| West Hills | |
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| — Neighborhood of Los Angeles — | |
| Escorpión Peak (1,475 feet/450 m)—east face view from West Hills. | |
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West Hills
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Owensmouth | 1912 |
| Canoga Park | 1930 |
| West Hills | 1987 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.53 sq mi (22 km2) |
| Elevation | 900 ft (274 m) |
| Population (2008)[1] | |
| • Total | 41,426 |
| • Density | 4,551/sq mi (1,757.2/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 91304 & 91307 |
| Area code(s) | 818 & 747 |
West Hills is an affluent community and district in the western San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States.
West Hills is bordered by Chatsworth and the Chatsworth Reservoir to the north, Canoga Park to the east, Woodland Hills to the south, Hidden Hills to the southwest, and the Simi Hills with the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve and Bell Canyon to the west.
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In 1987, Los Angeles recognized the following description of the boundaries of West Hills: "Starting at the centerline intersections of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Nordhoff Street, westward down the centerline of Nordhoff extended in a straight line to the city limits of the City of Los Angeles; thence southward, following the border of the City of Los Angeles to the centerline of Victory Boulevard; thence eastward down the centerline of Victory Boulevard to Shoup Avenue centerline; thence northward down the centerline of Shoup Avenue to the intersection of the centerline of Roscoe Boulevard; thence eastward down the centerline of Roscoe Boulevard to the centerline of Topanga Canyon Boulevard; then northward down the centerline of Topanga Canyon Boulevard to the centerline of Nordhoff Street."[2]
Bell and Dayton creeks in West Hills are several of the headwaters of the Los Angeles River that originate in the Northwest San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles River itself begins at the confluence of Arroyo Calabasas (Calabasas Creek) and Bell Creek in Canoga Park. These and other small creeks supply stormwater and suburban runoff water to the Los Angeles River, and several are considered year-round creeks. Although the creeks are now channeled and run within concrete walls, they do form a significant urban wildlife landscape and contribute to the population of indigenous wildlife left within the San Fernando Valley.
Both Bell Creek and Dayton Creek in particular have received attention due to their headwaters origins inside the SSFL—Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the Simi Hills. The SSFL is mandated for an environmental cleanup due to its uses as a testing center for rocket and missile engines, nuclear reactor research and fuel reprocessing, and high technology defense systems. It was also the site of a partial nuclear core meltdown in 1959.[3] Prominent contaminants include radionuclides, VOCs-volatile organic compounds, Chromium, Lead, Benzene, and other components of rocket engine fuel and cleaning compounds.[4][5]
The present day West Hills area was the homeland of Native Americans in the Tongva-Fernandeño and Chumash-Venturaño tribes, that lived in the Simi Hills and close to Bell Creek and the local tributaries to the Los Angeles River. Native American civilizations had inhabited the San Fernando Valley for an estimated 8,000 years.[6][7] The village, Hu'wam, of the Chumash-Venturaños, was located at the base of Escorpión Peak (Castle Peak) near present day Bell Canyon Park.[8] It was a meeting and trading point for them with the Tongva-Fernandeño and Tataviam-Fernandeño people.[9] A cave near here known as The Cave of Munits is the believed home of a mythical Chumash shaman, Munits, who was killed by an eagle after murdering the son of a Chumash chief.[10] Escorpión Peak is one of nine alignment points in Chumash territory and is essential to maintaining the balance of the natural world.[11]
From 1797 to 1846, the area (future West Hills) was part of Mission San Fernando Rey de España (Mission San Fernando). After Mexico won independence from Spain, it later became part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando in Alta California. In 1845, a separate land grant for Rancho El Escorpión was issued by Governor Pío Pico to three Chumash people: Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Urbano's son Mañuel.[12] It encompassed the land west of present day Fallbrook Avenue in West Hills, with its adobe ranch buildings (present 1840s-1960s) sited where Bell Canyon Park is now.[13][14]
California was admitted to the United States in 1850, with Spanish and Mexican land grants requiring a federal land patent to retain ownership.[15] The United States Public Land Commission patented the Rancho to the original grantees Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Mañuel in 1876.[16][17] In 1912 the Chumash heirs sold Rancho El Escorpión to George Platt. He established a dairy operation on renamed Platt Ranch variously called Ferndale, ‘escorpion’, or Cloverdale Dairy.[18] The Rancho El Escorpión-Platt Ranch was not incorporated into Los Angeles and its water system until 1958 and was left undeveloped until 1961.
