On June 21, District of North Vancouver councilors unanimously agreed to prohibit Re-Leaf to operate a non-profit dispensary for medical marijuana in the Deep Cove area.
Re-Leaf founder Ken Starr's attempted grand opening on June 11 was met by RCMP and district officials who let him know they would take further action if he kept his doors open.
The issue, many councillors agreed, is how the land - not the drug - should be used.
“We are not debating the benefits and merits of marijuana, we are debating land use and whether this business is appropriate for the district. I believe it isn't. The public clearly demonstrated that,” Counc. Robin Hicks said about the comments made at the June 14 public hearing by community members.
Counc. Lisa Muri said the debate about legality of dispensaries – often known as compassion clubs where they operate illegally in other locations around the Lower Mainland – is for senior levels of government. “Our powers lie in land use. We work with our community to determine how best to serve our neighbourhoods and we zone accordingly. This is not our fight.”
Several councilors welcomed a clear directive from the federal government on what to do about dispensaries and called for better access to the plant through the health system.
But Ken Starr said described this kind of reaction as a typical form of nimbyism.
“In my opinion, they've just passed the buck. They're not wanting to deal with it at all. They all said they are compassionate for it but not in my backyard,” he said.
However, many councilors acknowledged a clear need in the community for medical marijuana on the North Shore.
But Counc. Mike Little said there is a stigma in the community against those who seek it for pain relief.
“I want to do everything in our power to show that our community can be a compassionate community,” he said. “The way to get the broader community away from a stigma issue is through good regulation. If this was coming through a doctor's prescription or through a pharmacy, I don't think the community would have the same kind of response.”
Counc. Alan Nixon expressed his concern that a business owner wouldn't first establish approval from the district in the form of a business license and a building inspection before opening up shop saying Starr went “around the rules”.
But Starr said that wasn't true. In August 2010, he said he was told by the District office zoning department that if he could find a location on the North Shore that would lease their building to him, he could go ahead.
“Every time I called and asked about a location - they told me they knew what I was and I explained what I was, they were very clear on that - and they told me if I found a commercial retail zoning spot they would be extremely happy and that is what I found,” Starr said.
Starr believes it is a good place for it, despite council arguments that it is in the wrong one from a planning perspective.
“I researched how many people on the North Shore how many people had a need for it and it seemed to be between Deep Cove and Lonsdale where the majority of the people were,” he said.
But Counc. Nixon said that for many living in the District it would be faster to go to a downtown dispensary than to Deep Cove.
At deadline, Starr was unsure whether he would further pursue his goal to open a dispensary.
Showing posts with label Deep Cove Town Crier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deep Cove Town Crier. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, October 4, 2010
More Graffiti in Deep Cove
The District of North Vancouver reported a “rash of graffiti” in Deep Cove in recent weeks, an area that doesn't usually have a lot of tagging activity.
“It's hitting out in an area we hadn't seen it before,” said Carol Walker of the District bylaw office.
"Graffiti is typically around Pemberton and Marine Drive corridor for us and more so in the city of North Vancouver and the bottom of Lonsdale,” said Walker adding that the extent of graffiti vandalism they have seen in past years in Deep Cove has been the odd post box.
An RCMP-led integrated task force is investigating the situation.
According to Walker, the taggers could be living close to or within the neighbourhoods where the graffiti is found and might be a newcomer to the area. They are also typically a younger age.
“We want to be able to rid graffiti from the North Shore entirely, not just move it around,” said Walker, “Eighty percent of those folks that are doing this sort of damage, it's a precursor to other crime.”
Fines for both graffiti tagging or allowing graffiti to remain on property are $200. But Walker said the bylaw office doesn't like to ticket very often.
“We really want voluntary compliance because we just want people to understand that the faster they remove it off their property the less likely that it's going to return,” she said. Removing graffiti acts as a deterrent. Evidence of this was the Pemberton graffiti that was removed about a month ago and hasn't yet returned.
Walker said the graffiti task force has discussed putting a public art wall around the sea bus area where a lot of graffiti is found. But she said this won't stop graffiti from happening throughout the district.
“From what I understand, you're still going to get these taggers tagging even though you've got these community art walls. It's two different groups of people. The taggers are about the criminal activity and vandalism and of course the artists that just want a space to work their art it doesn't necessarily prevent graffiti from happening where we don't want it to occur,” Walker said.
Walker said of the Deep Cove graffiti incidents: “This is not art. This is staking their territory.”
