ZIP Code for Oak Park to Get Postal Consideration

U.S. Postal Service officials have decided to at least consider giving Oak Park its own ZIP Code--an issue they have flatly refused to take up for the past three decades, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman said Friday.

Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) met with Jesse Durazo, vice president of the postal service’s Pacific Area, on Friday to discuss what has come to be a point of contention between the postal service and the community.

Given that Oak Park expects a slight population increase, Sherman said, Durazo agreed to review the post office’s business plan to determine whether it would be feasible to release Oak Park residents from their Los Angeles ZIP Code and grant them a Ventura County number.

Durazo, who could not be reached for comment, is expected to make a decision by early February.

“If at some point it doesn’t look good, then I will start a legislative program not just for Oak Park but for every community in the country that wants its own ZIP Code and whose congressman thinks deserves it,” said Sherman, who announced this potential course of action in December.

The unincorporated community of 15,000 has long complained that sharing a 91301 ZIP Code with Agoura Hills results in problems that include higher premiums for automobile and homeowners’ insurance, delayed emergency response from law enforcement and requests to serve on Los Angeles County juries.

“Oak Park is not seeking a ZIP Code for vanity reasons,” Sherman said. “They’ve even offered to share one with an adjacent Ventura County community. . . . Oak Park is a Ventura County town and needs a Ventura County ZIP Code.”

Sherman says time is the reason he has been persistent with postal officials rather than taking the legislative route, which could take up to three years.

“At this point, though, I’d say there is a 40 to 60 [percent] chance,” Sherman said. “It’s much more likely the post office keeps saying no. They’ve said no to us for 30 years and have said no around the country for 30 years.”