Unhappy Meeting with Picus

I read with extreme interest your May 10 article regarding West Hills. My home is just south of Vanowen between Fallbrook and Shoup.

Two of my neighbors and I met with Joy Picus on Feb. 20. The purpose of our meeting was to request inclusion within the West Hills area.

At the time of our meeting we made the same arguments that the other homeowners had made with respect to West Hills. We, in particular, were upset that unilateral action with such import had been taken. We felt that the situation should either be more carefully studied with ample community input and / or a vote of the general public, or the entire West Hills idea scrapped.

Ms. Picus’ statements to us were along the same lines as those set forth in your article. Most telling of her statements were, No. 1, that even if we were to present a petition signed by all residents of the area, she would throw the petition in the trash. This is because she was “sick and tired of hearing about West Hills.” She indicated that “this was a minor little matter, which had been blown all out of proportion.” She gave us the impression that she hoped that, ignoring the entire issue, it would die down and go away.

Also interesting was Ms. Picus’ statements as to the reasons for not wanting to extend West Hills. Ms. Picus indicated that the strongest reason for not extending West Hills was that it was more important to upgrade the image of Canoga Park. She indicated that the Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce was rather adamantly opposed to any extension of West Hills. She also indicated that she received phone calls and letters from people who were upset about the loss of heritage that went along with the discontinued use of the name Canoga Park. She indicated that, in fairness to these people, she could not carve out any more of Canoga Park.

We responded by indicating to her that we were sure we could obtain the signatures of at least three-fourths of the residents of the area--all in favor of being included within West Hills. She indicated that notwithstanding the feelings of the majority, it would still be unfair to those who wished to remain Canoga Park.

Our meeting with Ms. Picus concluded by her indicating that she would notify us of her decision in early April, upon her return from vacation. Ms. Picus indicated that she would send us a letter. My neighbors and I are still waiting for this letter.

Approximately two weeks ago I telephoned her office and was informed that she had decided not to make any change in West Hills boundaries. Her aide also indicated that she would be sending me a letter from a reputable real estate broker in the area indicating that the designation “West Hills” would “not affect property values at all.” I am also still waiting for this letter.

Your article was also interesting with respect to the issue of ZIP codes. We had indicated to Ms. Picus that one of the reasons we felt it was appropriate to include us within West Hills was to avoid any confusion. The ZIP code of the West Hills post office and a substantial portion of West Hills is 91307. This ZIP code extends down to Shoup. The proposed boundaries for West Hills include well over half the ZIP. We felt it would be appropriate to include the balance of the ZIP code within West Hills. Ms. Picus never indicated to us that there was any move afoot to change the ZIP code boundaries.

It is also interesting to note Ms. Picus’ statements that the residents of the area can call themselves anything they wish. She said this to us. She indicated that, if we wanted to, we could call ourselves West Hills, notwithstanding the location of the signs. This was turned around to her. We indicated to her that if she were to change the name of the area to West Hills, those people who still wished to use the name Canoga Park could do so. Upon hearing this, she became rather angry, indicating that it would not be fair to do this to the people who wished to remain Canoga Park.

Ms. Picus also indicated that one of the reasons she felt the boundaries should not be expanded was that it would be unfair to those people who had originally circulated petitions. She felt they had the right to call themselves West Hills if they wished. We acknowledged this but also added that, by placing signs around the areas designated by these people, she was adding official city sanction to their designation. Doing so adds a degree of import that would otherwise not be present.

As I have indicated, our meeting with Ms. Picus was extremely unsatisfactory.

JAMES C. FEDALEN

West Hills