Latest news with #KenSim
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Right time for a leadership change': Vancouver city manager stepping down
Outgoing Vancouver city manager Paul Mochrie is seen in this photo from the city's website. ( Paul Mochrie, who has been Vancouver's city manager since April 2021, is leaving the role, the city announced in a brief statement Tuesday. 'Paul and I mutually agreed that it was the right time for a leadership change,' said Mayor Ken Sim, in the statement. 'We thank Paul for his 14 years of dedicated service, including the last four as city manager, and wish him nothing but success in the future.' Deputy city manager Karen Levitt has been named acting city manager, and Mochrie has 'agreed to assist with the transition,' the city said. According to his biography on the city's website, Mochrie began working for the city in 2011 as general manager of human resource services. He became deputy city manager in 2015 and took on the role of acting city manager in January 2021, before moving into the role permanently. Vancouver's online data portal shows Mochrie earned $387,110 in salary and other remuneration in 2024.
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wants review of industrial lands designation of five major areas
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wants city staff to prepare an overview of five key industrial sites in the city, possibly leading to some or all of those sites being released from Metro Vancouver's Industrial Land Reserve. This would mean those sites could be used for residential construction as well as traditional industrial and work-creation uses. Sim will present his motion to council on Wednesday, giving staff until October to report back. Here are the five areas Sim wants reviewed: Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. This iconic seven-acre site at the southeast base of the Burrard Bridge has not been used as a brewery since 2019, with Molson now brewing its beer in Chilliwack. It was purchased by real estate developer Concord Pacific in 2016, then leased to Molson for a few years. In 2010, the company pitched a large residential development for the site that has gone nowhere. Since then the Squamish First Nation, which owns land around the site, has begun a large-scale residential development called Sen̓áḵw. The City of Vancouver owns 11 acres of industrial-zoned lands southeast of the intersection of Terminal Avenue and Main Street. This site is near the St. Paul's Hospital development currently underway, the Main Street SkyTrain Station and Pacific Central Station. The proximity of industrial land close to public transit is part of the motivation behind Sim's wish to have these industrial sites reviewed by staff. 'British Columbia's Transit-Oriented Areas legislation requires local governments to increase housing density around SkyTrain and major transit corridors, increasing the necessity for a policy review of industrial lands near rapid transit,' Sim said in his motion. The Railtown District lies between the Downtown Eastside and the Port of Vancouver's rail hub. It covers several blocks between Gore Avenue and Heatley Avenue and the Port lands and Alexander Street. The area hosts the headquarters of burgeoning locally-grown fashion giant Aritzia, as well as retro backpack maker Herschel Supply Co. and the Belgard Kitchen. Sim's report states Railtown is 'a unique industrial and creative district requiring tailored policy guidance to support job space creation and cultural economy integration.' This site is directly south of a major residential tower development at the foot of Cambie Street near the Marine Drive SkyTrain Station. The industrial lands are currently occupied by Don Docksteader Motor's Volvo and Subaru dealership, with City of Vancouver-owned lands across the road now being used as a recycling depot. Sim described the area as 'a rapid transit-served, mixed-use area with employment potential requiring clear direction on the future of adjacent industrial designated sites.' This is the largest of the five industrial sites, running from Cambie Street to Main Street and from 2nd Avenue to Broadway. 'The Mount Pleasant industrial area, a centrally located employment district with sites within the provincially-mandated TOAs, where modernized policy guidance is needed to support innovative tech clusters, light industry, and creative economy uses while carefully considering residential uses,' Sim writes in his motion. dcarrigg@
CTV News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Former CRAB Park encampment residents launch ‘cooling bus' to support Downtown Eastside
A woman accepts a bottle of water being handed out by people operating a "cooling bus" on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. As hot weather descends on the city, former residents of a Vancouver encampment are operating what they call a cooling bus to provide water and other supplies to people on the Downtown Eastside, as they label a Vancouver policy banning daytime camping as cruel. Kiana McDermott is one of the people who used to call CRAB Park home, and is one of the people now helping to operate the bus. They're handing out cold drinks, snacks and harm reduction supplies to people, many of whom live in poverty or are homeless. 'It gives me purpose and stuff,' McDermott said of what she gets out of helping others after improving her own personal situation. 'I've needed help before, and there've been people out there that have had the compassion that have helped me, and I feel that's like helped me progress in my life. I'm no longer in the position I once was.' People CTV News spoke with on the Downtown Eastside shared their appreciation for those operating the bus. 'It's a good thing, right? Because people need more access to stuff like this, especially during the heat,' one man told CTV News while waiting in line for a bottle of water and some granola bars. The bus operators describe Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim's policies as cruel – specifically decisions to shut down various encampments and to crack down on enforcing a ban on daytime sheltering in parks. But Sim and his office maintain the tent cities were dangerous – sharing pictures of seized propane tanks. 'That situation was incredibly unsafe,' Sim told reporters on Wednesday when asked about tent cities. 'We had butane tanks exploding, there were weapon caches there, guns, knives, crossbows, it was an untenable situation… our team spent eight months literally going one by one to every individual out there to make sure that they had the supports in place, finding them suitable shelter space what have you,' he said. This all comes amid a legal challenge by the BC Civil Liberties Association that argues banning people from setting up tents in public spaces areas during the day violates their Charter rights.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