West Hills was originally part of Owensmouth (founded 1912) and renamed Canoga Park (1931). West Hills was formed in 1987 after homeowners on the western side of Canoga Park launched a petition drive a year earlier to form a new community. In an unusual move, the area's L.A. City Councilwoman, Joy Picus, polled Canoga Park residents, asking them if they would like to join the new community, to determine West Hills' boundaries.[19]
Two historic ranches and a silent film star's estate in West Hills have been awarded Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument status recognition and protection, and two are city parks. In addition on the western edge of West Hills huge open space preserves provide an undeveloped greenbelt and nearby recreation opportunities. The high number of neighborhood parks here offer sports fields and courts, play areas for children, and community rooms.
The 29-acre Peppergate Ranch was located between Orcutt Ranch and Chatsworth Reservoir. The ranch's residence was designed by master architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980) in the Ranch Style [27]. It was built in 1939 for Talton R. Craig, founder of the Craig Movie Supply Company. The T.R. Craig Residence is a California Historical Landmark (#992) and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (in 2011), located on Pinelake Drive. Peppergate Ranch was subdivided, as Woodlake Estates and Pinelake Estates, in the 1960s. [28]
All of these large Parks are open for walks, hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian riding; sunrise to sunset.
As of the 2010 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac, there were 38,814 people and 10,626 households residing in West Hills. The ethnic-racial medley of the neighborhood was 78.89% White, 11.97% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.11% African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.80% from other races, and 3.82% from two or more races. 9.26% of the population were Hispanic of any race.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these West Hills neighborhood statistics: population: 38,834; median household income: $103,012.[43]
West Hills is served by the Topanga Community Station of the Los Angeles Police Department, opened on Jan. 3, 2008.[44] The police department named the station after a village in the Tongva language of the historically local Tongva-Fernandeño Native American tribe. The department originally planned to name it the Northwest Station, but residents preferred a name linking to the area's history.[45]
Los Angeles Fire Department Station 106 (West Hills),[46] and Station 105 (Woodland Hills) serve the community.[47]
The Los Angeles Public Library operates the Platt Branch Library at 23600 Victory Boulevard, Woodland Hills, serving West Hills from just across street.[48]
Representing West Hills are two members of the Los Angeles City Council. The portion south of Roscoe Boulevard is represented by Dennis Zine[49] (3rd Council District) and the portion north of Roscoe Boulevard is represented by Greig Smith[50] (12th Council District).
The West Hills Neighborhood Council serves the community with an extensive website, events and activities, and via a 25-member neighbors board of directors that is elected by the West Hills "stakeholders" (all residents and local business owners). The council also is a resource as the city's official forum for individuals and the community to: learn about; discuss and debate; and take positions on local and citywide issues.[51]
The United States Postal Service: The West Hills Post Office is located at 23055 Sherman Way at Sherman Place, 91307.[52] The community's postal codes are 91307 and 91304.
West Hills is represented in Congress by U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman[53] (D-30th Congressional District).
Representing West Hills in the California State Senate is Fran Pavley[54] (D-23rd Senate District). Representing West Hills in the California Assembly are Bob Blumenfield[55] (D-40th Assembly District) (south of Roscoe Boulevard) and Jeff Gorell[56] (R-37th Assembly District) (north of Roscoe Boulevard).
Representing West Hills in the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky[57] (Third District).
The West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, located at Medical Center Dr. near Sherman Way, serves the local community as well as patients from several cities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.[58] The West Hills Hospital is particularly renowned for its Surgical Center. Opened in 1996, the Surgical Center performs procedures in specialties such as general and hand surgery (done by The Hand Center of Southern California), gynecology, gastroenterology and orthopedics.[59] The West Hills Hospital and Medical Center facilities also include a large maternity ward and an oncology unit. In September 2009, Grossman Burn Centers, then based at Sherman Oaks Hospital, announced it would move to West Hills Hospital early in 2010.[60]
Most of the area is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District.[61] Small portions are within the Las Virgenes Unified School District.
Public elementary schools serving West Hills include:
The former Highlander Road Elementary School was closed in the 1980s, though the site and buildings remain.
Most West Hills residents attend George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.
Some residents are zoned to Lawrence Middle School and Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth. Some residents are zoned to Columbus Middle School and Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park.
A small portion of West Hills is zoned to Las Virgenes Unified School District.
Residents are zoned to:
Ingenium Charter School - Kindergarten through Sixth Grade
Temple Judea (West Campus), originally Temple Solael, is located on the corner of Valley Circle Boulevard and Kittridge Street. Shomrei Torah Synagogue is located near Stone Gate Drive and Valley Circle Boulevard. Chabad of West Hills is located near the intersection of Roscoe Boulevard and Valley Circle Boulevard.
The Corporate Pointe business park, on the largest research and light industry property in West Hills, is in planning for redevelopment.[63] It is located at Fallbrook Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard, near Hidden Lake and the Chatsworth Reservoir. The property was originally developed in 1959 as the Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge aerospace corporation's new headquarters. It was later used by Atomics International, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon for aerospace development advancements and nuclear research.[64][65]
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