VAN'S INVESTMENTS LTD.
804 MACINTOSH STREET
COQUITLAM, B.c.
CANADA V3J 4z2
(604) 938-3208

Honourable Mayor, Members of Council, Municipal Staff,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

The comments to follow are brought to your attention
with respect to the proposed amendment to Port Coguitlam's
Zoning By-law, the definition of "light industrial" and its
inclusion as a permitted use in the M-3 Clean Industrial Zone.

It is my intention through the words to follow to
convince you that such an amendment is unnecessary and too
restrictive. By approving this amendment you will create far
more problems for yourselves in the future than you may be
aware of at this time.

First, let me advise you that this by-law is unnecessary
In order to convince you of this, one must go back a few years
to 1986 when the present zoning by-law was prepared. For those
members of. Council, Staff and the public who were not involved

in this process, let me review for you what the intentions were
at that time.

In the early 1980's the Provincial Government decided
to recognize the concerns of property owners who kept complaining
that zoning by-laws had become too restrictive, particularly
with regard to the "permitted uses" sections. Up until ‘that
time, the only uses that were permitted inweach zone were those
that were absolutely specified. Because of this, new technologies
and new uses were facing costly public hearings and wasted time
So that by-laws could be amended to include their use.

For example - a Company that intended to make tents out
of a new type of material would not be permitted until the by-
law was amended to recognize the new material, even though tent-
making out of canvas was permitted at the time.

As a result, the Provincial Government advised Municipal
Councils to re-draft their zoning regulations in arder to "stream-
line and uncomplicate" the legal by-laws and make continuous
zoning amendments unnecessary.

Following the lead of many other local governments
(including the one in which I was employed at the time), the -City
of Port Coquitlam also set out to “streamline and uncomplicate
their zoning regulations.