WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11 2017
$1.25
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LIVING 13
Hub for new families
Facility offering variety of holistic perinatal services launched
TASTE 19
Mehman Restaurant
Tasty Persian menu also features several Afghan dishes
SPORTS 21
Blues basketball
Big changes, big wins for Capilano men NORTHSHORENEWS
LOCAL NEWS . LOCAL MATTERS . SINCE 1969
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HOMICIDE
Burned body found near Lynn Creek trail ID’d JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
A 41-year-old homeless woman has been identified as the victim of a November homicide in North Vancouver.
Lisa Dawn MacPherson of North Vancouver has been identified by the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team as the victim whose burned body was discovered in a wooded area near East Keith Road and Mountain Highway Nov. 28. RCMP were called out shortly before 10 a.m. that day after a badly burned body was discovered in a shelter along the Bridgman North Trail near Lynn Creek. MacPherson’s family,
See Homicide page 7
DUCK SOUP Waterfowl appear calm on the surface of the Ambleside duck pond as they enjoy a winter waddle. January’s sub-zero temperatures gave the mighty ducks a chance to observe their pecking order with a stroll instead of a swim. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN
Homeowner grant threshold upped to $1.6M
JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
Thousands of homeowners in North Vancouver will get to keep the provincial homeowners grant after the government announced Tuesday it is raising the assessment threshold at which owners no longer qualify for the help.
Finance Minister Mike De Jong made the announcement Tuesday morning in Vancouver. The change raises the threshold at which owners begin to lose the grant from $1.2 million to $1.6 million of assessed value, an increase of 33 per cent from last year. “We made the decision people who qualified for the grant last year should qualify for the grant this year,” said De Jong at a press conference Tuesday. On the North Shore the change means thousands of
New measure aimed at helping ease tax burden on those whose property values soared owners in North Vancouver – and some condo owners in West Vancouver – who stood to lose their grant will now get to keep it. “It certainly is good news,” said City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, who added he’s heard from a few homeowners concerned they might be losing the grant. District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton echoed those comments. “Obviously it’s good news for our homeowners, especially for those on fixed income,” he said. According to information provided by the data company
Landcor, those mostly likely to benefit on the North Shore include owners of detached homes in areas like Blueridge, Calverhall, Lynn Valley, Lonsdale, Norgate, Queensbury, Hamilton and Seymour, where average assessed values have risen above $1.2 million but are still just under the new $1.6 million threshold. Condo owners in Dundarave and Horseshoe Bay will also benefit. Even so, the percentage of owners who qualify for the grant on the North Shore remains much lower than that of the rest of the province, thanks to skyrocketing assessments. Last year, about 34,600 homeowners – whose properties had to be valued below $1.2 million – qualified for the grant, out of approximately 70,000 owners on the North Shore overall. That’s about half of all property owners compared to between 90 and 94 per cent of property owners provincewide who qualify for the grant. Of those who qualified last year, only about 13,900
See Seniors page 7
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