Where the fast lane slows down

City dwellers yearning for the country life might find what they are looking for in Melody Acres. Zoned residential/agricultural, the Tarzana neighborhood of nearly 300 homes on large lots borders the 101 Freeway and offers such perks as early-morning wake-up service from resident roosters.

Two other San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, Walnut Acres and College Acres, also have retained their residential/agricultural zoning status. Melody Acres is particularly rustic, and that’s how residents like it.

“We have no sidewalks, curbs or gutters,” said Beth Marks Nelson, a Realtor with Blue Rose Realty and president of the Melody Acres Neighborhood Assn. Such urban features, she said, would diminish the neighborhood’s character.

The agricultural zoning, with lots up to several acres in size, makes Melody Acres appealing to animal lovers. Horses, goats, chickens and pigs are as commonplace as dogs and cats are in other neighborhoods.

Some residents use the abundance of land to store classic car collections or recreational vehicles. Others like the privacy that the large lots provide.

And unlike many Southern California neighborhoods, where the escalating price of land has led to carving up of large lots, Melody Acres hasn’t succumbed to development. The neighborhood association makes sure that, in keeping with its zoning, no lot shrinks to less than 17,500 square feet.

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For years, neighbors complained that few children seemed to live in the community. Once the neighborhood association started an annual block party, however, that perception changed.

“Not only did we find out that the neighborhood has a lot of kids, but we learned that we have three sets of twins,” Marks Nelson said. The block parties are family-oriented affairs with live music, classic car displays, pony rides, crafts and face painting.

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A sound wall erected two years ago mutes the humming of the 101 Freeway on the community’s southern edge. But there’s no way to silence the crowing roosters or the braying donkey, Guido.

“We disclose the animal sounds whenever we sell a house,” said Donna Tavares of Blue Rose Realty.

Proximity to the freeway is a plus for commuters. Residents also will benefit from the MTA’s Orange Line, which is slated for completion in the summer of 2005.

The line, to connect Warner Center and North Hollywood, will include bike and walking paths. Neighborhood activists fought to make sure that the route would be landscaped and irrigated.

Melody Acres is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Depending on their location in the neighborhood, children attend elementary and middle school in Tarzana or Woodland Hills. Tarzana Elementary and De Portola Middle School in Tarzana and Calvert Elementary in Woodland Hills all scored in the 700s on the 2003 Academic Performance Index. The score at Parkman Middle School in Woodland Hills was 665. Both middle schools feed into Taft Senior High School in Woodland Hills, which scored 731.

The 280 homes in the community range from hideaways with fewer than 600 square feet built before 1920 to modern mansions. And it’s not unusual to see one right next door to the other.

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Six homes were on the market in mid-October. A 540-square-foot cabin with one bedroom and one bath was listed for $599,950. A 3,448-square-foot home with four bedrooms and four baths was for sale at $1,037,500.

1995...$310,000

2000...$451,000

2003...$637,500

2004*...$799,000