Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 10/00) - For over a month, Vaughn del Valle has spent his Saturday afternoons sitting in a booth at the Centre Square Mall.

On the table in front of him lies a petition and various pictures of his Back Bay property. Around the table are signs which read "JOBS" and "LOWER TAXES."

As curious shoppers approach, del Valle pitches his idea for a 48-room hotel on his lot and his beefs with city council and a group of his neighbours for stepping in the way his plans.

"Why does our mayor and why does our council fight to stop business development?" said del Valle as he chatted with teacher Jerome Rondeau.

"I go to an isolated spot, near no one and they still oppose it."

Two weeks ago, council voted unanimously to refuse del Valle's request for commercial zoning of his lot in the proposed zoning bylaw. The lot will be zoned residential instead, which will not allow del Valle to build his hotel.

During a January meeting on the bylaw, members of the Back Bay Community Association spoke against his request, producing a petition signed by about 50 people who live in the area. They said a hotel would ruin the quiet nature of Peace River Flats and may be ecologically disastrous to Back Bay.

Now del Valle has his own petition, to which he claims just under 500 signatures from residents across the city.

The petition asks Yellowknifers to support:

: del Valle if he reapplies for commercial zoning of his lot to build a hotel;

: the building of a tunnel through the Back Bay ridge, an outcropping of rock at the end of Stout Road, so traffic to the hotel can avoid the neighbourhood's roads;

: that the rezoning be done without delay within the proposed zoning bylaw.

Drumming up support

del Valle said the petition is a way to gauge the rest of the city's opinion of his idea, rather than just one group of his neighbours.

He said he has not decided whether to apply for site-specific zoning. Still, people have listened and signed, he said.

"From the first weekend I sat down, people have been incredibly supportive," he said.

Rondeau said he signed del Valle's petition because he's for economic diversity.

"I come from a city where there was one industry," he said.

"Here, there was gold mining, and when the price of gold fell, we were in trouble."

del Valle told Rondeau his neighbours' petition never gave reasons why they disapproved of the development, while he tries to ensure people know something about the issue.

Rondeau's reaction was immediate.

"He has a plan and it looks good. If people have a problem with it, they should give their reasons rather than saying they don't like it. That's just being difficult."

However, the community association did list their concerns during the January public meeting.

When asked about this, del Valle said those reasons were not on the petition his neighbours signed, while his arguments are in writing.

Mayor David Lovell said the matter was decided with the council vote against commercial rezoning of the lot.

"You absolutely can't please everyone," he said. "We tried to hear everyone and tried to be fair.

"Only one person was unhappy with the decision -- Vaughn del Valle. His neighbours are pretty adamantly against it," the mayor said.

del Valle argued his petition shows others are unhappy with the city's response to his idea.

As for the rezoning, city planner Dave Jones said del Valle has the right to apply for site specific zoning.

However, once he formally does so, he is not allowed to reapply for another year.

Jones said he has not received any proposal from del Valle.

del Valle said he's not revealing his plans.

"I can't tell you right now exactly what I plan to do except I'm asking people to voice their opinions."