Greg Pfost, Laguna’s community development director, announces retirement amid department overhaul

Laguna Beach’s community development director, who has set into motion a series of significant changes for his department, has announced he will retire in less than a year.

Greg Pfost, 54, who has led that department for five years, will depart in July with more than 30 years of government planning work under his belt. Before coming to Laguna Beach in 2014, he worked for 18 years as deputy community development director for Rancho Palos Verdes, where he oversaw construction of the Trump National Golf Club, among other projects. He started his career as a planner in Dana Point.

“Really, Greg came in at a time when we had a number of longstanding, controversial planning issues that needed to be addressed, and he’s done a great job at moving them along in a very participatory process,” said City Manager John Pietig.

The city hopes to identify and begin training Pfost’s replacement in January.

His retirement announcement comes as several significant projects and changes to his department are coming to a head.

Last week, the department presented the Planning Commission with its long-awaited update to Laguna’s Downtown Specific Plan — the comprehensive policy that outlines how the city will preserve and enhance a healthy downtown hub.

Over the past several months, the department has initiated internal changes aimed at streamlining the local development review process. Those efforts resulted in new city staff training, more resident outreach, changes to the planning desk at City Hall and updated software.

More substantial policy changes to the review process, which Pfost has championed, are expected to come before the council by the end of the year.

“I hear from developers [that] when people want to build here, they don’t want to go through the process,” Pfost said. “I think we’re changing that culture and that idea, and [making] it an easier place to do that — not necessarily to get development all over the place, but at least look at the procedures and processes.”

Such changes have been met with apprehension from some residents who are concerned that eliminating certain requirements will allow developments to push into the city and alter Laguna Beach’s village character. Others have said they feel the changes did not go far enough to ease restrictions for residents.

“It’s a fine line, right? You have opposing parties; you’ve got people with opinions,” Pfost said. “It’s about being a good listener, trying to take it all in.”

Pfost has experienced more public engagement than many city employees. As director of one of the city’s largest departments — he oversees more than 30 employees — Pfost often attends two or three community meetings in a typical week, and many of those stretch long into the night.

After driving back to his home in Huntington Beach, Pfost said he often decompresses in front of the television with a PB&J and a glass of milk.

In addition to internal changes, the department is experiencing a deluge of major development projects. The Laguna Beach Co. recently submitted conceptual designs for two hotels, and four more major projects are expected to come down the pipeline.

Last month, the City Council granted Shohreh Dupuis, the assistant city manager/director of public works, a 10% raise to retain her as major projects get off the ground. Three new positions — a senior principal planner, permit services supervisor and a permit tech — also have been authorized to handle the hefty department workload.

Pfost said one of his proudest accomplishments is filling out the department with good employees.

“It’s my goal that they’ll be the staff that’s here for the next 10 … 15 years,” he said. “It’s a really good team here right now.”

Pfost grew up in Cypress and attended Orange Coast College and Cal Poly Pomona, where he studied urban planning. He went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration at Cal State Long Beach.

He is married with two children and frequently enjoys a weekend surf.

While he anticipates doing some planning consulting work in his retirement, Pfost said he is looking forward to more camping and surfing. He also has set his sights on spending a few months in Europe.

“I’m really eager to come back and see how things have played out … As a planner, that’s what’s the great thing — I really believe [that] what I do helps communities improve,” he said.

“You kind of always want to see, ‘Does it work?’ ” he added with a laugh. “Hopefully it does.”

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