In a surprise move, Vancouver parts ways with chief official responsible for building safety

Saul Schwebs, the City's Chief Building Official, abruptly parted ways with City Hall on Wednesday. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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Catching city staff by surprise, Vancouver has abruptly parted ways with the chief official responsible for building safety, the latest in a recent series of high-profile departures from city hall.

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After 12 years at the City of Vancouver, including the past five as the municipality’s chief building official, Saul Schwebs was shown the door on Wednesday.

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Vancouver’s chief building official is responsible for overseeing structural safety and building regulation across the city.

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Asked Wednesday about Schwebs’s departure, a city spokesperson confirmed he is “no longer with the organization,” but said the city will not comment on individual personnel matters.

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“We thank Saul Schwebs for his dedicated service and many contributions to the city and wish him well,” the city’s emailed statement said. Another city employee, Kelvin Lau, has been appointed as chief building official on a temporary basis.

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Since last summer’s abrupt exit of former city manager Paul Mochrie, Vancouver city hall has seen several departures, both voluntary and involuntary. Many job cuts have been related to council’s direction to reduce costs and freeze property taxes.

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The reason for Schwebs’s departure was not immediately clear.

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The chief building official is one of the city’s statutory positions mandated by the Vancouver charter, along with roles like the chief engineer and city manager. That means the chief building official is different from a more newly created role that city leadership can choose whether or not to fill, such as the chief equity officer position, which was established in 2020 under a previous council before being eliminated last September to save money.

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Considering this, it seems unclear whether Schwebs’s departure is related to budgetary considerations.

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“You must have a chief building officer,” Sandy James, a former longtime planner at the city of Vancouver, said Wednesday. “This is not a cost-saving measure.”

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James understands Schwebs was fired, leaving city staff “extremely upset and disappointed,” she said. “Saul was known to completely understand the building code and had a lot of integrity.”

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Some other key roles have recently turned over at city hall.

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Last month, Business in Vancouver reported the departures of Katrina Leckovic, who served as city clerk and chief election officer, and Tina Penney, who served as deputy city clerk and director of legislative operations. They are being replaced by city lawyers.

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Vote Vancouver Coun. Rebecca Bligh said Wednesday that there has been an “unusual” amount of turnover in key roles in the final months of the four-year council term.

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“In the last few weeks of this council sitting, these are significant leadership changes that add up to a seismic shift during what will soon be a blackout campaign period,” Bligh said. “It’s unusual. It might even be unprecedented.”