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GREATER VANCOUVER

Superstore threatens Coquitlam
neighborhoods, business: Parker

Coquitlam district council’s right-wing
majority has paved the way for a superstore
in the municipality — against the advice of
their town planner and despite several other
studies showing the ruinous effect of such
stores on existing businesses and neighbor-
hoods.

Council voted 4-2 Sept. 18 to change a
zoning bylaw at the request of Westfair
Properties, which wants to establish a “Real
Canadian Superstore” near the Maillard-
ville area of Coquitlam, over the opposition
of aldermen Eunice Parker and Ray Mit-
chuk.

Parker, a member of the labor-backed
civic group, the Association of Coquitlam
Electors (ACE), warned that superstores
have a history of replacing smaller, more
established businesses, increase traffic and
erode the character of surrounding neigh-
borhoods.

She and Mitchuk, a bank manager who
deals with small businesses, argued that
Westfair’s claims of increased jobs and
taxes for the district were not borne out by
previous experience in other municipalities,
and are disputed in studies carried out by
other Lower Mainland municipalities,

“I am not impressed by megaprojects
which are always at the expense of real,
established businesses,” said Mitchuk.

The Real Canadian Superstore project,
to be located in Coquitlam’s Mill Creek
area and slated for completion in late 1986
or early 1987, will be the latest in a chain of
Westfair stores expanding across Canada.
When completed, it will be the largest such
store in the Lower Mainland, occupying
125,000 square feet. By comparison, the

' average supermarket takes up 30,000

square feet.
, The proposals had the enthusiastic back-
ing of a council majority — including

Mayor Lou Sekora, and aldermen Mae
Reid, Brian Robinson and Len Bewley —
despite the warnings contained in a report
by district planner Donald Buchanan.

“There is evidence that medium-size
supermarkets suffer closures as a result of
superstores,” stated the report in warning of
negative impacts on redevelopment plans
for, and financially troubled businesses in,
the areas of Maillardville, Austin Avenue
East and Austin-Ridgeway.

Citing studies -done in Edmonton and
elsewhere, the planner said superstore char-
acteristics include’a single “undifferentiated
structure” of more than 70,000'square feet,
one-stop shopping, extended shopping
hours, “aggressive” marketing and lower
labor costs. :

The report noted that superstores repres-
ent “increased corporate concentration in
the food industry” and “aggressive price
competition.” While the latter feature holds
the promise of reduced retail prices, the
report notes that superstores’ low prices are
“plateauing in some areas.”

“On balance, I cannot recommend in
favor of the superstore,” stated the planner,
while recommending that, at the least,
further studies should be engaged prior to
approval.

That point wasn’t lost'on Parker, who
during council debate after Westfair repre-

sentatives had argued for the project said: .

“What we’ve heard tonight is questions, not
answers.”

Parker argued that Vancouver city coun-
cil had rejected a superstore proposal, fol-
lowing several studies by city staff that
showed that “four to five supermarkets
close where a superstore opens.”

“Tm really afraid that any increase in
employment at this store will be at the
expense’ of existing employment in this

municipality,” she said.

Mitchuk said that the stores that close as
a result of the superstore would mean dec-
lining tax revenues “so at best, the taxes
from the superstore would compensate (for
the loss).””

He cited a study by North Vancouver city
staff which found that the introduction of
the Save On Foods superstore has had “a
significant impact’ on stores in the city’s
Lonsdale Avenue area, while the area has
seen four supermarkets close.

Parker also charged that council was
“rushing” the project. She said council
received its first “firm proposal” from
Westfair on Sept. 2, while the first reading
of the bylaw change allowing the indus-
trially zoned land to be used commercially
was made on Sept. 8.

ACE president Lorna Morford, a candi-
date in the fall civic election, said The Real
Canadian Superstore would go against the
grain of council plans for rejuvenating the
affected areas, causing traffic problems and
wiping out local business. ““The whole con-
cept of a superstore is to reduce costs —
how can this create jobs?” she said.

EUNICE PARKER..
store impacts done. as
Area residents worried about the impact
of the development on their neighborhoods.
But most of the audience, representing Val-
ious business interests in Coquitlam, SUP
ported the project. S.
Parker said later that in visiting sev
businesses in the area she found strong
opposition to the project. Be is
“Unfortunately, it’s difficult to get those
people to a council meeting to defend their
interests. Had they done so, the result might .
have been different,” she said. ;
“One thing is certain — council has
done a real disservice to the residents of this
district.”

oe i ym

.no studies on super-

“Megaprojects before people’
parks board plan criticized

Vancouver’s parks board is denying local
improvements to community centres and
neighborhoods while funding costly ““mega-
projects” for which it has no mandate, three
parks commissioners charge.

Sue Harris, Connie Fogal and Patricia
Wilson, all of the Committee of Progressive

Can Vancouver city council do any-
thing to create new jobs in Vancouver?
The Committee of Progressive Electors
believes not only that it can but that it
should. That is why COPE has come up
with a carefully worked out and realistic
plan to create 5,500 new jobs in the city.

Our job creation and economic recov-
ery program has two major aspects —
road construction to provide new trans-
portation links and housing.

