to “shortsighted greed.” “It is impossible to separate this property from neighboring pro- pertics,”’ said another resident, Tony Allard. Allard added that the property’s current owner, the Vancouver Ar- chdiocese, which had received the Greystones land as a gift from a former West Vancouver mayor in the 1930s, should not be allowed to ‘‘ wring every last dollar.’ Much of the criticism over the four-lot| proposal centred) on district requirements that the Pic- cadilly South access road to the property be widened, sidewalks be added and provision for parking be made anathemas to a ncighborhood characterized by its narrow winding roads, “They want to widen it, flatten it and straighten it...and we're going to hate it,’ said Ron Woodall, who saw no benefit to the community from the devel- opment. Leading the vote to reject the proposal, Coun. Rod Day said that council representatives should meet with church officials to discuss a more acceptable use of the property. He also recommenacd a renew- ed look at planner Laura Lee Richard's report on further steps that could be taken to preserve Lower Caulfcild’s unique features and urged residents to continue taking a “tough’’ unified stand to that end. “We have to talk about value of the neighborhood — which is not in subdividing, but in keeping the character of the neighborhood,’’ said Coun. Pat Boname. the Lower Caulfeild, known for its varied homes, sited on large, ir- regular lots, has been experiencing pressures for infill development common to the entire Greater Vancouver area. ie NEWS photo Cindy Goodman THE NORTH Vancouver RCMP are searching for a man who robbed a local grocery store on Sunday, Feb. 21. According to a police spokesman, a man armed with a knife held up a clerk working at the William Store, 1604 Willlams Ave., at approximately 5 p.m. The suspect escaped with an undisclosed quantity of cash. The pofice describe the robber as being 5'8’’ (173 cm) tall, weighing 150 pounds (67 kg), Caucasian, 21 to 25 years of age, with dark eyes. The suspect was wearing a brown coat at the time of the incident. Information regarding this rob- bery may be forwarded to the RCMP at 985-1311. Posties fired for job action NV duo axed following refusal to handle extra mail TWO NORTH Vancouver postal workers have been fired for taking part in a wildcat strike two weeks ago. By Surj Rattan News Reporter And one of the fired workers said this week that ‘‘things could get ugly’’ as a result of the action taken against the employees by Canada Post Corp. Three other North Vancouver postal workers will receive two- day suspensions each for their part in what the Crown corpora- tion has called an illegal work stoppage. On Wednesday, Feb. 10, three North. Vancouver postal workers, along with a Canadian Union of Postal. Workers (CUPW) shop steward, refused to handle extra mail as required by Canada Post. As a result, the four, along with a second North Vancouver shop steward, were each suspended for that one day, without pay. But on Friday, Canada Post fired. North Vancouver CUPW shop steward Ray Andrews and a second North Vancouver shop steward for refusing to handle the extra mail. In addition, three North Van- couver letter carriers, who also refused to handle the extra mail, were suspended for two days. Andrews said a.clause in the union’s collective agreement states that the extra mail Canada Post wanted the four to deliver is only delivered by the Crown corpora- _tion’s Priority Post courier sec- tion. But Canada Post spokesman II- ona Beiks disagreed and said when there is too much mail for the Priority Post section to handle, motorized letter carriers are asked to deliver the extra packages. © “In North Vancouver there were four employees who refused to work that day (Feb. 10). Ray (Andrews) was the instigator of it and organized it. There was another shop steward from another North Vancouver depot who wanted to leave his job and go join them. “It was an illegal work stop- page,’’ Beiks said Monday. She added that there are clauses in the collective agreement be- tween Canada Post and the CUPW stating that if a dispute arises, a grievance should first be filed. Beiks said Canada Post had not received any grievance from the union as of Monday. She also added that CUPW workers across Canada’ have agreed to deliver the extra mail and that North Vancouver. has been the only problem area so far. Beiks said the extra parcels are delivered: by motorized letter car- riers who use vehicles to make their rounds. The mail involved amounted to an. average of two parcels per letter carrier per week. * But Andrews charged the reason, he and the other North, Vaucouver shop steward. were fired was because Canada Post is ‘‘trying to break the union.’’ He added that the second shop steward only left his job to try and *‘calm me down.”” “The local (union) is really steamed up about this. We're hav- ing a meeting on Wednesday and things could get ugly. He (second shop steward) only came to repre- sent me. “He was coming to coo! things down and the contract is clear that he can do that,’’ said An- drews. He added that Canada Post “decided arbitrarily’? that more work. would be given some letter carriers while at the same time work would be taken away from Priority Post employees. “The post office management has this talent for bringing out the worst in their employees. I was fired for taking a stand because | would not work for free. “This will be going to arbitra- tion, but that will take six moaths. Meanwhile, I’m out of a job,’’ said Andrews.