Shick Heads for Post Overseeing Redevelopment in Long Beach

When Susan F. Shick came to town eight years ago, she was determined that Glendale would never be the same.

As deputy director of redevelopment, Shick carried out her mission. Now she is accepting a new assignment as director of Long Beach’s ambitious redevelopment plans.

“It’s a career move, very exciting,” said the 41-year-old Shick, who lives in Long Beach with her husband, Larry, and their 7-year-old son.

In Glendale, which has a population of 150,000, Shick administers an annual budget of $54 million and a development program that has generated more than $450 million in private investments, created 4,500 jobs and increased sales tax revenue by 200%, according to Glendale officials.

Shick established a business development plan and urban design guidelines for the 244-acre downtown project, which was awarded the 1986 Progressive Architecture Urban Design Award.

As the community development director in Long Beach, a city of 420,000, Shick will oversee development of about 2,000 acres--more than three square miles--in five redevelopment projects.

Ambitious Program

The Long Beach program is one of the most ambitious in the state, with more than $800 million in redevelopment projects completed and $1.4 billion more in development under construction or planned.

Shick, who is viewed by many developers as a shrewd and tough negotiator, holds a degree in economics and history from Grinnell College in Iowa. She earned a law degree from Pepperdine University in 1978 in order to match wits with developers, city officials said.

At redevelopment agency meetings, Shick has been quick to reply to the “legalese” of development attorneys with legalese of her own.

A member of the California State Bar, Shick has repeatedly demonstrated her strong will to enforce strict development standards. One developer in 1983 told redevelopment agency members that he had become “extremely upset” over his inability to reach an agreement with Shick and her staff on the aesthetics of a proposed project.

Agency members, when told that the disagreement was “killing the deal,” bowed to the developer by approving his plan in concept.

But Shick stuck to her demands and the project never was built.

When Shick came to Glendale, the few redevelopment projects that had been undertaken were controlled by the private market. Shick changed that to give the agency more control.

In an earlier interview, she said the key to good development is “to have certain guidelines that are uniformly applied; then everyone knows what the rules of the game are when they come into town. If they don’t want to play by those rules, then they don’t have to come into town. You’ve got to know what you want.”

Glendale City Manager David Ramsay, who officially notified agency members Tuesday that Shick was leaving, said: “To say that I will miss her will be the understatement of my career.”

Ramsay said Barbara Knight, assistant redevelopment director, will serve as acting deputy director until Shick’s replacement is hired. Shick will assume her new duties in Long Beach on Feb. 13.