Bruce Krushelnicki, city planner, to retire; most erudite staff member at city hall.

By Pepper Parr

March 20, 2014

BURLINGTON, ON

Careers come to an end; the time to take off the harness and have it placed on the shoulders of someone who can build on the work you’ve done is one every professional faces.

That day for city planner Bruce Krushelnicki has been reported to the Gazette by a usually reliable source. Bruce will leave city hall sometime in May.

A good listener, city planner Bruce Krushelnicki also explained difficult concepts better than most people.

Krushelnicki made significant contributions to the design of the city – there are, one can be sure decisions Krushelnicki made that he would not make again – but on balance Burlingtonians have been well served.

For young people wanting to develop careers as planners the opportunity to listen to Krushelnicki speak was like being in a classroom – they would slip away from their desks to hear someone who knew the field inside out.

He was the most erudite member of the city staff – he also knew the best tailor in town: Krushelnicki looked well outfitted in the pair of jeans he wore on casual Friday’s

When asked what form he thought the Strategic Plan released in 2011 should take he said, without cracking as much as a smile “A single page and in Latin.”

Krushelnicki has written a text on the workings of the Ontario Municipal Board and he may well return to that organization.

He would be very welcome as a lecturer in almost any school of architecture in the country.

The unfortunate part of his departure is that a number of important files come off the front burner. The Roseland Character Study gets put on hold; the development of the Official Plan slows down.

The Indian Point Character study was dead – there was to be a report on the lessons learned from that exercise – it may never see the light of day now.

The Gazette once asked Krushelnicki what he wanted to do when he retired and he said he would like to drive one of those large pieces of construction equipment.

We expect Bruce to aspire to more than that.

The ramp at the Drewlo development on Plains Road: there were supposed to be five of them, there are just four. City planner Krushelnicki pulled their building permit.

With some luck we will manage to do a final interview with Krushelnicki – expect to read some of the pearls of wisdom the man has to offer – he might even explain what is meant by a “top of bank” and why it is important – or how he brought the Drewlo development on Plains Road to a grinding halt when he pulled their building permit.

Polite, considerate, patient to a fault – but a tough nut when he had to be.