New community policing centre opens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
A new Vancouver community policing centre is opening in Gastown and Hastings Crossing in partnership with the city and the police department. The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will offer various crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint-overs, and neighbourhood safety walks. "Community policing centres aren't traditional police stations," Mayor Ken Sim said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They're not just about enforcement, they're about people. They're about building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating safer communities from the ground up." Sim said the opening of the new community policing centre at 109 West Hastings St. is a direct response to businesses wanting to feel safer in their community. He said the centre will be a community safety hub where people can ask questions, report concerns and learn about resources. The centre will host front-line police officers for engagement but will be primarily staffed by trained volunteers and civilian staff, according to its website. Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai said the community policing centre is "definitely needed" in the neighbourhood because of its crime rate. He said the Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only about two per cent of the city's geographic area. Rai said his experience working at the Davie Street community policing centre was the most rewarding assignment in his career. "It was because we were able to talk to people at the ground level to help fix those little problems before they become problems … where you're calling 911." The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre will be run by an independent non-profit society staffed and governed by community members working in partnership with the VPD. Sandra Singh, deputy city manager, said the city spends about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" a year on community policing centres, and estimated the GHX CPC would cost a little bit more due to its larger size. She noted the goal will be to have the centre open seven days a week and expand the centre and its hours as it grows. The province gave a one-time $1-million contribution toward the development of the centre. Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said the new centre is one way to move toward a more community-focused approach to safety. He noted it will be more than a hub for policing. "It provides a drop-in centre, a stop-over space for our safety patrols, Gastown safety patrols, the EMS bike patrols, things like that." "It's really a place to better co-ordinate these safety approaches in the neighbourhood."
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
New community policing centre opens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
A new Vancouver community policing centre is opening in Gastown and Hastings Crossing in partnership with the city and the police department. The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will offer various crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint-overs, and neighbourhood safety walks. "Community policing centres aren't traditional police stations," Mayor Ken Sim said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They're not just about enforcement, they're about people. They're about building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating safer communities from the ground up." Sim said the opening of the new community policing centre at 109 West Hastings St. is a direct response to businesses wanting to feel safer in their community. He said the centre will be a community safety hub where people can ask questions, report concerns and learn about resources. The centre will host front-line police officers for engagement but will be primarily staffed by trained volunteers and civilian staff, according to its website. Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai said the community policing centre is "definitely needed" in the neighbourhood because of its crime rate. He said the Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only about two per cent of the city's geographic area. Rai said his experience working at the Davie Street community policing centre was the most rewarding assignment in his career. "It was because we were able to talk to people at the ground level to help fix those little problems before they become problems … where you're calling 911." The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre will be run by an independent non-profit society staffed and governed by community members working in partnership with the VPD. Sandra Singh, deputy city manager, said the city spends about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" a year on community policing centres, and estimated the GHX CPC would cost a little bit more due to its larger size. She noted the goal will be to have the centre open seven days a week and expand the centre and its hours as it grows. The province gave a one-time $1-million contribution toward the development of the centre. Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said the new centre is one way to move toward a more community-focused approach to safety. He noted it will be more than a hub for policing. "It provides a drop-in centre, a stop-over space for our safety patrols, Gastown safety patrols, the EMS bike patrols, things like that."
