sign bylaw
criticized

‘Too restrictive, say merchants

NORTH VANCOUVER
City businesspeople  criti-
cized a new city sign bylaw
at a Monday night public
meeting.

By Pameia Lang
Contributing Writer

Bob Fernley said the new bylaw
being drafted for city council’s
approval was too restrictive.

Signage, he said, should be well
regulated, not over regulated.
Fernley added that a sign is typi-
cally expected to last nine years,
while its holder should last 25
years.

But Fernley said if any change
is made to a non-conforming sign,
the entire design, including holder,
may have to be replaced at a cost
of between $10,000 to $40,000.

“‘That’s a substantial amount to
fork over if the Lylaw forces (a
small businessperson) to change
his sign,’’ he said.

Fernley suggested that
businesses could pay a premium
for signs like sandwich boards,
which are illegal because they
block the sidewalk.

The additional fees, he said,
could pay for additional in-
surance.

Fernley also presented . council
with a petition, signed by local
merchants, asking council to reject
the proposed bylaw and urging
council members to work with
businesses to develop a bylaw that
better meets the needs of the
business community.

Jack Irwin of Pacific Honda
said the sign bylaw heavily
restricted flags, streamers and
posters, which he said were an
important part of doing business.

Many car dealers, he said, use
strings of flags that require a
bucket truck at $100 per hour to
install, and becawse of the expense
most dealers change them only
every two to three years, rather
than the 30-day maximum sug-
gested in the bylaw.

Irwin said he was also concern-
ed about the prohibition of
rotating signs.

The restrictions in the draft
bylaw would inhibit North Van-
couver’s design community, said
Tim McLean of the British Col-
umbia Electric Sign Association
(BCESA).

He said the bylaw would also
cause confusion because ‘‘a lot of
the wording is ambiguous.”’

McLean said that while some of
the prohibited signs aren’t always
esthetically pleasing, they are
sometimes necessary.

The BCESA is trying to come
up with general guidelines for
communities around the province,
he said, and would be willing to
spend time on the North Van-
couver bylaw.

McLean said the bylaw now -be-
fore council was unclear and
would take four clerks to answer
all of the questions that it would
generate.

According to his understanding

.of the bylaw, Bob Tarplett said

the sign approved by the Canada
Post Corp. at William Meek
Printers would have to go.

William Meek runs the Lower
Lonsdale postal outlet that has
taken on many services no longer

NORTH VANCOUVER
CITY COUNCIL

offered at the ci. 3 main post of-
fice.

Without the sign, Turplett said,
‘nobody will know where the post
office is.””

Balloons are also forbidden
under the current draft bylaw; the
restriction upset balloon-business
operator, David Munn.

“They help to brighten up
stores for specials, sales or pro-
motions,’ he said.

City development services direc-
tor Fred Smith said a ban on
balloons was included to avoid the
large inflatable signs that have, in
the past, become unattached and
have caused problems.

But the A&W's Dan Ruimy said
balloons, banners, portable read-
o-graphs and other prohibited
signage help manv businesses
maintain their competitive edge.

Being able to make changes and
add new items to the outside of
the store, he said, “*helps us to
achieve what we have ro do."*

Other sign bylaw cencerns rais-
ed at the meeting by merchants:

ethat a sign cannot be offen-
sive to any member of the public
(leaving room for unreasonable
objections);

®the cost of replaciny a non-
conforming sign when one small
change needs ta be made.

* restrictions or prohi.ition, as
well as $40 fees and des.::n panel
approval, of temporary promo-
tional signage;

*prohibition of sandwich
boards (which are currently il-
legal);

© restricting large lots or build-
ings to single signs.

But bylaw avthor W. Graham
Argyle told merchants and council
that while the bylaw is in its sixth
draft, there is still plenty of room
for change.

‘Signage is bringing life to
Lonsdale,”’ he said.

Argyle added that in drafting
the new bylaw his company hoped
to improve the took of the
streetscape and see businesses pro-
sper.

Many of the concerns raised
Monday night, he said, deal with
items that are unchanged from the
current 30-year-old bylaw.

Argyle said that too many signs
in too many styles increases the
difficulty of reading all signs.

He added that the intent of the
new bylaw is to present a cleaner
look to street signs and make
them easier for the public to iden-
tify.

Addressing the fees and fines,
also of concern to the merchants,
Argyle said they are based on the
amounts charged by other
municipalities.

Mayor Jack Loucks asked any
concerned businesspeople to sub-
mit their suggestions in writing
and explained that the draft sign
bylaw has yet to be finalized.

The bylaw will probably go
through a policy committee
meeting and a public hearing prior,
to any council approval.

Council had issued a
moratorium on issuing sign per-
mits to city merchants, but has
since rescinded that motion.

f atinacen 9 Keo ceece

; EAT-1N OR TAXE-QUT
bere

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

LONSDALE CAFE’S Peter Leung with a sign outside his restaurant. Local businesses are com-
plaining that the city’s proposed sign bylaw is overly restrictive.

