Community Development Director Alexa Smittle’s last day with Seal Beach was on Wednesday, Aug. 20, according to Planning Manager Shaun Temple. He made the announcement near the end of the Environmental Quality Control Board.
“She took a position with the city of Tustin,” Temple said. “So she’ll be starting that next week and in the meantime I’ll be stepping in as the interim Community Development Director while they go through that process,” Temple said.
District Three Councilwoman/Mayor Lisa Landau confirmed Smittle’s departure in an Aug. 20 text message. “Alexa is moving on,” Landau wrote.
District One Councilman Joe Kalmick also confirmed Smittle’s departure in an Aug. 21 text.
“She will be missed,” Kalmick wrote.
“I express my regret that Alexa is leaving because she’s been super helpful to our board,” said
District Three Board Member Susan Perrell.
Perrell said Smittle had been helpful to Perrell in her role on the Environmental Board as well as on other projects in the past. “I just thought she did a super job and I can’t believe all the challenges that you guys have with so many state mandates and plans to update,” Perrell said.
“It just never stops and it just gets worse and worse and I hope we didn’t drive her away,” Perrell said.
She said she wished Smittle the best in her new position and Perrell was sure her fellow board members agreed.
“Can we have a round of applause for Alexa even though she’s not here?” Perrell asked.
The board members applauded.
“Alexa’s contributions to the City of Seal Beach are appreciated, and we wish her the very best moving forward,” wrote City Manager Patrick Gallegos in an Aug. 25 email.
Interim Director Temple
Gallegos confirmed that Temple would be interim director of Community Development.
“Shaun has been Seal Beach’s Planning Manager for the past three years, working on major initiatives such as the Housing Element and Local Coastal Program,” Gallegos wrote.
“He brings 20 years of city planning experience, beginning as a housing aide in Pacific Grove, continuing in Paso Robles while earning his Master of City & Regional Planning (MCRP) degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and most recently with the County of Los Angeles. Shaun holds the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) credential and is also a U.S. Army veteran, having served honorably with the 82nd Airborne Division,” Gallegos wrote.
He worked for Los Angeles County Planning for 14 years and 4 months, according to his LinkedIn account.
Former Director Smittle
Then-City Manager Jill Ingram hired Smittle. The contract was signed by Smittle on Oct. 21, 2021, and by Ingram on Oct. 25, 2021. The council authorized Ingram to approve the contract on that same date.
At the time, Ingram said Smittle brought more than 16 years of Community Development experience to Seal Beach. Before coming to Seal Beach, Smittle was the Community Development Director for Westminster, overseeing a staff of more than 30 people in the planning, building, grants, housing, community development divisions there, according to Ingram.
Smittle was at the time managing the development of a specific plan for the 100-acre Westminster Mall, according to Ingram.
Smittle has a master’s degree in regional planning from UC Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in geography and regional development from the University of Arizona.
Smittle last appeared at the Aug. 11 Seal Beach City Council meeting, where she gave the council an update on the Housing Element of the General Plan.
