Wednesday, September 1, 1999 — North Shore News ~ 3

NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge

BORIS Schaffer of Blendi's Bistre and Bakery proudly dispiays the restaurant's liquor licence, which was recently obtained after - months of opposition from some of Biendi’s neighbours.

Katharine Hamer Contributing Writer

IT’S not the alcohol, but the air con- ditioning that has residents of Eagle Harbour’s Primrose Drive in a spin about Blendl’s Bistro and Bakery.

The restaurant, which sits across Marine Drive from Thunderbird Marina, has just been awarded a liquor licence by the provincial gov- ernment. Blendl’s ownership turned to the

rovince. after learning their application to fest. Vancouver District council would come with conditions. . ;

Unhappy resident Bino Anand said the restaurant’s initial application to council was defeated by one vote, but that West Vancouver would have been happy to reconsider if Blendl’s was prepared to:

@ put up a fence behind the restaurant to block residents’ view of garbage;

do something about the “excessive” noise created by the restaurant’s fan;

@ ensure ample parking for customers away from residential streets.

“I’m not against alcohol at all,” said Anand.

“I wouldn’t mind if at Icast they tried to be a -

good neighbour. I know (Blend|’s) has to make

a living — I don’t wish them any ill-will. But

“ they’re doing this at the expense of our lifestyle and comfort level.”

’ Anand said the restaurant’s fan is “blaring

"24 hours a day. It’s not like the intermittent

noise of traffic. I can’t sleep with the windows

Rescue team cal

Bob Mackin News Reporter

NORTH Shore Rescue is drawing closer to tying a record.

No party is being planned to mark this

~ milestone, however.

The volunteer search and rescue organiza- tion had three missions this weekend, increas- ing the year-to-date total to 51.

With four months to go in 1999, odds are that the team will tie — if nor break — last year’s record mark of 68.

NSR joined Grouse Mountain Safety Patrol Friday night at 6:30 p.m. to rescue 2 maie

~ hiker in his 50s who was stranded on a cliff band off Little Goat Mountain.

Victoria approves liquor service at controversial Eagle Harbour bakery

open.”

According vo Anand, Blendl’s manager Boris Schaffer cold him that the fan was run- ning all night because kids working in the kitchen “don’t know the rules.”

“What, are chese kids not capable of read- ing?” said Anand. “The owner told me a ycar ago that he’d fix jt. I don’t know what his word is worth anymore.”

Anand is also concerned about overflow parking from the 40-seat restaurant threaten- ing the safety of children who ride their bicy- cles along Primrose Avenuc.

“It isn’t a parking area,” he said. “There’s no shoulder (on the road), it’s just a ditch. It doesn’t matter to me so much — I’ve got space for 10 cars in my driveway. But if cars come around the corner in a hurry, it could be very dangerous.” ;

Anand wants a “no parking” sign on Primrose, so that any cars without permits would be towed away.

Bur Schaffer ‘said the additional traffic is bound for the marina, not the restaurant, and that Blendi’s has made every eifort to lower noise levels.

“We actually had someone from the health department go to one of the houses (of a com-

ied out three ti

plainant) and measure the decibel levels,” he said. “It’s impossible not to make any noise. But a car driving past makes morc noise.”

Schaffer said that only a handful of neigh- bours are opposed to the restaurant. Many oth- ers, he said, have already been by to congratu- late him on obtaining a liquor licence. Some have even brought flowers.

“Having a liquor licence doesn’t affect the noise levels they're complaining about,” Schaffer said. “If ix wasn’t this, it would be something else. It’s a never-ending story. We’re complying with the regulations. We can’t just keep spending a fortune on fixing things when these people will never be satisfied. We might as well close the restaurant.”

Schaffer said the restaurant opted to go straight to the Liquor Licensing Board (LLB) in Victoria after the motion to grant them onc at West Vancouver council was denied. He said Coun. Allan Williams suggested the restau- rant’s owners go to the LLB if they thought West Vancouver was being unreasonable.

_ Of the “mess” Anand describes behind the “bistro, Schaffer said: “It’s a restaurant. There are going to be délivery boxes. But if anybody goes back there, they can see the effort we're making.”

