Noonan City Attorney Tracy Noonan is leaving Simi Valley for Thousand Oaks.

Noonan announced Feb. 8 she had accepted an offer from her former employer. The Simi Valley native had worked as the assistant city attorney for Thousand Oaks for four years before she was hired as her home town’s city attorney in February 2009.

It is because of her local roots that Noonan has mixed emotions about the move.

“It was very difficult for me. The people that are here at the city are fantastic people and I’ve loved working with them,” she said. “But there’s a lot of reasons to consider staying or leaving and I had to make those decisions that I thought were in the best interest of my family.”

Though she will miss her Simi colleagues, Noonan said, she’s looking forward to returning to Thousand Oaks.

“I kept in touch with the people there, so I’m hoping it will be a much easier transition because I do know so many people over there already,” she said.

Noonan’s last day with the city is March 9. Her new job in Thousand Oaks will begin March 19 at an annual salary of $200,000.

City Manager Mike Sedell called Noonan a valued and respected member of the city’s staff and said her departure will be a loss for Simi Valley.

“Tracy has been an excellent resource to all of our departments and our City Council. She is a highly skilled city attorney that’s not afraid to confront the issues, deal with the issues and provide solid, well-thought-out recommendations,” Sedell said. “Her leaving will clearly have an impact on the organization and a very positive impact, I’m sure, on Thousand Oaks’ organization.”

Mayor Bob Huber agreed.

“While the City Council respects Tracy’s decision, certainly the guidance and counsel she has provided during her tenure will be missed,” he said.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Jacqui Irwin said the city had several highly qualified candidates to replace former City Attorney Amy Albano, but Noonan was the best fit for the post.

“Tracy rose to the top based on her sound legal expertise, knowledge of Thousand Oaks and collaborative approach to management,” Irwin said.

Noonan, who graduated from Royal High School and clerked for the Simi Valley city attorney’s office while in law school at Southwestern University, came to Simi Valley City Hall with years of experience in municipal law.

Before serving as an assistant city attorney with Thousand Oaks, she was a partner with Los Angelesbased private law firm Brown, Winfield & Canzoneri, where she represented five contract cities. Prior to that she worked as a deputy city attorney for the City of San Diego’s criminal prosecution unit.

Noonan said she’s enjoyed working in Simi, even when faced with difficult, emotionally charged cases. She was asked what she considers highlights of her past three years.

“I learned a lot and I’m proud of working with Mike Sedell and Waste Management on the negotiations for the (landfill) expansion,” she said. “It was a lot of work but I was really proud of the fact that you had three different entities with different ideas and visions working together to come up with a solution.”

She said she’s also proud of her work with the city’s ad hoc permit processing review committee on streamlining the city’s permitting procedures.

“Given the economy, I’m really proud of the city’s desire to work with business owners and property owners to bring more business into the city.”

Looking forward, Noonan said the upcoming transition will give her an opportunity to continue to grow in her profession. Like all cities, Thousand Oaks is facing “daunting challenges,” particularly in the area of redevelopment.

“The state dissolution of redevelopment is having and is going to have huge impacts on cities’ abilities to provide services,” she said. “So in each city, Simi and Thousand Oaks, there’s going to be a lot of focus on how to continue to attract development and spur redevelopment, given the state of the economy, and provide the general services that residents expect.”

The city attorney is a position appointed by the Simi City Council. The council will name someone to serve as interim city attorney while a replacement is sought, Sedell said.

In addition to acting as the city’s general legal counsel, the city attorney’s office drafts ordinances, advises on land use matters, represents the city in regulatory and court proceedings, and investigates claims filed against the city and code enforcement complaints. The office also investigates and prosecutes criminal charges for citations issued by the police department.