But this is a common misconception about graffiti taggers, said Adrian Archambault of the Community Policing Centre for Grandview-Woodland in Vancouver. Archambault oversees the RestART program, a Vancouver-based restorative justice project that began a graffiti management initiative with the City of Vancouver to allow graffiti taggers to channel their skills. Graffiti artists work with mentors to design murals on city-approved walls, that has lead to changing public perception around the art form, he said.
“From the criminal perspective graffiti tagging is almost like an addiction. It's not territorial so much as it's a compulsion,” Archambault said, “The way it is perceived is not always the way it was intended.”
Those who suspect graffiti taggers are acting in their neighbourhoods are asked to call 911 to report vandalism. Those who are the victims of graffiti should contact the District to get a 40 per cent off paint voucher.
“It's hitting out in an area we hadn't seen it before,” said Carol Walker of the District bylaw office.
"Graffiti is typically around Pemberton and Marine Drive corridor for us and more so in the city of North Vancouver and the bottom of Lonsdale,” said Walker adding that the extent of graffiti vandalism they have seen in past years in Deep Cove has been the odd post box.
An RCMP-led integrated task force is investigating the situation.
According to Walker, the taggers could be living close to or within the neighbourhoods where the graffiti is found and might be a newcomer to the area. They are also typically a younger age.
“We want to be able to rid graffiti from the North Shore entirely, not just move it around,” said Walker, “Eighty percent of those folks that are doing this sort of damage, it's a precursor to other crime.”
Fines for both graffiti tagging or allowing graffiti to remain on property are $200. But Walker said the bylaw office doesn't like to ticket very often.
“We really want voluntary compliance because we just want people to understand that the faster they remove it off their property the less likely that it's going to return,” she said. Removing graffiti acts as a deterrent. Evidence of this was the Pemberton graffiti that was removed about a month ago and hasn't yet returned.
Walker said the graffiti task force has discussed putting a public art wall around the sea bus area where a lot of graffiti is found. But she said this won't stop graffiti from happening throughout the district.
“From what I understand, you're still going to get these taggers tagging even though you've got these community art walls. It's two different groups of people. The taggers are about the criminal activity and vandalism and of course the artists that just want a space to work their art it doesn't necessarily prevent graffiti from happening where we don't want it to occur,” Walker said.
Walker said of the Deep Cove graffiti incidents: “This is not art. This is staking their territory.”
But this is a common misconception about graffiti taggers, said Adrian Archambault of the Community Policing Centre for Grandview-Woodland in Vancouver. Archambault oversees the RestART program, a Vancouver-based restorative justice project that began a graffiti management initiative with the City of Vancouver to allow graffiti taggers to channel their skills. Graffiti artists work with mentors to design murals on city-approved walls, that has lead to changing public perception around the art form, he said.
“From the criminal perspective graffiti tagging is almost like an addiction. It's not territorial so much as it's a compulsion,” Archambault said, “The way it is perceived is not always the way it was intended.”
Those who suspect graffiti taggers are acting in their neighbourhoods are asked to call 911 to report vandalism. Those who are the victims of graffiti should contact the District to get a 40 per cent off paint voucher.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Plymouth Elementary School gets ready to shut doors
The provincial government's budgetary grants released March 15 indicates the North Vancouver School District will close Plymouth Elementary School in what has been a mulitple choice question between four area schools for several years.
The ministry of education reinstated 50 per cent of the annual facilities grant – $1.5-million for next year and the remaining 50 the following year - that it previously cancelled.
But the money is not enough to make up the $9 million needed for upcoming projects, according to Irene Young, secretary-treasurer for the district which means impending school closures are on the horizon.
The main reason Plymouth is slated for closure is that the cost per student at Plymouth is $1,000 more than at other schools in the district, she said.
“Plymouth's costs are on the high side because it is small and underutilized,” said Young.
But John Clark, a representative of the working committee appointed by the parent advisory committee to examine school closure options, said despite costs per student being higher, closing Plymouth doesn't make financial sense.
“We’re arguing that if you close Plymouth you generate the least amount of savings than any of the other three schools,” said Clark.
Closing Seymour Heights saves an additional $60,000 per year, he said.
Clark said closing Plymouth has more to do with the district's plans to get the ministry's approval to built a new school for the purpose of consolidating the four schools in the area.
According to both Young and Clark, the province won't accept the plan to build a new facility unless all the local schools are filled to capacity and Plymouth is on the chopping block because it has fewer students enrolled.
“Victoria will not provide the funding for the new school. They will tell the district to soak up the unused capacity and both Seymour Heights and Plymouth are underutilized,” Clark said.
According to Young, amalgamating four existing schools into two new schools will save over $1.1-million annually in operating costs. She also said building two new schools costs the same as restoring four other schools – $22.9-million to build at Lynnmour and Seymour Heights locations compared with $22.4-million to upgrade.
