Thousand Oaks Fills Top Post

After a nationwide search, the Thousand Oaks City Council’s slow-growth majority stayed in house in choosing a chief architect of the town’s principal planning blueprint to be city manager.

Community Development Director Philip E. Gatch, 62, begins Aug. 1 as the permanent replacement for MaryJane Lazz, who retired from the city’s top administrative post in May. Finance Director Candice Hong, who has served as interim city manager since April 1, will return to the finance job.

Gatch joined the city in 1967 as one of three members of the planning staff. In 1970, he was promoted to planning director, the same year Thousand Oaks adopted its General Plan, the city’s guiding land-use document.

The department was renamed Community Development in the mid-1990s and includes planning, building, housing and code compliance. Gatch oversees a staff of 76.

An early favorite of at least two council members, Gatch was one of five senior managers who applied in January for the interim post. To keep him in the running, the council reversed a policy during the selection process, permitting those who applied for the interim post to be considered by a citizens recruitment committee.

On Tuesday, after his selection, Gatch told the council that “city management will become more environmentally oriented” under his stewardship. But he starts his new job with less than full council support.

Mayor Andy Fox, in announcing the appointment, said he couldn’t back Gatch and would have preferred the fresh perspective of an outside candidate with a broader range of administrative skills.

“I was looking for someone with more senior management experience and exposure with finance,” Fox said. “I thought there were other candidates who could have gotten us there.”

Council members Claudia Bill-de la Pena, Ed Masry and Bob Wilson Sr. voted in favor of Gatch’s promotion. Fox voted against it and Councilman Dennis Gillette abstained without explanation.

“I appreciate the confidence the council put in me,” Gatch said shortly after the vote. “I understand the issues you brought up, Mr. Mayor, and I can appreciate that.... In the long run, I hope that I will overcome the concerns.”

More than 50 people applied for the post, which comes with a staff of nearly 500 and an annual budget of $168 million. Gatch’s new employment contract is being negotiated, but the position has a salary range of about $122,000 to more than $183,000. Additionally, the city manager receives an automobile allowance, 30 days off per year, up to 15% of salary in deferred compensation, medical and dental insurance coverage and retirement benefits.

Gatch has a master’s degree in planning and public administration from USC and a bachelor’s in urban geography and planning from Cal State Northridge. He and his wife, Nancy, have four children, ages 17 to 39.