It was bittersweet to learn last week that Toronto's chief planner -- Gregg Lintern -- will be retiring at the end of this year.

He accomplished a lot during his six-year tenure. Here's an excerpt from a recent Globe and Mail article by Alex Bozikovic:

"...he took the department through significant reforms: allowing new houses in back laneways, then garden suites; eliminating minimum parking requirements; even legalizing four-unit apartment buildings on any lot in the city."

All of this was not easy, as anyone in our industry will attest.

I also got to know Gregg, a little, by way of our development projects. And I can say that he (1) genuinely loved our great city and (2) was always looking for ways to make things better, whether that be through planning policy or through processes internal to City Hall.

Thank you for your service, Gregg.