LangleyAdvance
Christmas bureau pg A11
Your community newspaper since 1931
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Your source for breaking news, sports, and entertainment: www.langleyadvance.com
Audited circulation: 40,026 – 24 pages
NEED EXTRA CASH?
WE BUY YOUR GOLD!
604-534-8845 (Behind the Baseline Pub)
Plumbing & Heating Finally... A Company With Services Tailored To Your Busy Schedule!
604.310.9625
lewisadvantage.ca
BC’s #1 POWERSTROKE SPECIALIST RIGHT HERE IN LANGLEY To Book Your Appointment Scan With
604-532-9445 5957 - 206A St., Langley www.bernhausendiesel.com
View photos with Troy Landreville/Langley Advance
Loads of LEGO
or
online
Canada’s largest charity LEGO building event was held at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Vancouver LEGO Games saw contestants provided with a quantity of LEGO or DUPLO bricks with which to build their models. Contestants competed in 20-30 minute building heats. Edward Li (foreground) and Mario Roque (white shirt) competed in the 7-8 year old category. A total of 400 contestants competed in six age categories ranging from five years old to adult.
www.langleyadvance.com
20369 56 Ave., Langley
Fort Langley
Work stopped on Coulter Berry
Opponents of a three-storey building in Fort Langley won a victory in court on Friday.
society was created this spring in the wake of Coulter Berry’s approval by the Township council. Whittell said he and other society members have spent a year working on this, and were by Matthew Claxton actually surprised that the judge mclaxton@langleyadvance.com ruled from the bench right away Work on the controversial after hearings last week. Coulter Berry building in Fort The society doesn’t want to Langley has been halted after stop any development on the site, a judge ruled Friday that the Whittell said, but wants to see a Township’s heritage alteration project there that meets the existpermit for the site is invalid. ing guidelines for the Fort. “They have set aside the heritThe Township is now awaiting age alteration permit,” said Mark a written ruling from the judge, Bakken, the Township’s adminiswhich should lay out the reasons trator. in more detail. The grounds in Township Mayor “We’re very pleased the verbal ruling, Jack Froese said given by Justice the council will with the judge’s Groves in the discuss the judgedecision.” Supreme Court of ment with its lawHarold Whittell B.C. in Chilliwack, yers before makwere on ground ing a decision on that the permit its next steps. varied the density of the site, said “Council made every effort to Bakken. ensure all opinions were heard “We’re very pleased with the and that proper process was foljudge’s decision,” said Harold lowed,” Froese said in a stateWhittell, one of the directors ment. “Council’s decision was of the Society of Fort Langley made in the best interest of the Residents for Sustainable public at large, to benefit our Development, which launched entire community.” the legal challenge in July. The “I think an appeal will be con-
Langley Advance files
Andy Schildhorn presented a stack of petitions the size of a phone book against the Coulter Berry Building during a public hearing last November. sidered once there’s more information,” said Bakken. The ruling shouldn’t affect any other projects that may have had heritage alteration permits used, as the permits are issued on a case-by-case basis, said Bakken. The construction of the building was controversial within the Fort, with many residents opposed to the project, largely due to its size. The Coulter Berry Building is planned to be three full storeys tall, with residential condos on
the top floor, offices on the second, and shops at ground level. At a series of public hearings, many residents complained it would overshadow neighbouring buildings and would break with the heritage nature of the Fort’s downtown. Local business owners were split on the matter, with some in favour and others opposed. Petitions with hundreds of names were gathered against the project. Coulter Berry’s owner Eric Woodward wrote on the project’s blog that construction crews now on the site, digging the foundation, will be dispersed and those ready to start work will not be needed. “We have no choice but to wait until the situation is resolved by the Township,” Woodward wrote. The building was to be located at the corner of Mavis and Glover, formerly the site of the old Fort Langley IGA. When the building burned down, the owners built their new grocery store farther back on the property, and the former store site was combined with the site of the Frontier Hardware store to create the lot for the Coulter Berry project.