Prince George Mayor Simon Yu is listed as an engineering consultant on 23 active or open project applications being processed by the City of Prince George, according to information obtained through a freedom of information request.
In October, The Citizen requested a list of all current building permit, rezoning and official community plan amendment applications in which Yu or his company, Simon & Co Structural Engineers, was named as an agent for the applicant or submitted engineering reports or other documents in support of the application.
Of the 23 active projects, 21 were current or anticipated building permit applications, one was a rezoning related to one of the building permit applications and one was a liquor licence application for the Ignite Night Club, formerly known as The Generator. Yu provided floor plans for the proposed night club.
Yu was elected on Oct. 15 as Prince George mayor. He did not hold public office previously.
"After becoming elected, I notified my clients that I could no longer work on any of their Prince George files,” Yu said in an email on Monday. “I have sought legal advice and I will recuse myself from any council decisions where I believe I have a conflict."
City staff indicated they were told to expect engineering drawings from Yu on four anticipated building permit applications, including the one subject to a rezoning application, and a possibly on a fifth.
According to the information released by the city, Yu was expected to provide engineering drawings for a restaurant project at the Prince George Airport, a rooftop patio for The Firm Lounge and Grill on George Street, a project at 2001 Industrial Way, and for Fair Deal Auto Detailing’s project at 2414 Queensway. Fair Deal Auto Detailing is also seeking to rezone the site at 2414 Queensway, which is expected to come before city council at a future date.
In a fifth building permit application for a home on Stillwater Crescent, city staff were told verbally that Yu would be acting as the engineer for the project, but were awaiting confirmation.
In 13 of the building permit applications, Yu provided Schedule B structural engineering drawings, and a building permit was issued. Those applications were still open because construction, final inspection and occupancy had not yet occurred.
In three of the building permit applications, Yu had provided engineering drawings, but the projects were on hold or subject to a stop work order. In one case, the city was waiting for additional site plans, and in another the city was waiting for a geotechnical report to sign off on the engineering drawings. No additional information was provided in the third case.
"Staff have been directed to process these files, as they do all applications, following our usual professional business practices,” city manager Walter Babicz said in an email on Monday.
A Citizen request for “Any contracts between Simon Yu, or Simon & Co. Structural Engineers, and the City of Prince George dated between Jan. 1, 2021 and Oct. 20, 2022,” did not result in any results being found, suggesting Yu had not conducted any engineering consulting work for the city during that period.
