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THURSDAY October 9, 2014 • www.langleytimes.com NEWS Power Now in Charge
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Indoor range shot down
BUSINESS The Joy of Coffee
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Resiliant Rookie
Distracted drivers offer wild range of excuses
Making Hay While the Sun Shines
MONIQUE TA MMING A Time s Re po rte r
LAWYERS DRAWN INTO DISP UTE OVER CITY ZONING BYLAW PARAMETERS B REN D A AN D E R SO N Ti m e s Re po r t e r
A Clayton Heights man who hoped to open an indoor shooting range in the former A&B Sound building on the Langley Bypass has had his plan shot down by the City of Langley — twice. The reason for denying Dustin Sikora a business licence, City officials said, is that the building in question is zoned for recreational use, and a shooting range does not fit the criteria. The City’s argument is that recreation is defined in its bylaws as an opportunity to perform a physical activity, such as swimming, skating, bowling, golf and the like. Sikora, who consulted a lawyer after being denied a licence by staff, appeared before council on Monday night, in an effort to have them reverse the decision, which they have the authority to do. He pointed out that while billiards is specifically excluded as a recreational activity under the bylaw, shooting is not mentioned and therefore cannot be banned. And, as an official event at the Summer Olympic Games, shooting is, by definition, a sport, he said. However the City, which
consulted its own legal counsel prior to Monday’s meeting, contends that the absence of indoor shooting from the list of approved activities means that it is, in fact, prohibited. Sikora was given the option of applying to have the building rezoned — a process that could take a few months and would require a public hearing — but Sikora called it a “stall tactic” that would cost him time and an additional $4,000 to $5,000. “It’s an inappropriate process for what the argument is,” he said. Langley City CAO Francis Cheung acknowledged that even if Sikora decided to apply for a rezoning, there is no guarantee he would be successful. Instead, Sikora opted to plead his case before council. Joined by more than a dozen supporters — many of them military and law enforcement members — Sikora spoke for several minutes on Monday night. But following his presentation, council members voted unanimously to uphold staff’s decision, without asking Sikora any questions or discussing the matter at all.
JAMES INGLIS Langley Time s
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Julien Byron enjoys playing in a haystack at the nineth annual Heritage Apple Day held at Derby Reach Park on Saturday.
When autumn is at its worst, Miele is at its best.
From mooning officers and calling them ‘pigs’ to one commercial vehicle driver with a cellphone in each hand while trying to steer, it doesn’t appear Langley residents are getting the message about the dangers of distracted driving. Despite prohibitions on driving while using a cellphone being in effect for four years now, still a total of 872 drivers were ticketed in the month of September during a Langley RCMP campaign. During the month-long campaign, both officers in plain clothes and some in full uniform ticketed people. They documented what they saw, and it’s pretty bad. Four police officers in high visibility jackets and one marked police car were writing tickets in the southbound lanes, while drivers going northbound could be seen talking on their phones as they went by. One woman drove through a red light while texting. The most common excuses were: ‘It’s work/child/spouse calling, I have to answer’, or ‘I was just answering to let them know I couldn’t talk,’ or ‘the phone is on speaker so it’s hands-free.’ More than one driver said they didn’t have their cellphone to their ear, it was a wallet, said police. As well as handing out distracted driving tickets, two drivers were impaired as well, three drug seizures were made and 442 seatbelt tickets were issued. As of Oct. 20, distracted drivers will receive three-point penalities on their licences in addition to the fines.
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