a Hetty - boost a for NV s transit By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com MUNICIPAL control of the regional transporta- tion and road network ‘ could provide the green light for a North Vancouver-operated transit service and a : rapid transit connection to downtown Vancouver. Those are the major local implications of an announce- “ment to be made today by Joy MacPhail, provincial minister _ responsible for BC Transit, and Greater Vancouver. Regional District (GVRD) chairman - George Pull. North Vancouver District --Mayor Don Beil, the district’s GVRD board member, ‘announced Monday that coun- cil would meet publicly tonight with GVRD staff to discuss the _ details of “a proposed joint greement.” While Bell said he could not confirm details of that agree- vment.:. before. the joint announcement, it was signifi- cant that Coun. Ernie Crist was appy to withdraw a motion requesting reconsideration of his call for a North Vancouve bus system. . . - Bell later confirmed that the GVRD had hired a negotiator i - to work with a provincial repre- sentative to create a: proposal for... a» GVRD-administered ‘ transportation authority. a. “Bell said. such a pro . Would be taken to the public by “the: member municipalities -. before the GVRD votes, likely in February, on such a major policy shift. Bell confirmed that : the proposed agreement “could “provide for a window to a North Shore transit system tied into a regional network.” |. However, he cautioned that -any such ‘system had huge hur- im dies to Overcome in terms of @. matching: local-to "regional mm nceds as well as the negotiation of transit union contracts. f - Additionally, the GVRD will } likely offer to assume control ‘over the: major regional road ‘ network (a'road system that the.. § province is in’the process of » downloading) provided that “new funding sources are approved by the province. mm: The GYRD's concern, said mm Bell; was that the province - would turn the roads over “and “pack away from the costs.” Locally, said Bell, the district would not want the responsibil- ity of the Fern Street inter- change without the province’s commitment to first pay for a solution to the notorious bot- tleneck. . GVRD spokesman Bill a -Morrell confirmed a joint province-GVRD = announce- ment on transportation and m governance will take place at Mj] the: Robson Square Media s Centre at 10 a.m. today. He said the GVRD’s manag- er of strategic planning, Ken aa Cameron, will likely be on hand for the district’s Wednesday meeting on the same issue. The meeting is open to the public and set for 8 p.m. at North Vancouver Distric: Hall. Wednesday, October 29, 1987 — N _ Mattress man woe ta DELL Sanderson scoops up golf balls at the Seymour Creek Golf Centre. He was participating in a CFOX radio contest stunt Oct. 25 in a bid to be eligible for a really big cash prize. NV By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com NORTH Vancouver District says two senior managers have been let go for cost-efficiency reasons. Out of a job, and already out of district hall, are former social planning manager Erica Bell- Lowther and former permits and licences manag- er Dave Pawson. A district press release received Friday talked about structural “realignment” but made no men- tion of managerial job loss despite the fact that Bell-Lowther and Pawson were no longer employed. According to Mayor Don Bell, a restructuring process that began last year grew out of a self-evalu- ation process conducted by the planning depart- ment during the term of the previous council. Bell confirmed to the News Monday what had previously been off-the-record rumor: a consultant had been hired in-camera earlier this year to take a look at the planning department and make recom- mendations to council. : That consultant was Mel Shelley, a forme Burnaby municipal manager who interviewed staff, ‘council and business and community leaders before ‘reporting to council in August. Bell said he didn’t have the figures at hand but that the cust of the “four-to-six week process” had already been included in. the 1997 budget plans for planning reorganization. Shellcy’s report went to council first and then to District chops mana Mayor promises more responsive efficiency in NVD ‘realignment’ municipal manager Gord Howie in August with council’s comments. -According to Bell, Howie reported back at the beginning of October recommending consolidation of the four departments under director of develop- ment Richard Plunkett into two departments. Howie recommended moving the social planning department into the planning department and com- bining permits and licences with the land depart- ment. That left Bell-Lowther and Pawson without jobs. District policy allows council involvement in the hiring and yearly performance reviews of the munic- ipal manager and senior directors. Remaining per- sonnel positions are‘not meant to be council deci- sions. Former land agent Don Sigston is now Manager, Lands and is responsible for the permits and licences section, while Irwin Torry retains contro! of the dis- trict planning department with the additional responsibility of social planning. “Tt was felt that, in some of those cases, the sep- aration of those departments was not serving the unified approach,” said Bell. The district has recently committed to a “one- stop-shopping” approach to