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

The bizarre accident occur-
red at approximately 3:30 p.m.
when the driver of the truck
suffered a seizure as he was
driving southbound through a
single-lane construction zone
along the highway. The truck
swerved into a waiting am-
bulance, sideswiping it and
another car before striking a
third car.

The third vehicle, driven by
a lone male occupant, was
pushed into a ditch. The truck
came to a rest on top of the

Man survives pile-up

Car crushed by truck in
Squamish Highway accident

A VANCOUVER man was a foot away from being
crushed by a five-ton truck in a four-car collision
Tuesday on the Squamish Highway near M Creek.

car, trapping the driver inside.

According to an emergency
worker at the scene, the trap-
ped man had about a foot of
breathing space between his
chest and the front axle of the
truck above.

Said Squamish RCMP Col.
Chris Stewart, ‘Someone was
smiling on him that day.”’

West Vancouver Fire
Department District Chief
Walter Gibbs was in charge of
the 1%-hour operation to cut
the man out of his crumpled
car,

“It appears the truck hit him
head on, pushed him into the
ditch and went right over

him,’’ Gibbs said. ‘‘We used
the jaws of life and air chisels
and a big heavy tow truck to
pick the truck up. We had to
pick the truck straight up.”’

Firefighters cut away the
back of the car to extricate the
injured man. He was subse-
quently airlifted by helicopter
to Vancouver General Hospi-
tal,

Added Gibbs, ‘‘He appeared
to have more cuts and bruises
than breakages. He seemed to
be only complaining about be-
ing stiff and sore from being
motionless for so long. The car
was crushed all around him. If
you go down to Pay Less
(Auto Towing) you'd say the
guy would have to be dead. I
think he saw it coming and he
laid down.”’

Meanwhile, according to
Stewart, the driver of the truck
remains in hospital under
observation. The trapped man
was released from hospital
Wednesday morning.

Fires hit two North Van homes

TWO EARLY morning
fires extensively damaged
two North Vancouver
District homes this week.

By Nichael Becker
News Reporter

A faulty furnace is believed to
be the cause of a July 30 blaze at
a new home on Kerrstead Place in
Lynn Valley.

A day earlier, two people nar-
rowly escaped with their lives
when fire broke out in a
townhouse on Inlet Crescent in
the Indian River area of Deep
Cove.

On Monday, North Vancouver
District Fire Department
firefighters were called to 3223
Kerrstead Pl. at 4:11 a.m. Upon
arrival firefighters found fire bur-
ning through the roof of a new
home under construction,

Said North Vancouver District
Fire Department Capt. Bert Batt,
*“*When the crew looked in the
building there was fire in the
basement, the first floor, second
floor and through the roof."

The fire was brought under
control by 4:58 a.m.; preliminary
estimates put the loss at $100,000.

“It was two weeks away from
people moving in,”’ said Batt.

The cause of the fire is still

A

under investigation by the fire
department, the North Vancouver
RCMP and insurance adjusters.

Meanwhile, a smoke alarm is
being credited with saving the lives
of two tenants when fire hit at
about 3:30 a.m. on July 29 at
305-3980 Inlet Cres.

At the — scene, firefighters
found fire had spread
through three floors of a
townhouse. The fire wzs controll-
ed by 4:14 a.m.

Said Batt, ‘‘The two occupants
(a man and a woman) of the
home were asleep at the time and
were alerted to the fire by a
smoke alarm.”’

Investigators have determined
the cause of the fire to be ac-
cidental.

Said Batt, ‘‘We have the fire
starting in the storage room access
to the crawl space, just off the
unit’s enclosed garage. The fire
was burning for a period of
time.’’

The smoke alarm sounded, aler-
ting the tenants. They attempted
to escape down the stairwell, but
couldn’t reach the front door.

“They went out to a balcony
and climbed to a_ neighbor's
balcony. When they came down it
was so hot, they were lucky to
even make it to that balcony,’’
Batt said.

“Let's put it this way,’’ Batt
added, ‘‘hadn’t the smoke alarm

The fire caused an estimated
$100,000 in damage to the
townhouse. About $50,000 in
damage was caused to the
townhouse’s contents. An adja-
cent townhouse received an
estimated $10,000 worth of fire,
smoke and water damage.
gone off, we would have had
fatalities. It really saved two
lives.”

Index
WM Automotives ........ 23
@ Classified Ads....... 28
@ Ecoinfo ............ 138
@ Home & Garden..... 15
@ Kid’s Stuff.......... 20
WM Trevor Lautens...... 4
@ Paul St. Pierre ...... 9
i What's Going On... .20
Weather

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Sunday, cloudy with sunny
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