Building upgrades to Plymouth have been quoted at $3-million where improvements to the other schools are $6-million.
But Young said the ministry would not consider renovating one school over another.
It could be several years until the province approves the plan to build replacement schools and there are no guarantees from the funding will go through even if the schools are closed, Clark said.
However, the district has still decided to go ahead with closures despite the uncertainty of whether replacement schools will be built.
The criteria for closures is based on school population, available space at the school, operating costs, physical state of the building, diversity of educational programs and community impact.
Clark hopes that the district will “suddenly open their eyes and say, 'we selected the wrong school.' On every single criteria, the economics or whatever, Plymouth is not the school to close.”
Clark said it has been difficult to understand why Plymouth is targeted when the reports show that closing other schools would be a better option.
He said his requests to look at the budget document that breaks down the $10-million shortfall has not be granted by the district.
“We’re trying to access information that will be useful to us or help us assess the merits of closing 0 or 1 school. We’re finding it difficult to get information and we’re also finding that the process isn’t transparent.”
The Plymouth working committee report submitted to the district March 18 and displayed on their website outlines several reasons in the defense of keeping the school open.
The report stresses the benefits of a smaller community school in educational development, the disruption of multiple moves from one facility to another and the impacts on the environment if students are driven to school.
The ministry of education reinstated 50 per cent of the annual facilities grant – $1.5-million for next year and the remaining 50 the following year - that it previously cancelled.
But the money is not enough to make up the $9 million needed for upcoming projects, according to Irene Young, secretary-treasurer for the district which means impending school closures are on the horizon.
The main reason Plymouth is slated for closure is that the cost per student at Plymouth is $1,000 more than at other schools in the district, she said.
“Plymouth's costs are on the high side because it is small and underutilized,” said Young.
But John Clark, a representative of the working committee appointed by the parent advisory committee to examine school closure options, said despite costs per student being higher, closing Plymouth doesn't make financial sense.
“We’re arguing that if you close Plymouth you generate the least amount of savings than any of the other three schools,” said Clark.
Closing Seymour Heights saves an additional $60,000 per year, he said.
Clark said closing Plymouth has more to do with the district's plans to get the ministry's approval to built a new school for the purpose of consolidating the four schools in the area.
According to both Young and Clark, the province won't accept the plan to build a new facility unless all the local schools are filled to capacity and Plymouth is on the chopping block because it has fewer students enrolled.
“Victoria will not provide the funding for the new school. They will tell the district to soak up the unused capacity and both Seymour Heights and Plymouth are underutilized,” Clark said.
According to Young, amalgamating four existing schools into two new schools will save over $1.1-million annually in operating costs. She also said building two new schools costs the same as restoring four other schools – $22.9-million to build at Lynnmour and Seymour Heights locations compared with $22.4-million to upgrade.
Building upgrades to Plymouth have been quoted at $3-million where improvements to the other schools are $6-million.
But Young said the ministry would not consider renovating one school over another.
It could be several years until the province approves the plan to build replacement schools and there are no guarantees from the funding will go through even if the schools are closed, Clark said.
However, the district has still decided to go ahead with closures despite the uncertainty of whether replacement schools will be built.
The criteria for closures is based on school population, available space at the school, operating costs, physical state of the building, diversity of educational programs and community impact.
Clark hopes that the district will “suddenly open their eyes and say, 'we selected the wrong school.' On every single criteria, the economics or whatever, Plymouth is not the school to close.”
Clark said it has been difficult to understand why Plymouth is targeted when the reports show that closing other schools would be a better option.
He said his requests to look at the budget document that breaks down the $10-million shortfall has not be granted by the district.
“We’re trying to access information that will be useful to us or help us assess the merits of closing 0 or 1 school. We’re finding it difficult to get information and we’re also finding that the process isn’t transparent.”
The Plymouth working committee report submitted to the district March 18 and displayed on their website outlines several reasons in the defense of keeping the school open.
The report stresses the benefits of a smaller community school in educational development, the disruption of multiple moves from one facility to another and the impacts on the environment if students are driven to school.
History repeats itself
A new mom and pop pharmacy opened March 1 on Gallant Street in Deep Cove.
Designed like an old chemists shop to fit in with the village flavour of other buildings, Deep Cove Pharmacy is owned by business and life partners Arif Datoo and Fehmina Lalani and their friend Lani Ha.
The neighbourhood pharmacy is the first to crop up after the former local pharmacy closed about 40 years ago which signals a return to a more traditional approach to providing pharmaceutical services.
