“Bill has been working on them tirelessly for at least 15 years with the city and even before then in other areas,” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “And he’s put us in a place where we’re not looking to catch up with knowledge or programs or approaches.”

He recalled being “shocked” when Huang announced his plans to retire.

“I was not expecting it,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve had a lot of transitions and Bill has been such a stabilizing force within the city, it’s hard for me to think of a time when he won’t be here to consult on these issues.”

However, Rodriguez expressed confidence in the Housing Department’s stability after Huang’s retirement, noting that Huang had built a strong team “at every level.”

“We’ll have to look for a director and see who’s out there to carry on this work and to take on new work, new approaches,” he said.

The city plans to conduct a nationwide search open to both internal and external candidates, Rodriguez said.

Huang’s career in affordable housing spanned more than 30 years. He started as an affordable housing developer and architect before transitioning to the public sector as the housing director for Los Angeles County and Pasadena.

Huang “came with a great deal of knowledge, and equally important, a great deal of contacts,” said former Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, who served as the city’s interim city manager when Huang first came on board in 2009.

“I think under his leadership, it has really shown that that’s a great asset to have people engaged in the work at the right level of government, and know the right people and the way to approach providing housing for the unhoused,” Kurtz said Tuesday. “It will be a big loss to the city, but I would end with saying, it is a well deserved retirement, Bill has worked hard for a long time.”

During Huang’s leadership, Pasadena saw significant progress in addressing housing needs. About 10% of all households in the city live in some form of affordable housing, with more than 4,200 affordable housing units developed under his tenure.

Pasadena’s homeless population has dropped by more than 50% since 2011, with the point-in-time count declining from more than 1,200 in 2011 to 556 this year, Huang said in a phone interview Tuesday. He attributed the decrease to the city’s change in strategy, such as closing a homeless intake center and replacing it with outreach teams.

Huang also spearheaded numerous affordable housing initiatives, with several projects currently underway and more on the horizon. These include a permanent supportive housing community project for foster youth attending Pasadena City College and a Safe Parking program at All Saints Church, offering individuals living in their cars a secure place to stay overnight while receiving support from a caseworker. In addition, there are future plans to develop potentially hundreds of new affordable housing units on city-owned properties, he said.

But despite these achievements, Huang acknowledged that challenges lie ahead, particularly with the growing issue of seniors falling into homelessness. He said local governments need more support from national and state levels to effectively address this trend.

“A local city cannot turn around a national trend. It has to be done at a national level, at a state level, although every city needs to do as much as they can to address the issue,” he said.

He praised the city’s highly supportive environment for addressing housing needs and credited the success of local efforts to the collaboration among dedicated individuals from the public sector, private sector, faith-based groups and the business community.

“There are a lot of really dedicated, smart people who are working on this issue, and there’s a lot more work to be done, so I know they’re going to be doing it,” he said, “but I will miss being there with them.”

Although he hasn’t outlined a definite plan post-retirement, one thing remained clear: His commitment to serving others will continue, he said.

“I made a decision very, very early in my working career that I wanted to have a career that serves others,” Huang said. “I do believe at the core that it is better to serve than to be served. And so in my retirement, I fully expect to continue to do that.”