ee Veen Sa Sidney & Saanich Peninsula Mortgage| Financing & OY Consulting ’ EEEeess mens 652-5171 NRS Peninsula Properties Audited Circulation 12,968 A Victoria Weeklies Publication Wednesday April 17, 1991 40¢ Inside BUSINESS A25 CALENDAR Al4 CLASSIFIEDS A26 COMMUNITY Al2 GARDENING Ald OPINION SPORTS Q BEYER AT GRENBY AQ5 HAMPSON A18 LANG Als MUSGRAVE A16 TOP OF THE PILE A7 WEIKLE AIT HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS Plans by two firms could change the face of downtown Sidney Page A4 REC CENTRE FUNDING Central Saanich will finally start contributing to the Panorama cenire Page A10 GARDENING Buy seeds now but wail until the weather warms To plant “em Page Al5 PLOWING FIELDS What was once the only way To farm is now a precise sport Page A23 CLAIMING THE GST Mike Grenby has the secret 10 geiting the best from GST rebates Page A25 YOUR NUMBER’S UP Telephone technology fights harassing phone calls Review office hours The Review office, at 97/26-First St. in Sidney, is open from 9 am. until5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Mail\ to Box 2070, Sidney, B.C. V8L 3S5. Second class mail registration number 0128. North Saanich strikes bone on budget School site goes to commission without support by Glenn Werkman The Review Council refused to give com- plete support to the Saanich School District’s permitted use application to the Agricultural Land Commission Monday despite boisterous urging by par- ents in a packed council chamber. The school district asked coun- cil to give comment in support of its bid to build a replacement for - Mt. Newton Middle School on a 12-acre parcel of land owned by Brentwood Gardens Inc. southeast of Wallace Drive near Springside Place. Council members said they could not support the application as presented because the condition of sale dictates that a strip of ALR land 120-feet wide and about 850- feet long would be retained by _ Brentwood Gardens Inc. Council members voted to sup- port the application if the area for purchase was “squared off” to eliminate the 120-foot strip. Ald. Jan Cameron said: “The panhandle creates two properties in effect and ... the owners would say we have a useless strip along one side, then apply to have it removed.” Ald. Jack Mar, a farmer, said having a strip 122-feet wide makes it difficult for anyone to farm, especially with water and sewer service right next to it (on a 60-foot road allowance). If we approve it, “next thing it will come to council for non-farm use or housing or whatever,” Mar said. Ald. Bruce Tobin said there is only one reason the vendor wants a strip down the east side and that’s for houses. “It couldn’t be built on the strip tomorrow but there could be an argument made,’ Tobin said. “This community has spoken loudly and clearly and it does not want land removed from the ALR at all.” Ald. Arlene Box was away on business but sent a letter to council urging support for the application. “This community is desperate for a solution and I hope you can place the needs of the school children above personal bias,” As staff completed reading Box’s letter, the packed gallery broke into applause, but it wasn’t enough to deter council members from sticking to their position. Mayor Ted Jones said: “Although from a planning per- spective it’s not the best location, I can support it being there. “However, my main difficulty is having this other area. It will come to council to have it removed,” Jones said. “Although the need is there I cannot support the applica- tion at this time.” Jones said that the same propos- al was on the table at a meeting between the school board and Continued on Page A3 by Valorie Lennox The Review Faced with the first municipal tax increase in three years, North Saanich council plans a line-by- line review of the municipal budget April 29 to ward off a potential 2.36 per cent increase. The $1.2 million 1991 budget now has a shortfall of $33,315, which would be covered by the 2.36 per cent increase. Municipal administrator Ron O’Genski estimated the increase would be an average of - $10 more per household. Since 1988, municipal taxes in North Saanich have increased an average of $30 per household, O’Genski said. By contrast, he noted this year alone the regional district budget is going up 15 per cent and the library budget is going up 11 to 15 per cent. However Ald. Bill Gordon said council should be able to cut the budget enough to eliminate any need for an increase. Reviewing the budget, he rec- ommended cutting the allocation for postage by $2,400 and for grass cutting by $4,000. Ald. Brian Dunic noted the municipality's budget for grass cutting was so low in 1990 that a contractor could not be found to do the work at that price. Dunic argued against making too many cuts in the budget. “We have to remember the GST put a three per cent increase on every- thing,” he said. He also said council continually delays expenditures and may end up one year with massive budget increases because maintenance has been delayed. Ald. Edo Nyland agreed. “We're going to end up with some very large ticket items by the time our term is Over.” He said roads will need repair, drainage will have to be improved and local parks are in poor condi- tion. He advocated putting the $144,000 grant in lieu of taxes received from B.C. Ferries into reserve funds for future mainte- nance. He doubted residents would object to a two per cent tax increase. Ald. Ross Imrie said North Saa- nich should set aside reserve funds and develop a 10-year plan for Continued on Page A2 schools close early today All schools in District 63 will close an hour early today as local teachers join in a province-wide one-hour walk-out to protest the government’s Bill 82. School superintendent Hank Stefaniak said the district was notified by the Saanich Teachers’ Association Monday morning that local teachers would join in the province-wide action. Letters were sent to parents Monday and bus schedules have been moved up an hour so students will be picked up an hour earlier. Saanich Teachers’ Association president Vincenza Cameron said teachers from the Saanich school district will join teachers from the Sooke, Victoria and Gulf Islands districts in a protest against Bill 82 at the legislature in Victoria this afternoon. The bill limits contract increases Continued on Page A2