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& — Friday, April 10, 1998 ~ North Shore News

north shore news

VIEWPOINT

CanOxy options

Maptewood debate deserves
to be held over. As reported in
the April 3 News, the issue of

rezoning property in the south
Seymour area of North Vancouver
District has galvanized the community.
And for good reason.

A two-night public hearing was
adjourned April 1 after district council
determined that teo many questions
remained unanswered.

There is little debate that something
needs to be done with the 30-acre
buffer zone to the north of Canadian
Occidental Petroleum’s CXY chlorine
plant. The property is brit one piece of

~ a site jigsaw puzzle that has the poten-
tial .to.. house a dynamic

' residential/business/commercial core:

— a-core that is currently missing in
the district. -

future complexion of the Maplewood
area’s waterfront need further clarifica-
tion.

Rezoning the CanOxy property is
not a new idea. The district and the
chemical company have been at it since
1992. It has passed through numerous
reviews and envizonmental assess-
ments. But the public, as illustrated by
last week’s hearing, has still not had its
say nor been fully convinced that the
route proposed is the route that will be
best for the municipality.

A series of public meetings on the
issue has therefore been set, after which
the hearing itself will be reconvened on
May 21. There will be no excuse at that
time for all residents concerned not to
be fully informed on all the issues sur-
rounding the Maplewood development
opportunity. And no excuse to delay a
decision on it further.

But the nature of that. core and the

mailbox ___.

Some beefs over
column about cats

Dear Editor:

I was pleased to sce ‘Julius Pokomandy’s (April 1
News) column titled “Oats are fine for more than por-
ridge,” in which he pointed out that the FDA recom-
mends this fine grain to reduce risk of heart disease.

- But then [ noticed that his first recipe featured becf?,
With the Mad Cow Disease scare in the UK, and the
Oprah Winfrey ‘trial. in Amarillo, Texas,.perhaps we
should take-heed ‘and ‘try to use more health-promoting
foods, particularly those in the plant kingdom.:

_ EarthSave Canada is now organizing healthy vegetar-
ian por-lucks on the North Shore, as they were so popu-
lar a few years’ago when they were held at Holy Trinity

~ church halle 7 er .
“~The best-attended. pot-luck’there was when Howard
Lyman was the featured speaker, . .
-aln‘case you don’t know him, he’s the former beef and
dairy ‘farmer, feedlot operator ‘turned. vegetarian who
prompted the iafamous Oprah Winfrey <rial when he
>” told the.truth on her show about the cannibalism in the
beef industry, which prompted Oprah to declare that she
_ wouldn't cat another burger, which may have cause beef
futures to‘drop, which caused the trial!
Anyone. .wanting more information about the por
Hick, cook classes, and free video evenings can call 987-
«. Victoria Ho:
.. North Vancouver
- victoria@intergate.bc.ca

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by North Shore Free Press Ltd., Publisher Peter Speck,

“.- The'Worth Shore News is published

‘and quahtied

Jonathan Bell
Creative Services Managet
985-2131 (127)

Of gambling halls and golf balls

NO doubt you’ve heard the
rumor about how Park Royal
shopping centre is going to make
North Shoreans forget any hostil-
ity they have toward
its proposed “big
box” store develop-
ment. ;

And my guess is that it’
would work wonderfully
well.

According _to some:
chaps, Park Royal and the
Squamish ‘Indian band are
proposing to plop down a
casino and hotel on the
Ambieside Park dog run, lagoon and pitch-
and-putt area.

“There’ll be so much hue and cry,” said
a well-informed source of mine, Agent X,

“that they [opponents of the big boxes] .

will forget all about the big boxes.”
He laughed uproariously.