Anand said his biggest beef is with the provincial government: “We’re like a micro- cosm of the Horseshoe Bay ferry issue. Victoria doesn’t care. It’s like big brother. They want to make more money, so they'll saddle us with problems. If it inconveniences people, to hell with them.” :

North Van toxic soil vanishes

Michel Comte Contributing Writer

TEN tons of contaminated scil illegally dumped on a North Shore curb have gone missing.

Bundled up in chemical leak-resistant plastic bags, the dirt was ready to be trans- ported vy the District to a proper dispos- al site, but when the trucks rolled in to load it up on Aug. 10, the dirt was gone.

“We're worried,” said) = North Vancouver District environmental protec- tion officer Richard Boase.

The soil was contaminated with arsenic, lead, zinc and gasoline and could produce a toxic leachate if soaked with water. Unchecked exposure to rain or sur- face water could cause the contaminants to be released if the soil was spread in a garden or used for landscaping.

The black dirt had a very strong smell

"of petroleum and contained remnants of

seashells. Officials believe it may have been sandblasting grit from: one of a dozen marine repair facilities on the waterfront or from similar facilities cise- where in the Lower Mainland. It was like- ly dumped in North Vancouver from a full-size pickup truck.

“The person that illegally dumped the soil could have taken it back. However, I don’t want to make any assumptions, given the level of contamination. It's important that this material be disposed of in a safe manner,” Boase said.

In May, a concerned Indian Arm area resident called the municipality about “some strange-looking dirt on one of the turnouts.” The site had often been used for illegal dumping.

Inspectors tested the soil, covered it with plastic and marked it with spray - paint.

The municipality had considered _ship- ping the soil to a landfill site in the U.S. or to Swan Hills, Alberta, te be burned. A Delta company, Phillip Services, was even- tually chosen to treat the soil and dispose of it.

Asa result of this incident, the district is reviewing its solid waste handling pro- cedures.

“Even though (the soil) was bundled and marked appropriately, iz did sit there for some time (three months),” Boase said.

See More page $

hie 2

Photo North Vancouver Diztict

THIS pile of contaminated soil has gone missing in North Vancouver.

Mes Of WECKECII

A signal fire created by the man had been spotted earlier by helicopter. A Grouse patrol member established voice contact with the orth Shore man while two NSR moun- taineers rappelled to the hiker. A ground- based rope evacuation was used because night- fall was approaching and the man was not injured. The operation was completed by 3:30 a.m. It was the second time in a month NSR and Grouse staff co-operated in a rescue.

“The Grouse Safety Patrol and NSR have a very high regard for each cther, especially as a result of the Grouse Grind avalanche rescue operation earlier this year,” said NSR search and rescue manager Tim Jones.

In the middle of the Groust: operation, four rescuers were seconded to Mount

Seymour to answer a report of a missing snow-

boarder. A well-meaning Seymour staffer had earlier spotted a snowboarder headed for the hills and figured he was connected to a car found parked in Seymour's lot at the end of his shift :

North Vancouver RCMP couldn’t contact the vehicle owner and no note was left on the vehicle’s dashboard, so NSR was mobilized. A helicopter was launched in the morning, but it was all for naught. The brother of the vehicle owner arrived and explained the man and a friend had hiked to Elsay Lake and camped overnight.

Jones said NSR will meet with BC Parks and Mount Seymour officials to avoid a repeat.

“The problem up there is there’s no reg- istry box, there’s no overnight parking policy,”

he said. “That’s what led to this problem. We .

had an unnecessary search.” :

NSR's third call in two days came at 9 p.m. Saturday to find two stranded male hikers along the trail route between. Lynn - Headwaters Park and Grouse Mountain. ;

The men, in their late-20s, did not register before setting off on the trek. They were accompanied by pet dogs.

They were found together at 3:30 a.m. near Crown Pass. Onc of the dogs, suffering from an injured paw, had to be carried out on a makeshift stretcher.

Jones said he recommends against taking pets on such long excursions. .

“Family pets that aren’t used to long treks will injure their paws and become quite lame,” he said. “You're asking pets to go on hikes

_ they've never done before.”