Thursday October 17, 2013 (Vol. 38 No. 83)
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
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Crucible test: White Rock Players Club’s latest drama is a compelling – and relevant – study of a society in meltdown, writes theatre critic Alex Browne. i see page 34
‘Massive imposition’ after neighbouring developer given wrong information
Mayor apologizes for city hall errors Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Neighbours of an under-construction strata development say mistakes made at White Rock city hall allowed it to become a “massive imposition” on area residents. In council last week, Mayor Wayne Baldwin publicly acknowledged that mistakes were made in how the project – Bishop Hill – was handled. He apologized to those
affected and promised that concerns would be addressed. “I think it’s safe to say this was not one of our finer moments,” Baldwin said, following delegations by two area residents. “We need to rectify it.” The project is under construction on nine Bishop Road lots, north of Malabar Avenue. Malabar Avenue homeowner Geoff Parkin told council residents first brought concerns
to the attention of city staff “when it was a hole in the ground,” and twice more after that. Issues include side-yard setbacks that were allowed after it was determined staff had provided the developer with inaccurate guidelines; landscape-feature walls that were built too high; and a retaining wall that has enabled the developer to build a patio for one lot that is essentially level with the top of neighbour Chris Small’s fence.
Through a slideshow, Small showed council the structure is 10 feet from his fence and six feet above grade. It’s an invasion of privacy, he said, because anyone using the deck will have a bird’s eye view into his daughter’s bedroom, his son’s bedroom and the family’s kitchen. “It’s a massive imposition into our privacy and there’s no need for it – and it’s a contravention of the bylaw,” Small said. i see page 4
Seal pups released
Young, wild and free Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Vancouver Aquarium photos
A crowd gathers at Crescent Beach Saturday as Vancouver Aquarium marine-rescue volunteers lead the release of 11 rehabilitated harbour seals.
Eleven harbour seal pups rescued from along B.C.’s coastline and rehabilitated were released back into the wild Saturday at Crescent Beach. “It was a great day,” said Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. The volunteer-led event included the release of one pup – dubbed Cassiopeia – that was found on Crescent Beach in August. Most of the mammals had to be rescued due to dehydration and malnourishment, Akhurst said. Of 66 brought to the rescue centre so far this year, 35 have been nursed back to health and released, 23 remain in care and eight have died. Akhurst said another pup rescued off of White Rock beach in July was not among those given a new lease on life Saturday. Named Lynx, that youngster was released at the end of September in the Indian Arm area. Akhurst praised the role volunteers play in the rescue centre’s success. They comprised a sizable number of the more than 100 people who were on-hand for the release, and deserve credit for the extensive work they put in to facilitate the pups’ rehabilitation. “A lot of the grunt work is done by volunteers,” Akhurst said. “Our program would not be able to survive without our volunteers.”
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