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Family magazine
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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
Fall/winter 2014
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
www.nanaimobulletin.com
VOL. 26, NO. 38
Lantzville signs terms to revive Foothills project
I
MAYOR CALLS deal ‘major coup’ for district.
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
A new memorandum of understanding with developers of the Lantzville Foothills Estates is a “major coup” for the community, according to Mayor Jack de Jong. The District of Lantzville has inked an MOU with Lone Tree Proper ties, the company behind the revival of a 730-hectare housing project. The document was made public Sept. 8 after council signed the water agreement with the City of Nanaimo, and is seen as a step forward for the multimillion-dollar development. While the developer has said it’s found water on site, the terms of the MOU allow it to negotiate for up to 16 new connections annually to Nanaimo’s system in the event it can’t provide water to meet district standards. A phased development agreement will put timelines on infrastructure, services and amenities
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Dress rehearsal
Cpl. Norm Smith, head of Nanaimo RCMP Traffic Services, left, and Supt. Mark Fisher, Nanaimo detachment commander, are all dressed up for the annual Tour de Rock Cops for Cancer Red Serge Gala. For details on the semi-formal fundraiser, which supports the battle against childhood cancer, please see page 4.
Students head back to class after teachers’ strike resolved BY KARL YU THE NEWS BULLETIN
Students in Nanaimo are back in school today (Sept. 23). The B.C. teachers’ strike officially ended Thursday night when 86 per cent of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation members voted to approve a deal with the province. About 77 per cent of an approximate membership of 41,000 teachers cast ballots. The deal runs until 2019 and Mike Ball, president of Nanaimo District Teachers’ Association, said teachers realized they had achieved the best deal that was possible at the bargaining table.
He also said many teachers who voted in favour did so reluctantly. While the contract has language dealing with the contentious issues of class size and composition, Ball said the two were not dealt with appropriately, as there is only about $15 million in new money to divvy up throughout the province. “Really, $15 million extra into the education system is not going to address anything,” said Ball. “For [Nanaimo school district], that would mean an extra two teachers across the district.” Cheryl Heide and Angela Milligan, English teachers from Ladysmith and Nanaimo District Secondary
schools respectively, echoed Ball’s sentiments. “It doesn’t really address all the needs that we have as a province, but it’s a step in the right direction,” said Heide. Milligan said she was happy that there would be labour peace for the foreseeable future. “It’s nice that we won’t have to worry about fighting another battle for a while, but we’re locked into an agreement that’s OK.” Schools were behind picket lines from the final two weeks of June until Friday. The Ministry of Education said time lost to the strike would not be made up. reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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and protect developers from approval reversals – a measure the company has considered critical. In return, Lone Tree has agreed to build a 1.4-million-gallon reservoir, provide $6 million in additional infrastructure funding and dedicate 364 hectares of continuous park. It will also provide another 81 hectares in feesimple land to the community, plus property for a new fire hall and public works yard. De Jong said he’s certain both parties are satisfied with the outcome, and called the land, amenities and financial benefits much better than previous proposals. The parkland, nearly equivalent to the size of Stanley Park, sets a model for negotiation with developers. “Parkland can be obtained if a community is prepared to sacrifice some density and I think for the future of the Island this is important. We’ve got to conserve land,” he said. The Lantzville Foothills Estates was proposed in 2004 but has run into obstacles, including foreclosure and the struggle to find adequate water. See ‘FOOTHILLS’ /2