Yk's top planner reflects on 11 years in city
Jeff Humble says he is leaving with few regrets
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, December 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city's outgoing director of planning and development says he's proud of the work he's done in his almost 11 years in Yellowknife.
Jeff Humble's last day on the job is Dec. 30. He is leaving to take a similar position in Peterborough, Ont., a city of about 80,000 residents.
Humble, 45, grew up in Winnipeg where he earned degrees in urban studies and city planning. He has worked in Zimbabwe, Atlantic City, N.J., Whati, and Yorkton, Sask. before arriving in Yellowknife in the mid-2000s.
"For me this move to Peterborough is a big step. It's a department with over 40 staff compared to about 11 here," Humble said.
He said there have been challenges in being the head planner for the city, pointing to Yellowknife's relatively young age as one of the reasons.
"Yellowknife still has a pioneering aspect and that's the freshness and newness that makes Yellowknife so unique," he said. "On the other hand there is that kind of wild west atmosphere - the rules don't matter. We've been doing things the way we've been doing them and as a mining town you have to understand that's how these communities developed."
He said sometimes he would encounter blowback when it came to fine-tuning bylaws.
He also realized early in his career here that southern developers don't always understand the challenges in building on the city's rocky terrain. He suggested that misconception along with a downturn in the economy was part of the reason for delays in completing the Niven Lake subdivision development early in his time here. The thing Humble said he will miss most is the people of Yellowknife - what he said he will miss least is the winter. Humble also runs ultra-marathons - sometimes as long as 160 kilometres. He said he looks forward to not having to bundle up quite so much to train. His replacement has yet to be named.
