Residents Get Relief in ZIP Code Mix-Up

Oak Park residents have finally gotten a positive sign that their long struggle for recognition as Ventura County residents by the U.S. Postal Service is about to end.

The manager of the postal service’s Consumer Affairs and Claims Division, Stacia Crane , recently mailed all community residents a letter stating that they were residents of Oak Park in Ventura County, Supervisor Frank Schillo said.

That is significant because Oak Park shares a ZIP code with Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County, and Oak Park residents claim they sometimes end up paying more for their auto and homeowner’s insurance because companies assume the community is in Los Angeles County.

Now they can give the postal service letter to insurance companies, verifying that they deserve Ventura County’s generally lower insurance rates.

Oak Park residents also say they sometimes end up paying more sales tax than they should because taxes on purchases are sometimes determined by the buyer’s ZIP code. Los Angeles County has a higher sales tax than Ventura County.

Some residents say they want even more of a concession from the postal service--a ZIP code of their own. The postal service has not yet looked favorably on that request.

“This sharing of ZIP codes with the county of Los Angeles has cost both the residents of Oak Park and the county of Ventura lost tax revenues,” Schillo said in a news release. “The county loses funds from vehicle registration and sales tax that goes to Los Angeles County. The residents lose by paying the higher Los Angeles County sales tax.”

“Getting Oak Park their own ZIP code is a continuing battle, but we’re not letting up on the post office,” Schillo said.