Calm Corner of the Valley : West Hills has good schools, low crime, room to grow

When it came time for Alan and Harriet Zeitlin’s daughter to start first grade nine years ago, the couple wasn’t happy that she would be attending a Los Angeles public school. They thought about sending her to a private school, but instead decided to move to a school district they liked and spend the tuition money on a mortgage.

“We wanted a new house,” Harriet Zeitlin said. “We also wanted to stay in the San Fernando Valley so we could remain close to family and friends.”

After looking around for several months, they saw a new housing development in a Canoga Park community that would soon split off and name itself West Hills, and when they learned it was located in the Las Virgines School District, they put a deposit down on a 2,400-square-foot home with four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths that was selling for $199,000. “Our neighborhood is one of the few in West Hills where the kids are able to go to the Las Virgines schools,” said Alan Zeitlin, an independent insurance broker.

Over the years the Zeitlins had two more children and felt they needed more elbow room. They liked their neighborhood so much that instead of moving to a bigger house, they decided to add on several rooms to their home.

“We like being tucked away in the west end of the Valley, where it’s a little more isolated,” said Harriet Zeitlin.

Located on the western boundary of the San Fernando Valley, West Hills is one of the newer valley communities. It is a town with a mix of older homes built in the 1960s, and new homes. West Hills is bounded roughly by Roscoe Boulevard on the north, Victory Boulevard on the south, Shoup Avenue on the east and Ventura County (mainly undeveloped rolling hills) on the west.

During the mid-1980s, West Hills started to grow more rapidly. New housing developments were being built on the west side of the community in the Las Virgines district. Many parents were attracted to the district because of its smaller size, high student test scores and ongoing parent involvement in the schools. This, coupled with the affordable housing prices, brought many families into the community, which now has a population of more than 35,000. Before West Hills developed, Indians inhabited the area and supplied travelers with water. After California’s admission into the United States, it became an agricultural community. In 1912, the Janss Investment Co. along with Harrison Gray Otis, founder of the Los Angeles Times, and Moses Hazeltine Sherman planned to develop the community, and named it Owensmouth after Owens River. Residents thought the name was vulgar and in 1931 changed it to Canoga Park.

*

In the 1980s, residents from the Westhills Assn. (named after a tract of homes), along with others in the more affluent and newer neighborhoods of Canoga Park, wanted to break away and establish themselves as West Hills. They petitioned to change the name, and in 1987 the name became official.

While many people move to West Hills for the name and prestige, Bill and Barbara Peiffer were attracted to the community for the opportunity to own a large piece of property. The Peiffers, who have a 6-year-old daughter, wanted to move from their El Segundo home to a bigger house a few years ago. The couple own a hardwood flooring company that they operate from their home and were encouraged by their employees--all of whom live in the San Fernando Valley--to move to their end of town.

In 1993, the Peiffers bought a one-story house built in 1960 on a half-acre lot. The couple like the fact that there’s an office off the garage and that the house is rustic. “We didn’t want a tract home,” Bill Peiffer said.

The neighbors had always waved to each other, the Peiffers said, but after the Northridge earthquake, everyone became much friendlier. “Right after the earthquake, we all met in the street,” Bill Peiffer said. “The [fact] that nobody had anything brought us all together. Since then we’ve become real good friends with a lot of the neighbors.” Their house suffered only minor damage, the couple said.

West Hills is several miles west of the epicenter of the earthquake. Although there was some damage to homes and businesses, overall the community fared well.

According to Marc Shevin, a real estate agent with Prudential Realty’s West Valley office, housing prices in West Hills vary from $112,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bath home to $890,000 for a six-bedroom, 5 1/2-bath home on a large lot. The median priced home is $200,000 for three bedrooms and 1 3/4 baths in 1,600 square feet.

Ava Better, a real estate agent with the Fred Sands office in Woodland Hills, explained West Hills’ appeal: “There’s low traffic, low crime, good schools, and you get a lot of bang for the buck.”

*

Better, who lives in West Hills, added that even though many of the new homes are higher-priced custom homes, one development has prices starting in the high $200,000s. Most of the newer developments are located on either side of Valley Circle Boulevard, a heavily traveled street that runs through the west end of town. Valley Circle Boulevard is also the boundary for the school district. Homes west of the boulevard are in the Las Virgines School District, while homes to the east are in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Although George and Stacy Shakiban have a young daughter, when they bought a new West Hills house three years ago, it wasn’t for the schools, it was for the value.

After looking through most of the Valley, Stacy Shakiban said they fell in love with a traditional Tudor house loaded with the custom features: stained glass windows in the living room, hand-carved doors and a circular stairway.

“For the price, the quality is unbelievable,” said Shakiban. They paid $620,000 for the 5,000-square-foot home with five bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths on a hill with a view of the San Fernando Valley.

“We love living in West Hills. It’s less congested than in other parts of the Valley, and it’s more family-oriented,” said Stacy Shakiban. “I like the sense of community that we have in our neighborhood. People care about each other and watch out for each other here.”

Senior lead officer Tim Kidd of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley Division said crime in West Hills is very low. “Probably the No. 1 reason is it’s as far west in the city (as) you can go, and it’s in an isolated area,” Kidd said. “The crime rate has been going down steadily for the past three years.”

Kidd credits people’s awareness and involvement in the community for the decline and said the Neighborhood Watch program is very active. He added that there are no gang problems, but there are some problems with graffiti. “The businesses remove it quickly,” he said. “And every October the department has a community paint-out day called Operation Sparkle.”

The community’s tranquillity was one selling point for Jeany Pfaff, who recently resigned as controller at Applause Inc., a gift and toy company; she bought her 1960 house more than five years ago. Pfaff paid $240,000 for her three-bedroom, two-bath house. After a long day at work, the single mother likes to take walks with her 5-year-old daughter.

“What’s really nice is we like to walk in the evenings,” Pfaff said. “And it’s so safe here that I never worry about anything.”

Rozbruch is a Sherman Oaks free-lance writer.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

West Hills Home Sale Data

*--*

West Hills Home Sale Data Sample Size 3,396 (for 10-year period) Ave. home size 1,801 (square feet) Ave. Year Built 1963 Ave. No. Bedrms 3.48 Ave. No. Baths 2.23 Pool 33% View homes 7% Central air 42% Floodzone 38% Price Range $90,000-625,000 (1994-95) Predominant Value $193,000 Age Range 2-87 years Predominant Age 34 years

*--*

*--*

Average Sales Data Year Total $ per Median Sales sq. ft. price 1995* 284 $109.68 $197,538 1994 276 $113.56 $203,931 1993 169 $127.24 $239,292 1992 234 $139.22 $268,833 1991 232 $148.34 $260,659 1990 276 $157.35 $263,681 1989 407 $156.45 $265,783 1988 580 $129.46 $234,193 1987 500 $102.05 $189,411 1986 438 $89.33 $149,418

*--*

*1995 data current through December.

Source: TRW Redi Property Data, Anaheim