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Thursday, March 19, 2015
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The Agassiz Y Harrison
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Kent mayor back home after crash John Van Laerhoven airlifted to hospital By Lorene Keitch The Observer
REC CENTRE Community Recreation
& Cultural Centre a busy place these days.
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LORENE KEITCH/ THE OBSERVER
The Village of Harrison Hot Springs Council is currently deliberating the “proliferation” of sandwich boards within the village.
Sandwich sign bylaw gets another look
SWEET HOME Harrison Mills house
wins best custom home in its category.
Concerns raised by the Chamber of Commerce over the proposed sign bylaw
Lorene Keitch THE OBSERVER
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INSIDE
Crash claims 3 . . . . . . . 2 Inmate sentenced . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mailbag . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . 9 Classieds . . . . . . . . . 14
There has been seemingly endless discussion about a proposed sign bylaw amendment in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs. After multiple Council meetings and three readings, Council made the unusual decision Monday evening to send the bylaw back to staff for further revision. At the March 16 meeting, Coun. Sonja Reyerse shared concerns raised by the Chamber of Commerce over the proposed sign bylaw, which was on the agenda for what is usually a perfunctory fourth and final reading.
now open!
Chamber directors proposed that signs would be allowed further from the business premises in the off-season months to attract the smaller volume of traffic towards businesses. "Business is tough enough in the off-season," Reyerse remarked. Other issues raised at the March 16 Council meeting included signage placement for home-based businesses, hours for sandwich boards to be allowed on display and consequences for not obeying the revised bylaw. So, Mayor Leo Facio recommended the bylaw be referred back to staff for clarification and then sent
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back to Council at a later date. The amended bylaw was first proposed to Council at the February 16 meeting, which included recommendations made by the Chamber of Commerce. After Council deliberation, the bylaw was altered then sent back to Council for the March 2 meeting. The proposed changes would allow a business only one sandwich board outside of their establishment. The board could be placed no further than five metres from the business premises and must not be placed on boulevards, at the curb or be a “nuisance or impediment”
GANESHA’S GARDEN SOLID PERFUMES
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RUSSET POTATOS 10LB. BAG
2
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to foot traffic, amongst other requirements. The current bylaw allows multiple sandwich boards at a distance of up to 300 metres from the business premises. There was ample discussion by councillors March 2, ranging from businesses on Lillooet Ave. facing a negative impact, proposals for new directional signage, the need for bylaws to be equitable for all businesses, the distance a sandwich board should be placed from business premises and whether the village can dictate primary languages used on signage.
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STRAWBERRIES 1LB
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Continued on 2
District of Kent Mayor John Van Laerhoven is home and recovering following a crash last Friday, March 13. Van Laerhoven was riding his motorcycle southbound on Highway 9 near the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge just before 12 p.m. when he crashed. He was airlifted to Royal Columbian Hospital where he was kept for three nights for observation. He had no broken bones and is making a "speedy recovery," according to District officials. The stretch of highway between the AgassizRosedale Bridge and the roundabout was closed for almost three hours, with southbound traffic diverted to Ferry Road, while RCMP and paramedics attended the scene. In his absence, Councillor Darcy Striker is the acting Deputy Mayor. Van Laerhoven was reelected for his second term as mayor in the November, 2014 municipal election. He served a term previous to that as a Councillor. He has lived in Agassiz since 1959, was a teacher in Agassiz for 18 years and Chilliwack for another 16. He is married with three children. He is chair of the Fraser Valley Regional Library Board, represents the District of Kent at the FVRD and sits on the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District. Residents who want to send well wishes to Mayor Van Laerhoven may forward them to Executive Assistant Karin Ponciano at kponciano@district.kent. bc.ca.
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