Sidney &
Saanich

Peninsula

Audited Circulation 12,933

An Island Publishers Newspaper

Wednesday July 25, 1990 40¢

BUSINESS

Ai6
CALENDAR B2
CLASSIFIEDS —B7
COMMUNITY Bl
GARDENING All

fopinion A69
SPORTS B3

- OUTDOORS Al4
BEYER A10
GRENBY Ai6
LANG Ail
MUSGRAVE Al5
NASH AT

War memories on
eve of regiments

Review office hours
The Review's office, at 9781-Second

Street in Sidney, is open from 9 a.m.
until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The

mailing address is Box 2070, Sidney,
B.C., V8L 385 — Second class mail

registration number 0128.

Criticism as wiring project nears end

by Glenn Werkman
The Review

The underground wiring project
on Beacon Avenue in downtown
Sidney is just 10 days from com-
pletion but some business owners
are upset with several aspects of
the beautification project.

Sweet Talk and Lace lingerie
store owner Marie Rosko said her
business is having a hard time
surviving because its entrance has
been continuously blocked as
Hydro crews work.

“Tm finding it a little annoy-
ing,’ Rosko said. “I think they
should inform a business if they’re
going to shut it down.

“They completely blocked the
view to my little store,” she said.
“Do I just grit my teeth and say
it’s all for progress?”

Rosko had a concrete step at the
entrance to the store in a building

Golf course

by Mare Davis
The Review

Both support and opposition to
a par-three pitch and putt golf
course adjacent to the Pat Bay
Highway was heard by Central
Saanich council at a hearing
attended by about 100 people
Wednesday.

The proposed inclusion of golf
course guidelines into a bylaw to

she owns on Beacon Avenue
between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
But when Hydro crews installed
a large transformer box in front of
the store, the step was removed,
then replaced temporarily.
Originally a steel grate step was
installed, Rosko said. After com-
plaints that the transformer box
was in the wrong location, it was
dug up and moved. Crews also
installed a temporary wooden step.
“T’ve hurt my foot on it quite
badly,” she said.
B.C. Hydro service and design
manager Gordon Apperley said:

-“‘Unfortunately it was a poor loca-
tion.

“We agreed with the problems
so we dug it up and moved it,”
Apperley said. “We definitely try
to accommodate the merchants on
the street.”

Another business owner, Cy
Relph of Sidney Natural Foods, is

upset that the transformer boxes
have eaten up so many parking
spots on Beacon Avenue.

“Tf you had a competition to
find the worst place to put them,
that would win,” Relph said about
the location of a box near his store.

He suggested the boxes be put
on side streets or at comers to
reduce the crossing distance for
north and southbound pedestrians
at the same time.

Rosko suggested the boxes
would be better behind buildings
where they couldn’t be seen.

But Apperley said installing
transformer boxes on side streets
or behind buildings would be
extremely costly to building
owners because major rewiring to
the rear or side would be required.

“Tt would have been almost
impossible to put them behind
buildings,”’ he said. “Also, the

Continued on Page A13

hashed over in hearing

approve the already-developed
course was contended by some
residents — who said it may
thwart efforts to open the only golf
course in the municipality.

Owner Hugh Morrison said area
golfers were very supportive of
efforts to obtain a business license
for the facility.

He said the course, located on
Central Saanich Road just north of
Island View Road, would benefit

the local economy, as well as
satisfy the needs of area golfers.
He said the province’s Agricul-
tural Land Commission gave sup-
port for his golf course application
and said the 4.7-hectare Agricul-
tural Land Reserve property was
poor quality agricultural land that
had not been profitably farmed in
years.
Area farmer Jim Fox said the
Continued on Page A13

Residents protest recycling depot

by Valorie Lennox
The Review

Residents fearing development
of an unofficial dump in their
neighborhood tumed out in force
Monday to protest.

Contaminated wells, heavy traf-
fic, rats and potential damage to
livestock, wildlife, agricultural
land and rural lifestyles were all
cited by opponents to the project.

North Saanich’s public works
committee had recommended
council adopt a plan to develop a
recycling and composting depot on
airport land off Mills Road near
Wilson Road.

The depot would allow com-
posting of grass and tree clippings
along with stockpiling of cement,
rock and asphalt for use in road
construction and road repair.

Every two to three years a
machine could be rented and the
accumulated cement, rock and
asphalt would be crushed for use
as road fill, municipal engineer
Igor Zahynacz said. Asphalt could
also be melted using a portable
unit and used for road repair, he
said.

Many of the project opponents
said they favored recycling but
were opposed to the proposed
location for the depot.

“Tt is not advisable to dump
waste in sand and gravel,” said
Rick Quinn.

He predicted contaminated
water would permeate the site and
affect local wells and ground
water, Dust from the rock crusher -
would be carried by the wind over
local gardens, he said.

Stuart Rhodes presented a peti-
tion against the project and told
council the estimated $7,000 to
$10,000 cost for the project would
not be enough. Proper fencing

“alone for the site would cost

$8,000 to $13,000, he said.

“Let us not start down an
expensive road without knowing
where we are going,” he said.

Real estate appraiser John Bruce
said the use is not compatible with
the rural residential area and could
lead to lowered property values.

Noreen Campbell feared the
composting site would attract
birds, which would be a danger to
aircraft, and increase danger in
case of a crash.

Ed Oakley feared loss of the
area’s quiet rural atmosphere.

Gordon McMillan predicted the
area would turn into a dump, with
garbage from Sidney and Central
Saanich and litter on the road.

“The site is not suitable for a
dump,” he said.

Similar concerns were expre-
ssed by Vern Simpson, who feared
people would dump garbage on
the site despite regulations.

“T don’t want a rat-infested
dump full of seagulls,” said Pat
Lally, summing up his fears the
project would harm wildlife and
local livestock.

Virginia Lee suggested land on
the other side of the airport, away
from residences, might be more

Continued on Page A4