July 19, 1991 Classifieds 986-6222 Office. Editorial 985-2131

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

DURING A recent hot spell four-year-old Justin Srnith was found staying cool by the pool in Mahon Water Park. Similar activities don’t look promising for this weekend as the forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, highs in the low 20s, with a 20% chance of showers both Saturday and Sunday.

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NV City Council rejects bid for alcohol-free dance club

WITH A group of Marine Drive businesspeople pushing for its rejection, North Vancouver City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to defeat a motion that supported 2 youth dance club in the municipality.

By Pamela Lang Contrituting Writer

Letters from nine area businesses and verbal pres- entations Monday urged council to reject the Sanctuary Invest- ments Ltd. proposal to open an alcohol-free nightclub for teenagers at 730 Marine Dr.

Local merchants raised concerns about parking and increased van- dalism; they also said the club would create an area conducive to drug pushers. Most said the club was inappropriate for an area that is primarily given over to car- oriented businesses.

Council members had even more reasons to reject the idea.

Ald. Rod Clark said that ap- proving the club would be ‘creating a powder keg.”’

Ald. Stella Jo Dean empathized with the business people's con- cerns about the negative impact the club would have on area business.

Approval of the facility, she said, would take a tranquil area and create a ‘‘volatile’’ situation.

Dean said that ‘200 young people could do a lot of damage,”’ adding that she agreed with the assessment that Marine Drive is an inappropriate location for the club.

Ald. Bill Bell supported the club concept, but he was concerned that council would have no guar- antee that the owners would in- troduce and maintain the prom- ised security and safety precau- tions.

Sanctuary's James islaub told council that his company planned to put four security people inside the club, and three outside, in- cluding two that would patrol the surrounding area businesses.

But Bell pointed out that while the club’s business licence could be cancelled if Sanctuary did not live up to its promises, the cancellation process wus lengthy and difficult.

Alone in supporting the motion, Ald. Barbara) Sharp said that Sanctuary had tried hard to deal

NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL

with the concerns caised by the community.

The club’s proposal, she said, had undergone numerous changes since it was first before council, including increased security, teduced hours, and a more restricted age range for the club's clientele.

Sharp pointed out that the pro- posed club is something the city needs, but something taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for if it was run by a private business.

She accused council of being all talk and no action when it comes to youth initiatives.

Sanciuary, she said, has receiv- ed the support of Queen Mary School, North Shore Neighbour- hood House, and the Youth IJni- tiatives Committee.

North Shore Mazda's Patrick

ALD. BILL BELL...supports the club concept, but is concerned about security.

Muir said a youth-oriented club is a positive idea. But he argued that because Sanctuary will be operating the club as a profit- oriented business, it would be making decisions based on cost effectiveness rather than social re- sponsibility.

Rather than just giving the youths a place to go, the club, he said, would attract bad influences to the neighborhood.

Property owner Jan Mansfield reiterated that the auto-oriented business area is an inappropriate location for a youth club.

But when asked by Sharp where the appropriate location would be, Mansfield said she didn’t know.

Philip Mansfield, owner of

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