HUMPHREYS BLASTS DEVELOPERS

Caulfeild mall given the nod

WEST VANCOUVER District Council approved a land use

contract for the Caulfeild Plateau shopping centre

project

Monday, but not without some harsh words from Mavor

Derrick Humphreys.

After receiving ao staff report from) director of planning and development Steve Nicholls, coun- cil approved the contract, with the amending agreement that all details of the proposal be spelled out. Only Ald. Gordon Rowntree voted against the motion.

Following approval of the pro- ject, Mayor Humphreys took aim at real estate developers on the whole, while not specifically citing developer Bell Canada Enterprise Development Corporation (BC- ED).

While Humphreys noted that West Vancouver has been built up by developers, he criticized developers for not always giving residents full information about projects.

“T have to say developers have a duty to say just what the facts of

life are," said Humphress.

Referring specifically to the Caulfeild) project, Humphreys said: *' This council has agonized with this subject. Ive taken it to bed with me almost every night since Christmas.”

Following Humphrey's speech, Don Wright, generel manager of shopping centre development for BCED, said he did not feel the remarks were directed towards BCED.

A heated public meeting was held July 8. when over 100 angry Caulfeild urea residents jaromed the council chambers to express their discontent wich the shopping centre proposal.

Only a handful showed up tu

taken Mondas ’s council meeting. The stati report said the green belt. which as just over one acre on the 8. 3-uere wall provide almost complete screening of the buildings from othe adjomniny jimberteild Lane and Road.

Site,

tn answering Ald. Ditna fut chison’s question of whether the green belt can be enlarved to push the shopping centre back a further 10 feet, Wright: said that would dramatically reduce parking.

The reduction would be about 40 cars from the current allowance of four cars per 1.000 square feet, he said.

The report also stated traffie to be generated by the shopping cen- tre can be accommodated.

The $10 million shopping centre is slated to open in August, 1987, with construction beginning early next year.

Design and landscaping detiils are subject to further review by the advisory design panel.

Weather:

Mainly sunny Wednesday and Thursday. Highs near 25°C.

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Bathtub racers take a plunge

SIX PEOPLE who left Horseshoe Bay Sunday morning to race against bathtubs ended up in a race against hypother-

mia and exposure.

The party, with its Nenaimo- to- Vancouver Bathtub race tub en- try lashed to the foredeck of an

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NEWS photo Stuart Davia

VIOLINIST Garet Rogers and guitarist Archie Fisher enjoyed their music as much as the wudience did at this year’s Folk Festival, The performance took place Saturday at Jericho Beach, Thousands attended this popular, yearly event that ended Sunday.

WV COUNCIL APPROVES

Panorama condos to rise

THE DEBATE about a proposed townhouse complex to be built on the Panorama Studios site will soon end as a result of a decision Monday by West Vancouver District Council.

Council approved the develop- ment permit for the project, re- jected at its July 7 meeting, follow- ing a presentation by the project's developer, which outlined several modifications io earlier plans.

Council still must pass a zoning bylaw at its neat meeting before the permit is formally issued for the 42-unit complex in West Van- couver.

The address of the site is Folkestone Way.

John Northey, Polygon Proper- ties vice-president of development, satisfied council’s concerns about

2280

the project’s building height by citing information from land surveys oof the property which show the height fram the natural grade is no more thin 27 feet.

The maximum allowable height for townhouse developments in West Vancouver is 30 feet.

Ald. Diana Hutchison asked if the height could be kept within 25 feet, saying she fears an unwise precedent could be set. ‘tf hate to get afl these precedents — then it

comes back tous.”

Northey said) extensive excava- tion of the property for studio construction has altered the grade, therefore iy slight variation from allowed heights approved for the project could not be seen as a precedent to be used as an example by developers of other projects.

“The proposed development variance permit does not create a precedent for surrounding future development, as it clearly represents a unique reclamation situation,” Northey said in his written report to council.

The revised plan further ad- dressed council’s concerns about the height of the project, by in- cluding a drop in the roof line by

four feet.

Northey said this revision allows for a significant ingrease in visibili- ty for property owners above the Sit

He also said visitor parking can be increased, up te $4 in tandem or across the garage entries, in addi- tion to the 24 spaces currently provided.

Further spaces can be provided, but only to the detriment of Land- scape, Northey said, adding that increasing parking even more than in the revised plan “would be tan- tamount to “overkill.”

Ald. Donald Griffiths said he was pleased to support the motion, as the developer made a genuine effort to Meet requirements.

18-foot Boston Whaler, left—the West Vancouver marina at approx- imately 6 a.m.

The group arrived at the Van- couver Island city too late for the 8:30 a.m. race registration deadline and consequently began the return voyage to Horseshoe Bay at around noon with the $150 tub and its driver following the Boston Whaler.

Part way across Georgia Strait, the tub flipped over. Crew aboard the 18-foot vessel tried unsuc- cessfully to right the partially submerged tub. After salvaging the craft's 7.5 horsepower outboard, the crew, all from Vancouver, decided to tow the partially submerged tub.

They tried to tow it for five hours, but could make no head- way. The tub was eventually cut loose.

But, with additional fuel used in the attempted tub tow, the Boston Whaler's {15 horsepower out- board ran out of fuel.

Though the boat’s owner Delmar McNeil had an additional 20 gallons of gas on board, at- tempts to restart the motor failed.

The crew, five males and one female, wearing only shorts and T-shirts, drifted for three hours.

“We were getting pretty burned out,” McNeil said. ‘People were getting pretty upset.”

Finally, a seaplane spotted the drifting craft and radioed an ap- proaching Seaspan tig.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. the chilled and exhausted crew wis tthen aboard the tug. and given hot drinks and blankets.

Ninety minutes later coast guard auxiliary Jorg Helssen was dispat- ched from his home on Passage Island to pick up the bathtub race hopefuls.

Boat and crew were towed to Horseshoe Bay. They arrived at 12:45 a.m.

“Ehad four people in the cabin, one sick,’ Helssen said. ‘ATL of them were exhausted.”

An ambulance was waiting dock side for the crew, but no inju- ries were reported.

MeNeil, a 26-year-old machinist, said Tuesday he had been unable to go to work since the 19-hour ordeal, but planned to) return Wednesday.

He said he and the rest of his passengers were fortunate,

vuse if we had been out there all night, some of us might not have made it. Next time, for sure, Mil be taking extra clothes.’”

Of the 69 bathtubs that entered the 55-kilometre Nanaimo to Van- couver race, 41 completed the journey.