COMMUNITY PROFILE / West Hills

L.A. Times Archives

March 23, 1997 12 AM PT

At the far west end of the San Fernando Valley, once part of Canoga Park, West Hills is an affluent residential community that boasts green space despite steady housing growth since it was formed in 1987. Residents are proud of the image and work to maintain the quality of the community and its separation from many of the problems of city life.

ISSUES

AHMANSON RANCH: West Hills residents are watching closely as the Ahmanson Ranch development planned for north of Calabasas in eastern Ventura County gets approvals from local government and the courts. The project would connect Victory Boulevard with Thousand Oaks Boulevard and could increase traffic in West Hills. It is expected that the project would increase daily vehicle trips on Victory from 1,250 to 19,200.

THE FORMER HUGHES PROPERTY: In 1990, Hughes Aircraft employed about 1,900 people at its West Hills missile division. But the company moved its staff to Tucson in 1994 as part of this decade’s exodus of aerospace jobs from the Southland. New businesses are planned for the 86-acre property at Roscoe Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue, now owned by Coast Federal Bank. Last year, Devry Inc., a Chicago company that runs engineering and business schools, agreed to develop a 15-acre campus on the site to open in the fall. And, the Los Angeles City Council has approved the start of negotiations to build a 911 center at the site. A business office park has also been suggested.

AREA HIGHLIGHTS

SHADOW RANCH PARK: Formerly the Workman Ranch, named for Albert Workman, a 19th century superintendent of a 13,000-acre ranch for the Los Angeles Farm and Milling Co. Workman also was one of the first people in California to plant eucalyptus trees, whose shade would later give the ranch its name.

ORCUTT RANCH HORTICULTURAL CENTER: The 24-acre historic horticultural site is home to rose gardens, citrus groves, gazebos, fountains and a 700-year-old California live oak and other native California plants. In the summer, the ranch hosts public fruit harvests, during which visitors can pick oranges and grapefruit for $2 a bag.

HISTORY

While West Hills was formally created in an often divisive debate and vote that separated the community from Canoga Park in 1987, the name has been around for decades.

Originally, West Hills referred to a small community near Kittridge Street, just outside the Los Angeles city limits. Nearby Canoga Park residents would often refer to themselves as living in the West Hills area of Canoga Park, and as confusion grew, residents began a petition drive in 1986 to create a separate identity. But other Canoga Park neighborhoods lobbied to join the new community, and a bitter dispute was settled with a survey by which residents from different sections chose whether to secede. According to the West Hills Property Owners Assn., the small section outside the city limits is still seen as part of the West Hills community even though it is on unincorporated Los Angeles County land and is part of the Las Virgenes School District.

Sources: Staff reports, West Hills Property Owners Assn., “The San Fernando Valley Then and Now.”

Researched by ED BOND / Los Angeles Times

COMMUNITY PROFILE

Population: 38,632

Median Age: 36.2

Number of households: 13,035

Persons per household: 2.94

Owner-occupied housing units: 85.7%

Population below poverty level: 4.3%

Population over 18 with bachelor’s degree or higher: 30.8%

Income

Average household income is higher than the citywide average.