BREAKING NEWS

By Purnima Mudnal

Independent

Huntington Beach’s planning director received $126,550 in a settlement from the city after recently resigning, City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said Tuesday.

Howard Zelefsky’s last day was Aug 4.

Planning Commissioner Tom Livengood said the settlement sounded like a “year’s pay buyout.”

“In the corporate world, when an executive at that level is terminated there’s a dollar amount in that range,” Livengood said.

It’s unclear why Zelefsky was forced out but some observers have speculated a personality clash between Zelefsky and City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft as well as Zelefsky’s siding with Bella Terra Mall owners, DJM Capital Partners, in a dispute with the city over giving the company a $15 million subsidy.

Zelefsky received six months of severance pay or about $70,000, a lump sum amount of $54,000 equivalent to 15 years of Retireee Subsidy Medical Plan payments and $2,550 to cover three months of medical insurance payments.

Mayor Dave Sullivan and Councilwoman Cathy Green refused to comment due to a confidentiality clause in the settlement agreements. Efforts to reach Zelevky were unsuccessful.

Former Huntington Beach Mayor Shirley Dettloff, who was also a planning commissioner said, in the 14 years she worked with Zelefsky, she “always felt that the information he provided was very professional.”

“He has a legacy of bringing many projects in to this community, and most of those projects have enhanced the city,” she said.