Oak Park Looks to McKeon Bill for ZIP Relief : Mail: Residents oppose their L.A. County listing. Some accuse Beilenson of not doing anything to help his constituents.

The tax bills say Ventura County. But the ZIP code for Oak Park puts the suburban enclave squarely in Los Angeles County--meaning higher sales taxes for mail-order purchases and untold confusion for 911 dispatchers.

The residents of the Bull Creek neighborhood in Northridge know the feeling. For 30 years, their ZIP code has labeled them, incorrectly, as part of nearby North Hills.

Now Northridge’s efforts to correct the problem could resolve Oak Park’s nagging dilemma: A bill introduced in Congress would redraw all ZIP codes to coincide with community boundaries.

“This is the most positive step we have had in a battle that has been going on for years and years,” said Chuck Monico, a member of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council. “Nobody has been willing to take on the post office.”

For Oak Park’s 15,000 residents, Monico says, shedding Agoura Hills’ 91301 ZIP code is more important than saving their library--threatened by county budget cuts--or improving police services.

“It is more important because there are a lot of hidden costs that people are sick of paying,” he said.

The excitement is tempered by only one fact: It is not their congressman who has rallied behind the cause. Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) introduced the bill in May after residents of the Bull Creek area of Northridge said they needed their own ZIP code.

Members of the Oak Park Municipal Council, along with Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo, are now lining up to support McKeon’s bill and threatening to show their anger at their own congressman, Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), at the ballot box.

Schillo has already enlisted the support of Republican state Sen. Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) and is planning to ask other politicians in the county to support the bill.

Oak Park council members will begin circulating petitions this week to show support throughout the community for the McKeon bill.

“I can’t figure out why [Beilenson] isn’t doing anything on this,” Schillo told the council members at a Tuesday night meeting. “This is no skin off of his nose to do something for his constituents.”

In August, Schillo discussed the Oak Park ZIP code concerns with Beilenson and hoped a bill would be forthcoming. He has not heard from him since, Schillo told the council.

Kay Van Horn, a Beilenson aide, said the congressman is reluctant to introduce a bill that he believes would be destined to fail. “The committee [on postal services] feels in essence that they don’t want to micro-manage the post office,” she said. “The bottom line here is that since 1993 the congressman has been involved in the issue. We have encouraged [the U.S. Postal Service] to give us a response.”

Postal authorities for Southern California say the post office is not in the business of handing out designer ZIP codes.

“All over Southern California, and the country there are communities who want ZIP codes for community identity reasons, but ZIP codes are for efficient sortation and delivery of the mail,” said Terri Bouffiou, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service of Southern California.

To change a ZIP code, the post office would have to change the programming of hundreds of automated mail-sorting machines in more than 250 mail-sorting centers across the country. The cost is simply too prohibitive, she said.

But while Northridge’s chief complaint is based mainly on protecting the reputation of its community--North Hills is less affluent--residents in Oak Park face no such identity crisis. They say their ZIP code complaints stem from real problems.

Because their ZIP codes cross county lines, Oak Park residents are charged Los Angeles County’s sales tax, which is 1% higher than Ventura County’s rate. Oak Park’s 911 calls are routed through a Los Angeles County-based operator who is not familiar with Oak Park streets. Hewitson estimates that he paid about $300 to $400 more annually in home and auto insurance because he pays Los Angeles County rates.

“This is a dollars-and-cents issue both on the tax rates and the insurance that we pay,” said Doug Hewitson, an advisory council member. Also, Supervisor Schillo says Ventura County loses sales tax and motor vehicle registration revenue to Los Angeles County.

But postal officials say the residents’ claims are unfounded and that it all boils down to wanting an exclusive ZIP code along the lines of Beverly Hills 90210.

For instance, a law passed in 1988 prohibits insurance agencies from basing insurance premium rates on ZIP codes, though the practice was common before then, according to a spokeswoman for State Farm insurance.

And Oak Park is not the only community in Ventura County that lives with a Los Angeles County ZIP code, Bouffiou points out. Residents of the Westlake neighborhood in Thousand Oaks also have a Los Angeles County ZIP code, 91361.