Sidney & Saanich Peninsula Buying or é elling Gps uf BE: 652-5171 NRS Peninsula Properties A Victoria Weeklies Publication Wednesday May 8, 1991 40¢ Audited Circulation 12,968 side BUSINESS A28 CALENDAR Ald5 CLASSIFIEDS A29 COMMUNITY Al3 GARDENING AlI9 OPINION AT SPORTS A22 A2A OUTDOORS . BEYER AT GRENBY A28 HAMPSON AA LANG A19 TOP OF THE PILE A7 ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION An elementary schoo! student is asked to get info a small blue car by aman in Deep Cove Page A5 A FESTIVAL OF FRIENDSHIP The new Stages Dance Company is ready to take The town by storm wiih @ benefit at the Royal Page Al13 INSTANT WEATHER REPORTS A new partnership gives boaters the latest eyewiiness weather Page A26 WHAT ABOUT THE VICTIMS? Services available for those affected by criminal acts Page B1 ANNUAL GARDEN TOUR The Conservatory of Music’s chance fo snoop through other people’s gardens has stops on the Peninsula Page B3 ‘Victoria WEEKLIES Review office hours The Review office, at 97’26-First St. in Sidney, is open from 9am. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Mail to Box 2070, Sidney, B.C. V8L 3S5. Second class mail registration number 0128. seven-storey hotel plans scrapped by Girard Hengen The Review The company wanting to build a seven-storey hotel on Sidney’s waterfront has all but scrapped its plans for a few years. “We're just going: to sit back and assess it, and we're going to be a lot more cautious on it,” Kim Pullen, president of Port Sidney Development Corp., said Monday from Vancouver. “We've been forced to re-assess the whole project,” he said, elud- ing to town council’s decision last month not to endorse a recommen- dation to have the project proceed through rezoning and development approval processes. Aldermen were split 3-3 in vot- ing, with Mayor Marie Rosko cast- ing the deciding vote against the recommendation. “We were disappointed with the outcome,” said Pullen. ““There’s no consensus on council as to what they want.” Council’s advisory planning commission (APC) made the rec- ommendation, adding the stipula- tion that the public have a say in the process. Aldermen opposed said town- Continued on Page A2 Developer accused of ‘blackmail’ on school site by Glenn Werkman The Review The owner of a 15-acre site which the Saanich School board wants to build a new middle school on was accused of black- mail Monday. Central Saanich council mem- bers then approved a subdivision and rezoning application to allow the school to be built on 12 acres of the property in the 6900-block Wallace Drive. But two aldermen vowed not to give their support in later stages of the bylaw approval process unless representatives of Brentwood Gar- dens Inc. explain themselves. “(They) are clearly attempting an end run around the policies and values of this council,” Ald. Bruce Tobin said. “They are attempting to get what they couldn’t get through the democratic process. “This is a form of blackmail,” he said. Tobin and other council mem- bers objected to a school board agreement that allows Brentwood Gardens to retain ownership of a 122-foot wide strip of land about 880 feet long between a current residential area and a future road that will serve the school. “Over 500 children in this com- munity have a gun to their head ... and (they) cannot count on contin- ued support at later stages unless (Brentwood Gardens) step out in an open meeting,’ Tobin said. “T won't support the deal at the bylaw stage without it,” Tobin said. “The message to the school board is you better get a back-up site might now.” Ald. Clarence Bolt said: “T find it quite hard to believe the school board would make such a deal (that) about $200,000 worth of services will be put in for a developer. We're being asked to make a deal at the taxpayers expense.” Ald. Arlene Box disagreed, say- ing the school board has an agree- ment, Central Saanich can consis- tently deny rezoning the strip of land and a portion of the road is required regardless. Mayor Ted Jones said he will support the rezoning (from agri- cultural to institutional) against his better judgment. “Ym quite disgusted with the way the whole planning process has gone on,” Jones said. “The school board has changed their planning criteria to suit sites.” Jones also said that the native Indian bands presented a land claim to the board in September 1989, but “the school board did nothing until October 1990, then cried foul. “That is ridiculous, they led us on to believe that (Gowdy Road) site was going ahead.” Jones said he will support this application because “I have no confidence in the board securing a Siler ~1 will support this application and I will support it as is, against my better judgment, and I think this whole thing stinks,’ Jones said. School board chairman Graham Hill said Tuesday: “I was pretty disgusted (with Jones’ comments) but very pleased that we passed the first hurdle.” Hill refused to respond further, saying it would only harm what remained of the council-board relationship. And he wasn’t overly optimistic the school will actually be built on the 12-acre site. “I’m gun shy at this point, anything that could go wrong has gone wrong.” With other reaction, Parents for Safety and Replacement of Mt. Newton Middle School spokes- man Mona Nyberg said the biggest problem is “people realizing what their job is. “It’s not council’s job to be scrutinizing the board’s decision- making. I don’t see the board scrutinizing council’s OCP amendments or court cases.” Ald. Ian Cameron said he will support the initial rezoning. But at the third reading stage “‘if there are not representatives of Brentwood Gardens there to explain how they are good community citizens, I won't support it.” Ald. Gary Valiquette cautioned Continued on Page A4