Burnaby’s top bureaucrat is planning to retire next year after “30 wonderful years” at city hall.
City manager Lambert Chu made the announcement Tuesday morning in an email to city staff, saying he will be stepping away from the role by the end of February 2021 to “move on to the next chapter – retirement.”
“Writing this message is an important step in my journey to retirement. I want to acknowledge and thank everyone who I had worked with and had supported me throughout my career in Burnaby,” Chu wrote in his announcement to staff, which was shared with the NOW.
“I walked into Burnaby City Hall 30 years ago looking for new challenges in my career, and I was well rewarded in kindness and friendship and had found many remarkable challenges. It has been an amazing journey for the entire time of my career in Burnaby.”
Chu said it “has truly been a pleasure” to watch the city grow over the past three decades “from a suburban community to a vibrant and progressive city.” And he pointed to the significance of city staff in shaping the community in moving forward.
For now, Chu said he will continue to update staff on COVID until his time at the city is done.
Chu rose up in the ranks through the city’s engineering department, first hired in 1990 as deputy director of engineering. He became the director of engineering in 2007 before being named the deputy city manager in 2012.
After preceding city manager Bob Moncur retired in February 2016, Chu took on the role of acting city manager for a few months until he fully took on the top spot in May that year.
"Lambert has delivered exceptional results on many projects and in many capacities during his time with the city," said then-mayor Derek Corrigan in a statement at the time. "His comprehensive background with the city and the fact that he already has developed excellent working relationships in city hall and throughout the community will serve him well in his new role."
Since his appointment as the direct reportee to council, Chu has navigated the city through a sea change in governing philosophies, with the election of a new mayor, Mike Hurley. With Hurley’s election, the city has taken on a far more significant role in many services – namely housing – that has entailed significant investments and massive policy changes.
That includes two policies around rental housing – the rental use zoning policy and the tenants assistance policy – that have been called B.C.’s, and even Canada’s, most progressive rental housing policies.
The city has also developed its Metrotown downtown master plan, while getting a start on a new transportation master plan, an energy use plan and a climate change plan to guide the city to net-zero emissions by 2020.
The city has not yet publicly announced Chu’s retirement but confirmed the veracity of the internal announcement email.
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