We can greatly improve the movement
of car and truck traffic by:

a) Solving the traffic bottleneck at Cas-
siar and Hastings by building a depressed
six lane tunnel and cut connector between
Burnaby Freeway and Second Narrows
bridge. Its estimated cost is $90 million,
with the city’s share amounting to $5 mil-
lion.

b) A port roadway linking Cardero
Street to Renfrew Street. This would not
be a commuter roadway and would be
designed to fit the needs of the port. Under
no circumstances would it infringe on New
Brighton park, which belongs to the citi-
zens and is not to be meddled with. Nego-
tiations would be required to solve the

The estimated cost of this roadway would
be $50 million, with the city’s share at
about $2 million.

c) A Grandview and Malkin bypass to
connect the Trans Canada Highway with
the industrial areas of the city and the port.
It would be done in two phases: Slocan
Street to Clark Street, and Clark Street to
the Georgia Viaduct. The estimated cost is
$475 million, of which the city’s share
would be $40 million.

These three transportation projects

main obstacle — Rogers Sugar Refinery.

COPE plan has jobs for city

would cost $210 million, with the city put-
ting up $50 million. Our engineering
department estimates that they would
generate 2,000 jobs for two years.

Our second major job creation project
is a housing program for the north shore
of False Creek (the current Expo 86 site)
that calls for the building of 7,500 housing
units. It would include at least 5,000 units
of affordable family housing, including
co-op and public housing. The cost would
be about $600 million. :

Most of this would be recovered by the
market rents earned by two-thirds of the
units; the remaining costs would be nego-

tiated with the federal and provincial
governments which also have a responsi-
bility to provide affordable housing.

This housing project would create 3,500
jobs, enough to put most, if not all, unem-
ployed construction workers in the Lower
Mainland back to work for a full year.

Two other important aspects of our job
creation program should be noted. The
first is that all construction work would
have a fair wage clause which would end
the unfair advantage of construction out-

‘fits like Kerhoff, which pay far below the

union wage. Second, COPE would require
that all construction materials and labor

be supplied by B.C. firms and the B.C.
labor force. We would not permit big
international outfits like Hyundai of
South Korea to move in and take away
jobs from B.C. workers and B.C. compan-
ies. ;

Our job creation program is in sharp
contrast to that of the Non-Partisan Asso-
ciation and its mayoralty candidate, Gor-
don Campbell. All they have to propose is
that the tourist industry should be encour-
aged and relied on to create new jobs.
Most of those jobs are minimum wage
jobs ($3.65 an hour).

When the hotels in this city raised their
room rates by 70 per cent for the Expo
trade, none of the extra profit was passed
on to their employees. All the employees
got was a bigger work load. Our youth
deserve a better future than washing dishes
or making up beds at minimum wage.

We feel that our program to create
5,500 new jobs is practical and would
benefit not only all those who get jobs and
their families. These new projects will also
make our city a better place in which to
live and work.

However, these jobs will be realized
only if a COPE majority is elected to city
council. The NPA doesn’t believe that it is
the job of city council to initiate job crea-
tion projects. It wants to leave it to private
enterprise, despite the fact that the private
sector has been unable to come up with
any solutions.

In a few weeks Expo will be over and
another 25,000 to 30,000 people will be out
of a job. Our food bank lineups will be
getting longer. That makes it all the more
essential that COPE’s job creation pro-
gram be implemented. j

2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 1, 1986

Electors, made the charge Monday as the
seven-member board put the finishing
touches to the board’s share of the proposed -
four-year capital plan.

At the centre of the controversy was a —
planned $2.1 million expenditure for 1987 _
to the Stanley Park zoo, part ofa 10-15 year :
expansion plan approved by the four com=—
missioners belonging to the right-wing Civic”
Non-Partisan Association. ee

That. plan — which will, if completed,
see the free zoo enlarged to a regional z00
charging entrance fees — was enacted at
the expense of “people priorities,” Wilson
charged.

Speaking after some 33 representatives of —
various community associations and com- ~
munity centres had urged the board to ~
reverse previous decisions cutting costs for _
necessary repairs or park construction, Wil- -

son challenged the NPA majority to put -

their Stanley Park expansion plan out tO ~
public meetings. a

“You are prepared to put this money into
a zoo when you don’t havea public man-
date,” she charged.

COPE’s Harris said community groups
were asking for repairs to park field houses,
swimming pools and community centre
buildings “because years of neglect under
the NPA have created the need for repairs.

“My fear is that the public may defeat the
entire plebiscite because people don’t want
(an expanded) zoo at this time,” said Fogal.

A plebiscite asking for voter authoriza-
tion to borrow $64 million to facilitate a
$144-million, four-year city capital works
plan — with some $29 million earmarked —
for parks and recreation — will be on the —
ballot in the civic election Nov. 15. COPE's
urging support for the plan.

COPE commissioners. made several
amendments to the proposed park board

share of the capital plan, urging that more —

monies be spent on neighborhood projects

and calling for scrapping the proposed Z00 —

expansion and other tourist-oriented pro-
jects. Most went down to defeat with the
four-member NPA majority voting against.

Included among the cuts were a planned
pier for CRAB park in the Downtown East-
side, $50,000 for expansion of the area’s
Oppenheimer Park facilities and $50,000 for

a variety of projects in neighboring Strath- _

cona.

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