BC Business
Once you learn that Larry Beasley grew up in Las Vegas, his effusiveness and flashy fashion sense – on a casual Friday he’s decked out to the nines, with cufflinks and a maroon kerchief stuffed just-so in the breast pocket of his black suit – makes sense.
But while this transplanted American doesn’t look like your typical Gortex-clad Vancouverite, he’s more responsible than anyone for what Vancouver looks and feels like, from bustling Yaletown to chilled-out English Bay. And he clearly loves the city – one entire wall of his spacious West 10th office is plastered with a blown-up satellite shot of the downtown core. But after 20 years as co-director of planning and director of current planning with the City of Vancouver, Beasley, 57, is stepping down. He’s about to take a gamble in the private sector. One question. Why? It’s timely. I’ve been in government for almost 32 years, 20 of which I worked in this role. The other co-director of planning, Ann McAfee, is 65 and she’s retiring. I felt it was an opportune time for me to leave, too. Were you itching to go? Frankly, it would have been very easy for me to stay for seven or eight more years and continue. But that’s not the best thing for a person’s spiritual and intellectual development. When you get mid-career, it’s very good to do some things that change your life so you re-energize your creativity. Bet you’re looking forward to getting away from that massive pile of papers on your desk. I’m looking forward to life with a little less of the slavery of incoming communication. I get hundreds of emails a day. I get thousands of pieces of paper a day. You have to harvest and deal with all of that stuff. I’m looking forward to not having to do that anymore. Sounds like it’s been a stressful job. I’m not a person who experiences stress. I think you have to be like Scarlett O’Hara: ‘I’ll think about that tomorrow.’ So what’s your master plan for the future? I’ll be doing some consulting and some work for other people, so I’ll be setting up my own company. Got a snappy name for it? It’ll probably be Larry Beasley and Associates or something like that. I’m talking to people that I’d like to associate with that I think have a similar kind of passion for the city and believe the same things as me. I’m also an adjunct professor at UBC. I want to keep teaching – it’s very fulfilling for me. We have some of the best-educated people coming into the field of planning and design in the history of the world. It’s a big pleasure to work with them. So, you’ll be a city-planner-for-hire. I’ll do more of the things that I already do in my spare time. I consult with cities on particular issues, or I talk with their business, design or academic communities to help empower them. For example, a few months ago I was in Philadelphia. It’s a very interesting city, but they’ve got some big problems and they’ve got themselves wrapped up to the point that they can’t do anything. I spoke to their business community, their university students and their design professionals to help them realize that you can dream about your city. You can take control of your city’s destiny. When do you finally close up shop with the city? I start turning over my duties in July. I’m still the director of planning until September. Are you taking some time off? I am. As soon as I download some of my duties, I’m going to start studying French every morning. My hope is that in 24 months I’ll be able to speak to a third of Canadians I can’t speak to now. In September, I’m taking four weeks off and I’m going to Europe. It’s been many, many years since I had the chance to get four weeks of time and not be worried about Vancouver’s issues. I’m going to Paris and over to Italy, and I’ll probably touch down in London. The key for me is that it won’t be travelling for work. I’m beginning to associate airplanes with the stress of work, and I’m looking forward to getting on board and having a couple of glasses of champagne. Do you travel in style? Yeah, I do. I believe in travelling in style – first class and nice hotels. Besides, I can afford it. Speaking of which – you’ll probably be making more money in the private sector. Yup, I think so. But money has never been a huge motivator for me. What’s important is that I spend my time on meaningful stuff that I’m passionate about. When I was a kid in the sandbox, I didn’t make sandcastles. I was the guy with all the buildings and the cars and the roads. Any advice for the folks applying for your job? The person has to be a sophisticated urbanist. Around North America I see planners who don’t understand the city as an organism – how it actually works – so their decisions aren’t right. And it has to be someone who can make things happen, who knows how to deal with politics and a very sophisticated bureaucracy. Managing the professionals in the planning department is like managing racehorses. They’re all clever, they’re all Type A and they’re all big contributors. So you have to be able to get things done. The world of government is filled with people who have good ideas but don’t know how to make them happen.