Slice of Canoga Park : Latest Addition to West Hills Called Its Last

The fast-growing West San Fernando Valley community of West Hills has swallowed yet another slice of Canoga Park, to the chagrin of that shrinking community’s Chamber of Commerce.

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson agreed Monday to add a one-square mile area with 423 households to the 3-week-old community. But Bernson made it clear that it is the last West Hills expansion he will approve, said Greig Smith, his chief deputy.

“The natural boundaries have now been reached,” Smith said.

Councilwoman Joy Picus, who last month approved the first name change for a 4,700-house section of Canoga Park in response to a petition campaign by residents, has also said she wants no more petitions.

New Addition’s Boundaries

The newest part of West Hills is bounded by Roscoe Boulevard on the south, Parthenia Street on the north, Shoup Avenue on the west and Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the east, Smith said. The commercial area at the northwest corner of Roscoe and Topanga Canyon boulevards will remain part of Canoga Park.

West Hills, formed by affluent homeowners eager to distance themselves from Canoga Park’s aging factories and subdivisions, has grown rapidly as nearby neighborhoods seek the more prestigious name. It now makes up nearly half of what formerly was Canoga Park.

Last week, Picus agreed to expand the boundaries of West Hills to include another two-mile-wide section of Canoga Park, giving West Hills its first major commercial areas, including Fallbrook Mall and Platt Village shopping centers.

Expansion Criticized

The inclusion of commercial and flatland areas in that expansion was criticized by Joel Schiffman, co-director of the Committee for the Designation of West Hills Inc. Schiffman’s group circulated petitions late last year seeking the name change.

But William F. Vietinghoff, immediate past president of the Canoga Chamber of Commerce, who unsuccessfully fought the name change, said chamber officials were frustrated by the latest defection.

“That’s fewer people that we can work with,” Vietinghoff said. “My belief is that they’re pursuing an illusion. They’re looking for the betterment of a community by renaming it. There’s no magic in words.”