Lake View Terrace Portrait

Backing up to Angeles National Forest is the rural hillside community of Lake View Terrace, where it’s not uncommon to see horses being ridden along city streets. It’s a tight- knit community of mainly single- family homes, some with stables, and a handful of apartments and condominiums. There is no post office or Chamber of Commerce, but there are two active community groups-the Lake View Terrace Homeowners Assn. and the Lake View Terrace Improvement Assn.-and soon, it is hoped, a library.

“It really is a nice place to live. Your neighbors are friendly and helpful,” said Nancy Snider, president of the Lake View Terrace Homeowners Assn. “If there’s something to be done, we’ll get it done.”

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Current Issues

* Lopez Canyon Landfill: After more than a decade of community protest, the Los Angeles City Council recently voted to close Lopez Canyon Landfill in Lake View Terrace as of July 1. Neighbors have complained about dust, noise and odor by the dump, not to mention numerous environmental violations over the years, including landfill gas emissions and the dumping of contaminated water. Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon has been vocal dump opponent, along with Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City). The 400-acre dump takes in about 80% of the city’s trash and is the last city- owned landfill still in operation. An independent audit last year showed the city would save $56 million by extending the life of the landfill until 2001, instead of dumping city trash in privately owned landfills or hauling it by rail to remote facilities. A proposal to keep the dump open into the next millennium drew the ire of residents who have been promised in 1991 that the dump would close in February 1996. A state panel that oversees landfill permits in January upheld the city’s decision to continue operating the dump until July 1996.

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* New Library: Plans for Lake View Terrace’s first library are on the books. Mayor Richard Riordan has proposed using $1.6 million in federal block grants to build the 12,500- square- foot library, whose estimated cost is between $3 million and $5 million, and another $1 million has been set aside from the Lopez Canyon Community Amenities Trust Fund. Several sites are being considered, including one near Osborne Street and Foothill Boulevard where Rodney G. King was beaten by police. Councilman Alarcon wants the library to be part of a larger project called Peace Gardens that would also include a community banquet hall, landscaped gardens, a patio and an outdoor stage.

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Area Highlights

* Hansen Dam Recreation Area: It won’t be long until Valley residents will again be able to swim, boat and first at Hansen Dam Recreation Area. From the early 1950s to the early 1980s, outdoor enthusiasts water- skied, fished, boated and swam on Holiday Lake, a 120-acre body of water that had formed naturally behind Hansen Dam in a large excavation pit. However, major floods caused the lake tosed the lake to become choked with silt and sediments and by 1983, it was closed. In 1994, $10- million was allocated by the city of Los Angeles and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers to build a pair of lakes on the north side of the recreation area. A 1- acre swimming lake will complement a 9- acre boating and fishing lake complete with a boat launch for canoes and other vessels without motors. Construction, which started in January, is expected to be finished by summer 1997.

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Equestrian Country: Lake View Terrace is home to more than people and household pets-it’s also horse country. An $800,000 equestrian arena and renovation at Orcas Park, planned for completion next January, is one of two public equestrian projects in the works. The other is a $400,000 project featuring three arenas on 5 acres behind the Lake View Terrace Recreation Center, with construction slated to begin in the next six months and expected to take about four months. Money for both projects is coming from voter- approved Proposition A parks funds.

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History

Native American artifacts were unearthed during an archaeological dig before the Foothill Freeway was built. The first settlers in the area arrived in the 1870s, and homesteading was permitted in 1902. Back then, it took hours by team and wagon to reach Los Angeles, a journey that today takes about 30 minutes without heavy traffic via the Foothill Freeway. A one- room schoolhouse was built in 1888 and was enlarged in 1920 to four rooms to accommodate children from Tujunga, San Fernando and Burbank. Foothill Boulevard was first paved in 1922. Greater development of the community after World War II eventually pushed out small fruit and produce stands that had lined Foothill Boulevard.

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Community Profile

(Census data include parts of Pacoima, Sunland and Kagel Canyon)

Population: 21,994

Median age: 30

Number of Households: 6,276

Persons per household: 3.5

Owner- occupied housing units: 61%

Population below poverty level: 15%

Population over 18 with bachelor’s degree or higher: 13%

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Income

Average household income is slightly below the citywide average.

Lake View Terrace: $41,405

Citywide average: $45, 701

Northeast Valley: $44,444

Southeast Valley: $48,182

Northwest Valley: $56,427

Southwest Valley: $61,722

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Ethnicity

Asian: 6%

White: 34%

African American: 20%

Latino: 39%

Other: 1%

Source: 1990 Census

Sources: Staff reports, Lake View Terrace Homeowners Assn., Lake View Terrace Improvement Assn., “Lake View Terrace News, “ 1990 U.S. Census; Researched by STEPHANIE STASSEL / Los Angeles Times