- *How do you think this will go over in

West Vancouver?”
Twisted sense of hurnor, Agent X has.
To be sure, that site has long been sin-

_ gled out for hotel development, Agent X

noted. Most West Vancouverites have paid
no attention, leaving it to the never-never
future. And several persons I tried the
rumor on were dismissive. “There are
always rumors going around about Park
Royal,” ho-hummed Influential Person Y.
“I heard recently from someone in
Toronto about a ‘[sale] package’ for Park
Royal.” Surely the owners, the Lalji family,
would never-sell Park Royal?

Agent X added that West Yan town hall
has been “clumsy” in its relations with the

PETER SPECK
Publisher
985-2131 (101)

Human Resources
985-2131 (177)

Ok
Valerie Stephenson
Classified Manage-
986-6222 (202)

Frotography Manager
985-2131 (160)

Comptroller
+ 985-2131 (133)

Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ld. All nghts reserved

Squamish. But just over a year ago munic-
ipal manager Doug Allan assured me the
relationship was good and getting better.
Ifyou were a gambling man, what odds
would you give that relations will be taking
a distinct downturn?

920

The Wild West of West.
x Vancouver has got wildez.
4, auiens The western part of our
some pretty upsetting
words 2¢ a couple of meet-
ings iri March.
The upsetters were a
number of. grumpy old
male golfers at municipal-
ly owned Gleneagles golf

course.

The upsettces were members of the
Western Community Services Society
chaired by John Clarke and other gung-ho
supporters of the parks and recreation
department’s long-awaited western -+--<t¢:
ation centre. They are over the moon after

_ years of impatient waiting and lobbying. ..

I was unable to attend the March 31
informational meeting due to an event 13
years carlier — tiny daughter’s birthday.

But i am reliably told — this time by
Agent Z — that these good people, most-.
iy the cultured and artractive ladies of

Greater Tiddlycove, were shocked: and -

appalled by the mostly male, mostly retired
golfers, some of them apparently very bel-
ligerent.

That’s because the plan (Option C) is
to move a short stretch of Marine Drive
mountain-ward to wrap around the slice of
land West Vancouver bought from BC Rail
in 1994. The aim is to bring the rec centre
and the golf club into a state of blissful

town was the scene of:

togetherness, sharing a miore useable bi
of land. ; ;

There is a hard core of golf club me:
bers (42% of whom live outside West’ Vari)
who find this about as popular as‘ plaque:
buildup. They've given Kevin: Pike's ‘ree
departmenr staff at the meetings a hard
time. They also spoke at council Monday.

But no fisticuffs at last Saturday’s open
house. | listened carefully to Ralph Fersta
of the rec staff, Tom Finnbogason-of the
WCSS, and Blair’ McLenaghan,’ a. reguiar
golfer at. Gleneagles who was forthright
buc certainly non-threatening.’ Councillor.
Victor Durman later gave me a‘couple of
hours. elucidating the. issue: from. both,
all, sides. oo oe ie

T have a mind of my own-about-th
matter, but I haven’ quite made it up.

Q Q . Bee

To end with the good news, théugh it:
won’r surprise North Shorearts — peopl
who had the excellent sense to ‘settle here

In a real estate market that’s «be
trending . downwards | in. . the ©: Lower:
Mainland. since 1995, last montyNorth.
Vancouver had the highest rise ye:
year in miedian price for single-
homes among the 16 comm
sured by the Greater Vancouve
Valley Real Estate Boards:

-, Only five’ showed..a “rise;.
Van’s $11,000 was highest.” ~

In average (as .opposcd .
price, West Van and North Van impressive
ly led the way, rising $89,906 and $33,093"
respectively from a year earlier. West-Van"
average sale of $777,978 in’ March
nearly. $90,000 above the figure: fo:
ond-costliest westside Vancouver city. °°

Now. if only our children could affor
to live here’... Sa SE

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thy Rensha
Managing Editor
985-2131 (116)

ye

Charlene Thomas
Ny EAgnaget
980-0511 (166)

Laem © anaes
‘Trixi Agrlos
Pramoucns Manager
985-2131 (218)

all Snelgrnve
‘General Othoe Manager
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