RiveR maRket wants to bRanch out
page
3
show & shine needs a new oRganizeR
page
6
victoRia should handle smoke: city
page
5
fRiday
July 13 2012 www.newwestnewsleader.com
fraser River discovery centre opened its latest exhibit with a bang. See Page A9
City wants more rental parking Agrees to changes but still 87 short of required spots Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
604.803-5041
Onni Group has agreed to pursue three ideas to reduce the need for parking at its proposed rental housing project in Victoria Hill, but city council is looking for more. As one of the final projects in the planned Victoria Hill development, Onni is proposing to provide 100 nonmarket rental units and 85 market units. In May, Onni asked the city to reduce the requirement from one stall per unit to .8 and to have a visitor parking rate of .1 per unit instead of .2. Since then Onni has said it will provide a co-op vehicle and a space for it, make surplus parking spaces available on an adjacent site, and provide outlets for electrical vehicles. That would reduce the parking Onni would be required to provide under current guidelines from 266 spaces to 255 while in turn increasing the number of stalls Onni is willing to provide from 166 to 168.
www.benchmarkpainting.ca
see ‘WE NEED’, A8
MARIO BARTEl/NEWSlEADER
Instructor James Doucette demonstrates the proper technique for dislodging an airway obstruction to students in the New Westminster fire department’s junior firefighter program recently. See Photos on A3
Crosty contemplates anti-loan campaign Objects to seeking loans to pay for office complex on the backs of taxpayers
the project’s development, city council announced in April it would continue with construction of the office complex. Grant Granger The city is planning to borrow ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com from the Municipal Finance James Crosty, who failed in a bid Authority to help pay for the to unseat Mayor Wayne Wright eight-storey building and parking last fall, is contemplating leading complex. a campaign to stop the city from Technically, the city is borrowing borrowing money to pay for an $59 million with $11 million office complex connected to the civic targeted for the parking structure centre currently under construction and the rest going to other planned in Downtown New Westminster. infrastructure projects which After its original partner, Uptown originally were to1:20 be paid out of 4x1.25_book_drive_ad_final.pdf 1 12-03-05 PM Property Group, pulled out of city reserves. The city, however,
now plans to pay the expected $33-million office complex cost out of the reserves. Council hopes to eventually sell the structure to a management company that specializes in office complexes. Taxpayers can object to the move by signing a form before Aug. 7. If more than 10 per cent of the eligible voters from the last election, which works out to 4,528, submit their opposition to the borrowing then it can be repealed. “The public has not approved building an office tower on the taxpayers’ backs,” said Crosty, who
99
PAINTING Starting at $
BOOK YOUR BOTTLE DRIVE POP
appeared before council Monday night. “All they had to do last night was rescind it and bring it back on Aug. 27 (the next council meeting), and the mayor chose to shut the discussion down.” Crosty, who collected less than half the votes of Wright last November, called it a negative option process because not signing the form means a taxpayer is approving the borrowing whether they know it or not. He said such a decision should go to referendum.
Brent Klemke OWNER/MANAGER
Please see ‘I DON’T SEE’, A8
00
* PER ROOM
3 room minimum. Paint & labour included. Ask for details.
We only use low VOC and ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY paint
BOOK TODAY