PLAN FOR 11 TOWERS AT BRENTWOOD
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ATTACK OF THE U.S. CELEBRITIES
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35-STOREY TOWER SELLS IN A DAY
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WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 24 2012 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Things are getting a little spooky around here. See Page A25
City gets Ottawa’s response— a year later Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Competitors crawl through one of the military-style challenges at BCIT’s “Call of Duty” obstacle course race to raise money for the school’s Legion Military Skills Conversion Program. The event was organized by the Students in Free Enterprise team. See Photos on A3.
Making way for Cameron Station Province agrees to split costs with Burnaby on future station prep work Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
It seems a lot can happen in a few days, if the provincial government’s response to an Evergreen Line funding issue is any indication. Last Monday night, when Burnaby council met with city staff, the position of the province was that if the city wanted a future
Cameron Station as part of the Evergreen Line, the city would have to pay the full $6-million cost of preparatory work on the guideway. “But that was the [Evergreen Line] project office who denied it and so we figured that okay, if the project office says no, that doesn’t mean that the [Transportation] Minister is going to say no,” said Mayor Derek Corrigan in an interview Friday afternoon. “So we wanted to get out in public about it and say we really think they should make a commitment on this.”
Your Future. Our Focus. The Muir invesTMenT TeaM Your Retirement Specialists
604.541.8500 www.muironmoney.com
On Thursday afternoon, Burnaby City Hall did just that, sending out a press release in which it called it “perilously short-sighted of the provincial government to ignore the need for this station,” considering the potential increased development slated for the area. Burnaby has offered to cover half the cost of the work, up to $3 million using gaming funds, even though the province is the “traditional and appropriate funder of regional rapid transit.” According to a city planning
report, the money will cover the cost of building taller columns to create a flat-enough section of guideway for the station, an additional set of track switches, and a contingency for possible environmental mitigation measures. By Friday morning, the Ministry of Transportation was on board. “The Province has offered to make provision for a future Cameron Station by modifying the Evergreen Line design.
October 6 – 31 During Mall Hours
Please see ‘I’M GLAD’, A3
SpookyBOO -Tique
A a SPOOKTACULAR HOUSE OF HORRORS
October 6-31
During mall hOurs
Austin Ave. & North Rd., Burnaby
Entry by same-day Lougheed Town Centre store receipt or by donation to Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society
Judging by a recent exchange of letters, it’s perhaps no wonder that the Urban Renewal Site, that block-long patch of grass at 3802 Hastings St. in North Burnaby, has remained undeveloped for the past 40-plus years. The property is owned by all three levels of government. Burnaby has approved spending $30,000 on a feasibility study into developing the land with nonmarket housing and BC Housing has committed to contributing a matching amount. Back on July 28, 2011, Mayor Derek Corrigan wrote to Diane Finley, the federal minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) asking CMHC to contribute $10,000 to the costs of the study. Burnaby City Hall finally got an answer, dated July 16, 2012, almost a year later. CMHC president Karen Kinsley wrote that the city can apply for a grant and loan from its Seed Funding program, and an interest-free loan from its Proposal Development Funding program. Please see URBAN, A4