St. John's councillor-at-large Dave Lane has announced he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the year.

In a Facebook post on the weekend, Lane said he's leaving council because his family is moving to Torbay.

"As you can imagine, this is a difficult move for me. But I believe it's the right decision both for residents and for my family," Lane wrote.

Under the Municipal Elections Act, if a council seat is vacant for less than 12 months, a byelection doesn't need to be held. The next municipal election will be held in September 2021.

"With this timeline, there will be no need for a costly and distracting byelection," wrote Lane.

"I will continue to do my job with council for the next several months, working on projects such as the budget, our bike plan, improvements to public transit, and better support for local businesses."

Lane, first elected to council in 2013, is the city's lead for finance and administration as well as the bicycling advisory committee. He's also the city's liaison for the Water Street infrastructure project and is a member of the St. John's transportation commission.

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