Hermosa Beach City Manager Steve Burrell has announced his retirement from the post he has held for nearly two decades, saying it has been “quite a ride.”
“I’ve been proud to serve the city, and I appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to work with an outstanding city staff that has made possible the many successes we have enjoyed over the past 18 years,” said Burrell, 64. “But I’ve been a city manager for more than 30 years in Hermosa Beach and Capitola.”
Mayor Howard Fishman praised Burrell’s stewardship.
“As city manager for almost two decades, Steve has overseen many of the developments that have shaped downtown Hermosa Beach, from the creation of Pier Plaza to the award-winning improvements along upper Pier Avenue,” Fishman said. “His wisdom and wit, his easy-going manner and his extensive knowledge of the city and its history will be missed. We wish him the best as he embarks on the next phase of his life.”
In an interview at his City Hall office on Tuesday, Burrell said he has not decided what he will do next, but it feels like time to retire from his current post.
“It just becomes time,” he said.
Burrell will continue to live in Redondo Beach with his wife Janice.
“I’ve always enjoyed it down here,” he said. “This has been my whole life. I’ve been here 18 years, and 39 years in city government.”
Burrell’s last day on the job will be March 29, giving the City Council time to choose an interim city manager and then a permanent successor. He said he had informed the five council members of his decision the night before.
Burrell, a laid-back, even-keel leader, said a significant job for his successor will be shepherding a process, begun this month by the City Council, to help determine the fate of future development on prime properties in the downtown seaside and near City Hall.
He said it will be important to build consensus, pointing to the creation of the Pier Plaza and the recent makeover of upper Pier Avenue, which were preceded by workshops, hearings and a sweeping summary report by architects and planners.
Burrell came to Hermosa from Capitola, where he had served as city manager for 15 years. The Hermosa Beach City Council chose him for the job in October 1993 from a field of 87 applicants.
During his tenure, the city renovated the Hermosa Beach Pier and hammered out an agreement calling for Los Angeles County to continue providing beach lifeguards and to pay for construction of the downtown parking garage, in exchange for a split on parking garage revenues.
The project also eased the way for construction of the Beach House, a boutique hotel on The Strand.
“That whole agreement, it took years to complete, and it was a highly structured agreement, and a good one,” Burrell said.
Amid difficult financial times, he helped the city secure state and federal funds to remake upper Pier and place an innovative storm-water trench under the beach sand.
Late Tuesday, longtime City Clerk Elaine Doerfling stopped into Burrell’s office to wish him well.
“He will be missed,” she said.
“Without question the length and dedication of his service should be commended. It’s a tough, demanding, 24-seven position,” Councilman Michael DiVirgilio said. “Without question he’s going to be an asset whatever he does, or wherever he chooses to go.”
DiVirgilio said Burrell’s penchant for involving businesses and community members in civic affairs has had “profound impacts.” He said it was “certainly no coincidence” that outgoing Police Chief Greg Savelli, who was hired by Burrell, shared that trait.
DiVirgilio pointed to the popular beach concert series and the town’s vibrant Neighborhood Watch as examples of business and community involvement.
He said the concerts were improved after the owner of St. Rocke took them over from the city, which had dropped them because of budget constraints. Many cities’ Neighborhood Watch organizations are top-down, city-funded affairs, while Hermosa “allowed people to be leaders in the community,” with some funding from City Hall, DiVirgilio said.
“Steve’s style is part of what made that possible,” he said.
DiVirgilio said a successor for Burrell should “be forward thinking and innovative,” must continue open communication with the public, and must focus on “how to do more with less” as money continues to be tight.
