Meet the leaders of the planning, building and licensing department.

From left to right are: LeighAnn Hoegi, administrative assistant; Ryan Arcand, supervisor, building services; Lisa Capener-Hunt, manager, building services & chief building official;  Dan Hazell, supervisor, licensing & enforcement; Greg McLean, policy & program coordinator; Stewart Waldron, manager, system implementation & business process improvement; Marnie Venditti, manager, development approvals; Greg Newman, manager, policy planning; Laura MacCormick, deputy director, planning; and Paige Agnew, director, building, planning and licensing. Missing: Lacricia Turner, manager, licensing & enforcement.

We are planning, building and licensing

I thought you might be interested in how planning, building and licensing runs as a department. There are 90 employees in the department which is divided as follows:

• City planners work in one of these areas:
  • Development approvals helps residents and developers determine what can be built where. They interpret and explain the City’s policies and bylaws.
  • Policy planning helps shape the policies that determine what kind of buildings – commercial, industrial, residential – and infrastructure should be in a given area. They also determine rules or guidelines that may apply to building projects in a given area.

• Building services staff include building inspectors, permit technologists, and building & plumbing inspectors.  These are the people who make sure that buildings are up-to-code so that they are safe and comply with other building rules.
• Licensing and enforcement staff includes animal/general bylaw enforcement officers, school crossing guards, lottery licensing officers and property standards officers. These are the people who make sure many City bylaws are observed to keep residents safe, comfortable and able to enjoy their neighbourhoods. At 42 employees, this section of the department has the most staff.
• DASH staff works to run and further develop our Development and Services Hub. This group consists of planners and Geographic and Information Systems specialists.
• Administrative employees support the work of the department and take payment from residents for permits, licences and other items.