Doug Chotkevys’ 15-year career as city manager of Dana Point is coming to an abrupt end, it was announced Tuesday night. The city’s top administrator will step down on Nov. 1, replaced in the interim by Assistant City Manager Mike Killebrew. The council expects to fill the permanent vacancy early next year, but the search will begin immediately.
The city said it had reached a standard, mutual agreement with Chotkevys in which he would resign in lieu of termination. At a Sept. 20 meeting in which the city approved the creation of a new deputy city manager position, Chotkevys said he planned to retire in the next two to three years.
“The Council and community have benefited over the years from Mr. Chotkevys’ work with various City Councils focused towards helping Dana Point evolve into a 5-Star destination resort town,” said Dana Point Mayor John Tomlinson. Chotkevys said he was proud of the work he had done and the first-rate team that he had assembled during his tenure.
Chotkevys can boast of a long list of accomplishments as city manager, but the past two years of his career have been fraught with difficulty. Frustrations with him arose over what some in the community felt was excessive litigation regarding public access at Strand Beach and Headlans LLC. There were also concerns about development and a city plan to allow short-term rentals.
“I always assumed he was doing a great job,” said former city commissioner, councilman and mayor Steven Weinberg, “but when you work for five people, anything can happen.”
Read more about Chotkevys’ resignation here.