Two-and-a-half kilometers away from Shoppers Drug Mart at Parkgate Mall, Datoo is not worried that the store could suffer from being overshadowed by the larger chain as has been the trend in other industries.
In fact, it wasn’t even a factor when they chose to open the business because Deep Cove has a lot of community support for small businesses that are owner operated, he said.
“We’ve even had people just come in and say, ‘Welcome to the neighbourhood’. The feedback has been phenomenal,” Datoo said.
The store offers free delivery, blood pressure checks, consultations, medication reviews and advice. They also sell homeopathic items but have not yet settled on a product line as they are waiting on community input before they decide what to stock.
“We really want to focus on the patient care and not on all the other things that some of the bigger stores focus on,” Datoo said.
One of the principal differences between corporate brand pharmacies and boutique stores is building relationships that are based on quality service rather than sales, Datoo said.
Having worked at bigger pharmacies, they found operating their own store allowed them to put the patient first, much like the difference between doctors running a family medical practice versus working at a walk-in clinic.
“With the big chains there’s one way to do something. When you work for yourself you can do whatever it takes to help that patient and I think that’s the main difference. We make the decision on what we need to do, not somebody from Toronto," Datoo said.
Lalani agreed that the business model chain pharmacies follow doesn’t provide optimal health care. Speaking of her previous experience at a large pharmacy, she said:
“A lot of times what used to happen is that people would come to see me I’d have 15 prescriptions waiting and this person maybe needed 10 or 15 minutes of my uninterrupted time but I couldn’t give it to them.”
Most big pharmacies only had one pharmacist working at a time because of cost, she said.
Another of Deep Cove Pharmacy’s unique appeals is that a visit to the pharmacy is a trip down memory lane for long-time residents in Deep Cove.
The store has a display featuring 60-to-70-year-old apothecary items that the couple collected from antique stores and from eBay in the combined 30 years they have been in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Some of the items are actually original Rexall items and we do carry a full Rexall line. Some of them have price tags in them some of them actually have product still in them.”
The effect is a sort of museum for history buffs wanting to get their fix of the past while waiting to have their prescriptions filled.
“A lot of older people come in and they point and go, ‘I remember that’,” Lalani said.
Designed like an old chemists shop to fit in with the village flavour of other buildings, Deep Cove Pharmacy is owned by business and life partners Arif Datoo and Fehmina Lalani and their friend Lani Ha.
The neighbourhood pharmacy is the first to crop up after the former local pharmacy closed about 40 years ago which signals a return to a more traditional approach to providing pharmaceutical services.
Two-and-a-half kilometers away from Shoppers Drug Mart at Parkgate Mall, Datoo is not worried that the store could suffer from being overshadowed by the larger chain as has been the trend in other industries.
In fact, it wasn’t even a factor when they chose to open the business because Deep Cove has a lot of community support for small businesses that are owner operated, he said.
“We’ve even had people just come in and say, ‘Welcome to the neighbourhood’. The feedback has been phenomenal,” Datoo said.
The store offers free delivery, blood pressure checks, consultations, medication reviews and advice. They also sell homeopathic items but have not yet settled on a product line as they are waiting on community input before they decide what to stock.
“We really want to focus on the patient care and not on all the other things that some of the bigger stores focus on,” Datoo said.
One of the principal differences between corporate brand pharmacies and boutique stores is building relationships that are based on quality service rather than sales, Datoo said.
Having worked at bigger pharmacies, they found operating their own store allowed them to put the patient first, much like the difference between doctors running a family medical practice versus working at a walk-in clinic.
“With the big chains there’s one way to do something. When you work for yourself you can do whatever it takes to help that patient and I think that’s the main difference. We make the decision on what we need to do, not somebody from Toronto," Datoo said.
Lalani agreed that the business model chain pharmacies follow doesn’t provide optimal health care. Speaking of her previous experience at a large pharmacy, she said:
“A lot of times what used to happen is that people would come to see me I’d have 15 prescriptions waiting and this person maybe needed 10 or 15 minutes of my uninterrupted time but I couldn’t give it to them.”
Most big pharmacies only had one pharmacist working at a time because of cost, she said.
Another of Deep Cove Pharmacy’s unique appeals is that a visit to the pharmacy is a trip down memory lane for long-time residents in Deep Cove.
The store has a display featuring 60-to-70-year-old apothecary items that the couple collected from antique stores and from eBay in the combined 30 years they have been in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Some of the items are actually original Rexall items and we do carry a full Rexall line. Some of them have price tags in them some of them actually have product still in them.”
The effect is a sort of museum for history buffs wanting to get their fix of the past while waiting to have their prescriptions filled.
“A lot of older people come in and they point and go, ‘I remember that’,” Lalani said.
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