WHITE ROCK — The city is looking for a new director of planning and development services after the departure of Paul Stanton last week.
According to city manager Dan Bottrill, the decision to let Stanton go was a managerial decision on his part.
"It was primarily because I was looking for a change in direction from the planning direction and so with any change in direction we were looking to determine if this made sense from a leadership perspective, making a change, and it did," said Bottrill.
Stanton's last day at the city was Jan. 8 and Richard Wilson will be filling in as interim director until a permanent replacement is found.
"Obviously with any vacancy, we want to fill it as soon as we can, but we're also going to make sure to take the time necessary to make sure it's the right person," said Bottrill.
When asked what "a change in direction" meant, Bottrill was decidedly secretive.
"I'm not going to get into too much detail about what that means other than I'm trying to elevate the planning department to the next level and there's a lot of work we need to be doing at the city," he said. "We're going to see some large applications (this year) so I'm looking forward to seeing a different individual and a new leader."
Stanton had been with the city for five years and made $128,544 in his role during 2012. His earnings for 2013 will be released later this year.