Addressing Chaos : Councilman’s Proposal to Renumber Every Building in Santa Clarita Adds Up to a Headache, Friends, Colleagues Say

Carl Boyer III thinks he has a terrific idea. His colleagues don’t. His wife and kids don’t. But he does.

The Santa Clarita city councilman, decrying what he says is an illogical system of numbering streets, wants to change every address in the city so they follow an orderly and convenient pattern.

“The numbering system makes no sense whatsoever,” Boyer said.

The five-digit addresses used in Santa Clarita give no indication whether something is north or south, east or west, he said. It’s also hard to tell whether buildings are close together or several blocks apart.

The Boyer solution: Give every street a new set of addresses, starting with the number one. To ease the transition, the old number would remain on the curb while the new number is on the building. After a five-year grace period, the new number would replace the old.

“It’s a very simple process,” he said.

Boyer, who has floated the idea informally for months, asked the City Council to embrace the concept Tuesday night, much to the dismay of friends and relatives who urged him to shelve the plan.

“My wife has told me to drop it,” Boyer conceded to the council. “My kids have pleaded with me to drop it.”

As a prelude to his presentation, he produced a few marbles from his coat pocket and held them up.

“Before we start, I’d like to show everyone I still got them,” he said jokingly. The gesture, Boyer said, showed he still “has a sense of humor on this issue.”

“That’s apparent,” deadpanned Councilman Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, who said the proposal would create confusion, particularly for businesses.

Undaunted, Boyer made his pitch.

Unimpressed, the council refused to authorize a city study of his plan. Only Councilwoman Jan Heidt supported Boyer’s motion.

“Sorry about that,” McKeon told Boyer after the vote. McKeon added that he did Boyer a favor by scuttling what was sure to be an unpopular proposal with the public, saying, “I just saved your political life.”