San Juan Names City Manager

Dave Adams, Agoura Hills’ longtime city manager, has been chosen for the same position in San Juan Capistrano.

Adams, 48, would replace George Scarborough, San Juan Capistrano’s top administrator for 15 years who left in August for a similar job in San Clemente.

San Juan Councilman Wyatt T. Hart said that Adams’ eight years in Agoura Hills, a community of 21,000 in western Los Angeles County, should help him deal with the issues facing a city of about 35,000 in south Orange County.

“Agoura Hills is very similar to San Juan, a horse community with a lot of open space,” Hart said.

“And they have the same kind of problems we have here -- traffic and revitalization of downtown.”

If approved by the City Council at Tuesday’s meeting, Adams will become San Juan’s ninth city manager since it incorporated in 1961. He would make $145,000 a year and begin Dec. 4.

Almost immediately, Adams would become involved in the search to replace Tom Tomlinson, who recently retired as the city’s planning director.

In addition to his experience in Agoura Hills, Adams spent 2 1/2 years as city manager of Atwater in the Central Valley.

He has an undergraduate degree from California Baptist University in Riverside and a masters in public administration from Cal State Fullerton.

More than 100 people applied for the position of city manager.