proses mete ae Great Greek gets OK after three-month hearing PERSEVERANCE TRULY does pay as far as Nick Vavaris is concemed. After literally years of trying. Vavaris finally got? North Vancouver City Council's approval fora plan to rezone his 107 West) Esplanade restaurant lo a pub, His efforts culmi- nated in a grueling three-part public hearing spanning a three-month peri- od. Although the rezoning proposal received its third reading, its final approval now hinges on the results of another related proposal to designate the building that houses the Great Greek restaurant a heritage site. The heritage designation proposal will also have to undergo a public hearing process. Amidst congratulatory — hand- shakes from supporters, Vavaris said he was pleased with the result, but also acknowledged that the process is far from over and that the pub would not be up and running for at least five months. . He also referred to the past con- cers of other local pub owners as “nonsense.” : “They don’t want to share the pie.” he said. During Monday's final phase of ; the public hearing process, council “again heard submissions from mem- . bers of the public speaking both for .” and against the proposal. ‘: . However, during Monday’s hear- ing Speakers against the proposal not Logging, landslide dink argued From page 1 Morse’s recent’ report, provided “superficial” reports. Feller said that in areas prone to ; slides, clear-cuts increase instability. “That's been proven time and _ ‘time again and that’s been proven in . Vancouver's watersheds,” he added. -' But he said he could not comment ‘on the 22 slides studied recently by the water district because he had not been at the slide sites, ' Although the water district con- tinues to maintain that soil erosion is natural and not due to logging in the watersheds, the GVWD has not demonstrated that clearcuts have not increased erosion and landslides, Feller said. ‘He said landslides increase tur- bidity in streams, but data on that the- ory is inconclusive. Thurber Engincering’s Dave Smith rejected Feller’s charges. “We believe we are thorough and objective.” he said, adding reports were as complete as they needed to’ be “in order to draw the conclusions . we drew.” He added that the firm’s rescarch _ shows that neither clearcuts nor road ‘building led to landslides in the watersheds. . Morse: said the district only : looked at slides that affected roads in “« the Feb. 10 report. The GVWD spent ‘$80,000 cleaning debris from the landslides off the watersheds’ log- ging roads. NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL By Robert Galster only outnumbered those in faves, but also outperformed them. Leading the charge was Ascher Smith, chairman of disposal giant Smithrite Management Ltd, who said he Mew in from his Catifornia home specifically to attend the bear ing. {lis presentation included a song to liven the councillors” hearts. He said the councillors were a tit tle too glunt for his liking before telling them that the chief reason he was before them was his concer for properties he owns in the Lower Lonsdale area, “[ disagree with another pub being within 50 feet of one of my outlets.” said Smith, adding that it would fead to increased parking and litter headaches. “And 1 know filth." On a serious note. Lower Lonsdale-area Joseph Coreia pre- pared a map of the North Shore on which he placed red dots representing ‘liquor outlets. The visual impact of the map was clear, with the Lower Lonsdale area appearing splashed with red. “To add another pub would be absolutely ridiculous.” he said. Graeme Bowbrick. also a local resident who spoke at an earlier hear- ing, supported the pub application Man fights to save trees MOTIVATED BY outrage that Vancouver’s great trees are being ignored by the:. Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and worry that they may fall to the log- ger’s chainsaw, Ralf Kelman searches for behemoths. in Lower; Mainland watershed areas to let the public know big trees stand close to home. t By lan Noble News Reporter Not one to let the fences sur- and: was not impressed by Coreia's work, “It provides fora wonderful visu- al.” said Bowhrick, but he added that it represented an “exercise in intellee- tual dishonesty.” “OF course you're going to find more pubs in Lower Lonsdale, buat that’s because there are more people there” ‘The rezoning proposal passed sec- ond and third reading in a 4-2 vote. Councillors Barbara) Perrault: and John Braithwaite both opposed: the proposal, “T wanted people to really discuss the mitin issue — is it good plan- ning?” mused Braithwaite referring tothe many speakers who focused on praising Wavaris’ character rather than the actual benefits of another pub. Coun. Darrell Mussatto intro- duced his comments by referring to the “yout” platform he used during the fast election. “Eve aged about LO years in that year.” said Mussatto. He called the decision before council “tough” but added that his faith in various securi- ty measures currently in place in the city swayed him to favor the applica- lion’s approval. “T truly believe that the police can have a handle on problems if there are STUDENTS FROM Sutherland secondary. school ” NEWS photo Ci special any." needs class descend on a dio of L.A. Kings during the NHL Coun. Barbara Sharp echoed Mussutto, saying that “decisions like this don’t come easy. We've listened and we've listened und we've lis- tened.” NEWS photo lan Nobie team’s practice at the Pacific Coliseum on Monday morning. The students were special guests of the Kings at the practice during the California team’s visit to Vancouver. On Monday night, the Kings were thumped 8-2 by the Canucks. home. He wants the GVRD to: allow more people to see them. _|., John Morse, the water dis- trict’s manager of water engineer- ing and construction, said. 3.500 _ people toured the Capilano water- shed trom May to September in 1994, The same tours will be offered next year but access will not be expanded, he said. Kelman ” started . his tree- searching career by looking for big stumps and studying “stump- scapes.” “T was totally into stumps.” he said. | However, his focus changed from stumps to trees when he was hiking’ in the Lynn Headwaters RALF KELMAN’S tree-finding forays have taken him to stands = area and spotted a giant fir, Five well away from logging roads in the Capilano watershed. rounding the restricted watershed areas stop him, Kelman travels the densely forested water- sheds secking big trees — firs, cedars. spruce and yews. Kelman noted there is a lot to find back there. “We're talking about the big time,” he added. “We're talking about the best.” In the Crown Creek area. of the Capilano watershed stands Canada’s second-largest Douglas fir, Kelman said. Although not record height (a mere 71 metres, or about 237 feet), the giant has an 3.3-metre (11-foot) diameter and a 10.5-metre (35-foot) circumference. A Douglas fir more than 90 metres (300 feet) Ahigh in the Coquitlam Watershed may be the ‘country’s tallest tree, Kelman said. A cedar Kelman found above a logging road had a circumference of 15 metres (50 feet). Although cedars in the watersheds are not’ record height, big cedars are scattered through- out the watersheds, Kelman said. ; Giant yews, he said, live on the west side of the Capilano watershed. Kelman said he believes many more giants jurk in the watersheds, and they should be found and measured. Measuring tree size is not easy, said Kelman, . but based on a combination of height, diameter and crown spread, it can be don. Kelman believes and hopes the public will demand stricter logging regulations if they real- ize large trees remain in local forests. He said local watersheds’ provide a unique opportunity to see B.C.'s “tree heritage” close to _ minutes of bushwhacking brought him‘to the base of the 2.1-metre (seven-foot) diameter giant that had been left untouched by loggers. From that beginning, a determined tree-spot- ter was born. “It's a sport in a way with a social twist to it,” he said. Kelman now compiles maps of the locations of massive trees and has begun a “great tree “inventory”. of 1,000-year-old trees to mark the upcoming turn of the century. Kelman said he does not take breaking the law by entering restricted areas lightly. But he added the GVRD’s policy left him with. no choice: he said he was not even allowed to join a media tour of the area. He said he may have to step on a few GVRD toes to find, map and try to save the trees.