HUNTINGTON BEACH CIVIC CENTER (Orange County Tribune photo).

In a twist of fate, the Huntington Beach City Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 14 to consider as temporary replacement for a city manager leaving for Irvine a man who used to be the Irvine city manager.

SEAN JOYCE (City of Irvine photo).

Oliver Chi is departing Surf City and his last day will be Thursday, Dec. 23. The choice for interim city manager is Sean Joyce, who retired from the Irvine post in 2018.

Joyce also served as the top appointed official in the Los Angeles County cities of Sierra Madre and South Pasadena.

“I am honored to be asked to serve the iconic community of Huntington Beach as interim city manager,” said Joyce in a statement. “Oliver has done an excellent job of leading the city and we will work closely together these next few weeks to ensure a seamless transition that will help keep Huntington Beach moving forward.”

A national search for a “permanent” city manager is underway and is expected to be finished “at some point during the first half of 2022,” according to Catherine Jun, assistant to the city manager.

The council meeting will be held in person in the Council Chambers, 2000 Main St., and via Zoom at 4:30 p.m.