I find the timing a little odd for talking about zoning. The city just spent the last two years rewriting its zoning codes and adopted the new zoning by-law in March.
I found that VERY odd too. Especially since there is a new director of PP & D. It is sort of out of his area. I'm not complaining though. The new Zoning by-law is a lot better than the old mish mash, but it is still very...suburban focused. IMHO.