development permit applications. Such an approach assigns a staff “point person” to incoming applications so that customers do not have to tack their application through as many as four or five different departments. According to Bell, the district may rake this approach one step further and create three geo- graphical cross-departmental teams assigned to the west, centre and east of the district. Bell claimed the changes would make the district “more efficient, more responsive to the applicant and the community.” Some community leaders fear a lessening of the district’s commitment to social planning because of the reorganization and its timing, but Bell says that is not the case. “The move does not represent a lessening of council priorities in such areas as seniors, daycare and multicultural,” said Bell.” Bell promised further examination of all district departments, including engineering. Asked if there would be any further staff posi- tions eliminated, Bell responded, “At this moment, two is all that I am aware of.” But he noted that as the district moves away from a land development policy other needs will arise in fields like transportation and long-range planning. “There is the potential for some reassignment of staff from one role to another so it doesn’t neces- sarily mean the further loss of positions.” Bell said he “was not aware of any special claus- es” that would afford Bell-Lowther or Pawson any- thing other than “industry-standard” separation packages. Pawson had recently been promoted to an annu- al salary that was close to $80,000, while Bell- Lowther earned close to $70,000 per year. lease agreement. wy may have options From page tained within the lease that outline the creation and maintenance of a “bal- anced community”, that should include the ability to “live, work, shop, and find entertainment and recre- ation.” cight specific questions also included an emphasis on the relation- ship between the Squamish Nation, the federal government and the municipality. He asked, “Is council aware that the Squamish Nation is not a party of any of the leases affecting the iands generally known as Park Royal South, but rather that the lessor in all instances is the Government of Canada represented by the Minister of Indian Affairs and = Northern Development.” He also asked for council to estab- lish a committee to be responsible f a report about the “legal options and remedies potentially available to the municipal district with regards to its rights as an affected party in relation to the terms and provision of the current lease and development permits gov- ering the Park Royal lands (South).” Said Tobin, “It is a bit amazing that this is not on file with the municipal district.” He stressed the need for council to address the details of the lease. He also ts councillors to examine the con- cept of the original lease which stresses the balance and integration of both the community plan for the Squamish Nation and the community plan of West Vancouver municipality. “Generally speaking, if there are provisions and considerations that arise from the terms of any lease agree- ment, it is clear that the municipal dis- trict is an affected party and therefore they may have options available to them.” He said council has a duty to “do their research,” and wants councillors to take a proactive stance in the devel- opment of the community. He says the preferred resolution is a “total reconfiguration and overall plan that is consistent with the values of the district.” Perer Lambur, a focal architect and planner, agrees. “The spirit and intent of the lease berveen Larco and the federal govern- ment (which represents the Squamish) closely matches that of the municipali- ty’s Official Community Plan (OCP). But of course, what has happened since that time (1974), is that there have been a whole series of amend- ments and what was intended by all parties to be a mixed-use area is now turned into almost exclusively mall stures and of course there’s more (development) to come.” Lambur said: “The whole intent of searching out the lease was to bring more information to bear and hopeful- ly get the Squamish Nation to the table to discuss their plans.” Meanwhile, Andy Danyliu was heard Tuesday morning on local talk radio as an advocate of the Community Health Coalition. He revealed on air similar details of the Said Danyliu, “The lease clearly shows that the signatory to it had inte- grated (details) that include not only commercial but recreation and enter- tainment aspects. “Whar really needs to happen is for West Van Council and the Squamish Nation council to get together with Larco — it’s in everyone’s interest to put in activity and infrastructure that won’t affeet the quality of life for all.” Said Coun. Victor Durman, “Council’s motion states that we will discuss with the other three jurisdic- tions (Squamish Nation, North Vancouver District and provincial highways ministry), the traffic needs and obviously we as good neighbors and the Squamish as good neighbors would like to work hand in hand in building an inter-related community plan for the area.” Toni Tinmmerman, communica- tions manager for Indian Affairs - B.C. Region, said that she is looking into the matter closely. She has a copy of Tobin’s questions and lease excerpts and has referred the matter to the pro- yram officer in charge of the file.