ARLETA : Community to Dedicate Welcome Sign

Sylmar’s got one. San Fernando’s got one. Now Arleta will hop the bandwagon of communities erecting elaborate welcome signs to differentiate themselves from the faceless suburban sprawl of northeast San Fernando Valley.

Drivers headed north on Woodman Avenue who might not have known that they crossed a border at Branford Street now will know they are in Arleta--as opposed to Panorama City or Pacoima--courtesy of a brick-and-block sign with bronze lettering to be inaugurated next Thursday.

The marker, built with $6,000 in donations, has the same design as the welcome sign dedicated in Sylmar last year, said Patrick Vincent, incoming president of the Arleta Chamber of Commerce/Residents Assn.

“It establishes an identity for our community and it gives the people of the community a feeling of accomplishment,” said Vincent. “The community feels like we’re our own city. We don’t need to rely on L. A.”

Clinging to identity in Arleta can be tough. Even history books on the Valley mention the community as an afterthought to Pacoima.

“Pacoima wants Arleta to affiliate with them and call ourselves West Pacoima,” said Vincent. “But we’re not West Pacoima. We’ve been Arleta for a very long time.”

Samuel Taylor, a USC professor whose specialty is community organization, said most communities erect signs in an attempt to gain political clout. But the impulse to do so may be more primitive, and more confrontational.

“It’s almost like marking out your own territory,” he said. “If you go to places like Pittsburgh, each hill has its own culture, its own identity and its own ethnic group.”

Arleta may not have any of that, but it will have its own sign. The dedication will be held Thursday at 10 a.m., at the southeast corner of Woodman Avenue and Branford Street. That’s in Arleta, not Pacoima.