FRIDAY JANUARY 6 2017
$1.25
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PULSE 13
Cold reads
Nicola Cavendish hosts play reading series at Kay Meek
LOOK 19
Au Fait Mama
Deep Cove mom makes stylish breastfeeding clothes
TODAY’S DRIVE 26
Corolla iM
Toyota’s youth brand lives on in stylish hatchback NORTHSHORENEWS
LOCAL NEWS . LOCAL MATTERS . SINCE 1969
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No tickets for icy sidewalks BRENT RICHTER brichter@nsnews.com
Despite spotty to dismal clearing of sidewalks, none of the North Shore’s municipalities have ticketed any property owners for failing to shovel in front of their properties.
A snowstorm on New Year’s Eve followed by a cold snap left unshovelled sidewalks across the North Shore coated in sheer ice that was treacherous to walk on. But local government bylaw staff have been responding to residents’ complaints only with warnings and letters of education. “When we’ve got complaints, we do the education point, advising people what their obligations are and looking to get a commitment for compliance,” said Guy Gusdal, bylaw manager for the City of North Vancouver. “That’s generally worked for the most part.” The city requires “the owner or occupier of any real property” to clear the snow
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THE ICE IS RIGHT Robert Hanson clears snow from Rice Lake in preparation for a game of pond hockey Monday. Nearby, an enterprising fisherman cut a hole in the ice in hopes of snagging a trout. Rice Lake’s ice is not measured or monitored by Metro Vancouver, which warns users against venturing out on it, but anyone intent on skating al fresco can head to Trout Lake in Vancouver, which was officially opened for skating Tuesday. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN
Homeowners react to soaring assessments JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
Homeowners opening their property assessment notices have been dealing with sticker shock across the North Shore this week as the value of many single family homes rose between 30 and 50 per cent.
Even local politicians aren’t immune. District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton said he did a double take when he got the assessment for his own home and saw the land value had been hiked 36 per cent over last year while the home itself was valued 10 per cent higher.
DNV mayor considering appeal after 36% hike in property value
“That is not what my home is worth,” said Walton, who added he is considering appealing his own assessment for the first time. “I am going to be questioning the logic,” he said. Walton said that in the past, assessed values always seemed to come in slightly under what most people felt the true market value of the home might be, but now that trend appears to have been reversed.
“I’m surprised and disappointed in how aggressive B.C. Assessment’s been in raising the assessed values,” he said. Walton’s comments reflect those of citizens across the North Shore this week, as homeowners discover their assessed values are clocking in at 30, 50 or even 60 per cent higher than they were last year. According to the assessment office, a 1971 single-family home in Lynn Valley assessed at $1.13 million last year was valued at more than $1.64 million this year – an increase of 46 per cent. A home in West Vancouver’s Ambleside neighbourhood
See Homeowners page 5
962 Montroyal Boulevard $2,099,000 OPEN HOUSE SAT JAN 7TH 2-4PM