Thursday February 21, 2013 (Vol. 38 No. 16)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
S U R R E Y
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Viking invasion: It was a blast from the past at the Surrey Museum when members of the Reik Felag Norse Cultural Society showed up in Viking garb. › see page A11
Muffler-site hearing set for Monday
‘Fixable’ error causes concern Alex Browne Staff Reporter
An error in calculating gross floor area for the zoning bylaw for the White Rock Muffler site proposal would permit developers a higher maximum floor area than even they were seeking. But while city planning and development services director Paul Stanton said the error is known – and fixable before the bylaw becomes law – neighbourhood opponents of the scheme see the mistake as yet another troubling misstep in the process for the contentious proposal. “It’s mind-numbing that this could happen for such a huge piece of property and a development this important,” said area resident Cindy McMullen. Opponents are urging residents to sign petitions against the zoning amendment, Bylaw 2001, which goes to public hearing at the White Rock Community Centre Monday (Feb. 25) at 7 p.m. The petitioners argue an initial bylaw for redevelopment of the site, Bylaw 1946, was passed in 2011 with assurances from developer architect Tim Ankenman that “proponents would not come back after the fact asking to build higher.” But when the property was sold to Richmond-based LLW Holdings Ltd. in 2012 it came back to council, still represented by Ankenman-Marchand, with requests to build higher and for several thousand square feet more in floor area, neither of which, opponents say, were mentioned at a Nov. 14 public information meeting. The development, originally proposed as a blend of apartments, townhouses and ground-floor commercial › see page A4
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South Surrey resident Leanne Zanatta is hoping those responsible for tearing up her family’s front yard – twice – can be identified.
Police investigate after vehicle rips up lawn two times in one night
Vandals hit same yard twice before 6 a.m. on Sunday, and that a lightcoloured, full-size pickup truck was seen near An Ocean Park mother is hopeful the discov- the house. ery of a vehicle matching the description of a That morning, Zanatta found a side-view truck that ripped through her front lawn twice mirror bearing a bullet-hole sticker on the in less than 12 hours, will help find the culprit lawn, and believes it belongs to the vehicle that behind the damage. was used to cause the damage. Leanne Zanatta and her husband, ❝This happened On Wednesday, two days after Troy, came home just before mid- twice in a row.❞ Zanatta reported the incident to night Saturday to deep tire-tread police, she said the investigator hanmarks running across their lawn. Leanne Zanatta dling the file called to tell her a stolen Then, early Sunday morning, they vehicle matching the description her awoke to further marks and damage to a tree neighbour had given had been found. on the property. “I got a voicemail from the investigating “At first, we thought it was the kids, as they officer who says they found a vehicle matchare just starting to drive, but then when we ing the description of the one that damaged realized it wasn’t them, we called the police,” the lawn with damage that coincides with the she told Peace Arch News. mirror we have,” Zanatta said. Police confirmed a witness reported hear“Maybe if someone recognizes the person ing a loud bang in the neighbourhood shortly who had been driving the vehicle, somebody Sarah Massah Staff Reporter
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could point us in the right direction. Because this happened twice in a row, so they obviously had it for two days.” According to Cpl. Bert Paquet, there have been no other similar incidents reported in the area. He noted that police are investigating different avenues to find those responsible, including visiting the school Zanatta’s children attend. “We’re not sure if there is any connection, but she has teenagers, so the police followed up and went to the school to see if there was any vehicles missing the side-view mirror,” Paquet said. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-5990502. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers, at 1-800-TIPS.
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