Brent Toderian Given the Axe

whatnext · #1 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 8:28 AM**

The Vision city council is terminating the contract of former mayor Sam Sullivan’s most high-profile hire, planning director Brent Toderian.

According to sources, Mr. Toderian was told last week that his contract is being ended “without cause.”

Council is supposed to vote formally on the decision at a private meeting on Tuesday, but the news leaked out of city hall late last week and has been making the rounds among developers and architects who do a lot of work in Vancouver...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2320394/

cornholio · #2 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 9:02 AM**

Probably didnt agree with the viaduct study or something. Great to see democracy at work.

If elected officials are going to fire a important high ranking employee that makes decisions that significantly effect its constituents they better provide a reason.

trofirhen · #3 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 10:09 AM**

.... sorry folks, but this time I can't find the answer on the web. In your view(s), what does this indicate? What direction the city is taking does this signal, if anything?

jlousa · #4 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 3:08 PM**

I was certainly not Brent's biggest fan as evident by my previous remarks, but I don't agree with a termination w/o reasons stated. I can only hope that we don't see a further politicization of city hall staff tough.

whatnext · #5 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 4:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlousa

I was certainly not Brent's biggest fan as evident by my previous remarks, but I don't agree with a termination w/o reasons stated. I can only hope that we don't see a further politicization of city hall staff tough.

I'm afraid that ship has sailed.

s211 · #6 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 4:15 PM**

The dangers of trying to play the rockstar planner. He was launched here with almost messiah-like publicity.

CCF · #7 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 4:18 PM**

Wow.

Any initial thoughts of who might be his successor?

wrenegade · #8 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 4:54 PM**

Whoever likes being whipped by Penny.

Vancity · #9 Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 7:42 PM**

How was Toderian doing his job anyways? good? poor?

flight_from_kamakura · #10 Posted **Feb 1, 2012, 2:26 AM**

the sun piece is highlighting how difficult he was to work with. myself, i'll reserve judgment about this one until we see who the new person is. could be that there's a great new hire in the wings and that there's more to it than it would seem. personally, i'm cautiously optimistic. toderian's vision of vancouver kills me. personally, i don't like townhouses in yaletown, his explicitly function-over-form attitude, and his step back from late beasley's 'controlled chaos' ethic.

Hed Kandi · #11 Posted **Feb 1, 2012, 4:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCF

Wow.

Any initial thoughts of who might be his successor?

It should be me FTW!

I'll turn downtown into the world's biggest light spectacle and make Vegas look like the dark side of the moon in comparison!

whatnext · #12 Posted **Feb 1, 2012, 6:59 AM**

Various blogs insinuate it was Frau Ballem that did the pushing. Big thanks to Vision for costing us $200k for a severance.

dleung · #13 Posted **Feb 2, 2012, 5:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCF

Wow.

Any initial thoughts of who might be his successor?

I am... and before I also get fired, I will have imposed the following:

- Abolish/alter almost all of the downtown viewcones, introduce new ones with parabolic inclines, with lower heights near the water
- Restrict floor-plates above the 20th floor to <8000sf on all building types
- The first 15 floors of any building in the CBD must be commercial/office
- The first 2-3 floors of any building in the CBD must be retail
- Outlaw point towers in the mountain suburbs
- Kidnap Bjarke Ingels and have him replace James Cheng as the head of the incestuous local architectural circle
- All unused roof space must be green. All decks/balconies larger than 150sf must have planters along exposed edges.
- Continuous glass awnings over every commercial street
- Outlaw asphalt roof shingles
- Outlaw faux-heritage styles
- Outlaw painted concrete - exposed is better
- Outlaw spandrel - it's a copout to clad solid walls in fake glass
- Environmental performance to be expected; not a bargaining chip for lacklustre design in design reviews
- LED lighting to be disregarded as a factor in design reviews

whatnext · #14 Posted **Feb 14, 2012, 3:01 AM**

For those who haven't been following it, there have been some quietly scathing remarks directed at our Dear Mayor and his handpicked City Manager over this issue:

“I was shocked but not surprised, if that makes sense,” says Toderian. “The management-style challenges have been here for a while. Many of the people who I highly respected at the Hall had already left or had been pushed out.”
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/pol...director/1211/