San Fernando Valley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley looking northeast; from the top of Topanga Overlook Park above Woodland Hills in foreground
San Fernando Valley
Area	260 square miles (670 km2)
Naming
Native name	Error {{native name}}: an IETF language tag as parameter {{{1}}} is required (help)
Geography
Location	California
Population centers	Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, San Fernando
Borders on	Santa Susana Mountains (northwest), Simi Hills (west), Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills (south), Verdugo Mountains (east), San Gabriel Mountains (northeast)

The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located just north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated areas and the incorporated cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando. The valley is well known for its iconic film studios such as Warner Bros. Studio and Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.

Geography

San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is about 260 square miles (670 km²) bound by the Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, the Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills to the south, the Verdugo Mountains to the east, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast. The northern Sierra Pelona Mountains, northwestern Topatopa Mountains, southern Santa Ana Mountains, and Downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers can be seen from higher neighborhoods, passes, and parks in the San Fernando Valley.

The Los Angeles River begins at the confluence of Calabasas Creek (Arroyo Calabasas) and Bell Creek (Escorpión Creek), between Canoga Park High School and Owensmouth Ave. (just north of Vanowen Street) in Canoga Park. These creeks' headwaters are in the Santa Monica Calabasas foothills, the Simi Hills' Hidden Hills, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, and Santa Susana Pass Park lands. The river flows eastward along the southern regions of the Valley. One of the river's two unpaved sections can be found at the Sepulveda Basin. A seasonal river, the Tujunga Wash, drains much of the western facing San Gabriel Mountains and passes into and then through the Hansen Dam Recreation Center in Lake View Terrace. It flows south along the Verdugo Mountains through the eastern communities of the Valley to join the Los Angeles River in Studio City. Other notable tributaries of the river include Dayton Creek, Caballero Creek, Bull Creek, Pacoima Wash, and Verdugo Wash. The elevation of the floor of the Valley varies from about 600 ft (180 m) to 1,200 ft (370 m) above sea level.

Most of the San Fernando Valley is within the jurisdiction of the city of Los Angeles, although a few other incorporated cities are located within the Valley as well: Burbank and Glendale are in the southeast corner of the Valley, Hidden Hills and Calabasas are in the southwest corner, and San Fernando, which is completely surrounded by Los Angeles, is in the northeast valley. Universal City, an enclave in the southern part of the Valley, is unincorporated land housing the Universal Studios filming lot. Mulholland Drive, which runs along the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains, marks the boundary between the Valley and the communities of Hollywood and the Los Angeles Westside.

Habitat

The valley's natural habitat was a "temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome" of grassland, oak savanna, and chaparral shrub forest types of plant community habitats, along with lush riparian plants along the river, creeks, and springs. In this Mediterranean climate, post-1790s European agriculture for the mission's support consisted of grapes, figs, olives, and general garden crops.

History

Mission San Fernando: in a circa 1900 postcard

Pre-California statehood

The Tongva, later known as the Gabrieleño Mission Indians after colonization, and the Tataviam to the north and Chumash to the west, had lived and thrived in the Valley and its arroyos for over 8,000 years. They had numerous settlements, and trading and hunting camps, before the Spanish arrived in 1769 to settle in the Valley.

The first Spanish land grant in the San Fernando Valley (or El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de los Encinos) was called "Rancho Encino" (present-day Mission Hills on the Camino Viejo before Newhall Pass), in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley. Juan Francisco Reyes built an adobe dwelling beside a Tongva village or rancheria at natural springs, but the land was soon taken from him so a mission could be built there. Mission San Fernando Rey de España was established in 1797 as the 17th of the 21 missions. The land trade granted Juan Francisco Reyes the similarly named Rancho Los Encinos, also beside springs (Los Encinos State Historic Park in present-day Encino). Later the Mexican land grants of Rancho El Escorpión (West Hills), Rancho Providencia and Rancho Cahuenga (Burbank), and Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando (rest of valley) covered the San Fernando Valley.

The Treaty of Cahuenga, ending the Mexican–American War fighting in Alta California, was signed in 1847 by Californios and Americans at Campo de Cahuenga, the Verdugo Family adobe at the entrance to the Cahuenga Pass in the southeast San Fernando Valley (North Hollywood). The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the entire war.

California Statehood and beyond

In 1874, dry wheat farming was introduced by J. B. Lankershim and Isaac Van Nuys, which became very productive for their San Fernando Homestead Association that owned the southern half of the Valley. In 1876 they sent the very first wheat shipment from both San Pedro Harbor and from the United States to Europe.

20th century

Aqueduct

Crowds gather to see the first water reaching the valley via the new aqueduct

Through the late 19th century court decision Los Angeles v. Pomeroy, Los Angeles had won the rights to all surface flow water atop an aquifer beneath the Valley, without it being within the city limits. San Fernando Valley farmers offered to buy the surplus aqueduct water, but the federal legislation that enabled the construction of the aqueduct prohibited Los Angeles from selling the water outside of the city limits. This induced several independent towns surrounding Los Angeles to vote on and approve annexation to the city so they could connect to the municipal water system. These rural areas became part of Los Angeles in 1915. The Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate led by Harry Chandler, Hobart Johnstone Whitley, president of the company, Henry E. Huntington, extended his Pacific Electric Railway (Red Cars) through the Valley to Owensmouth (now Canoga Park) and laid out plans for roads and the towns of Lankershim (now North Hollywood) and Van Nuys. La Tuna Canyon in 1926, and the incorporated city of Tujunga in an eight-year process lasting from 1927 to 1935. These annexations more than doubled the area of the city.

The aqueduct water shifted farming in the area from dry crops such as wheat to irrigated crops such as corn, beans, squash, and cotton; orchards of apricots, persimmons, and walnuts; and major citrus groves of oranges and lemons. They continued until the next increment of development converted land use, with post-war suburbanization leaving only a few enclaves, such as the "open-air museum" groves at the Orcutt Ranch Park and CSUN campus.

Developments

The advent of three new industries in the early 20th century – motion pictures, automobiles, and aircraft – also spurred urbanization and population growth. World War II production and the subsequent postwar boom accelerated this growth so that between 1945 and 1960, the Valley's population had quintupled. Los Angeles continued to consolidate its territories in the San Fernando Valley by annexing the former Rancho El Escorpión for Canoga Park-West Hills in 1959, and the huge historic "Porter Ranch" at the foot of the Santa Susana Mountains for the new planned developments in Porter Ranch in 1965. today.

Six Valley cities incorporated independently from Los Angeles: Glendale in 1906, Burbank and San Fernando in 1911, Hidden Hills in 1961, and Calabasas in 1991. Universal City is an unincorporated enclave that is home to Universal Studios theme park and Universal CityWalk. Other unincorporated areas in the Valley are Bell Canyon.

Northridge earthquake

The 1994 Northridge earthquake struck on January 17 and measured 6.7 on the Moment magnitude scale. It produced the largest ground motions ever recorded in an urban environment and was the first earthquake that had its hypocenter located directly under a U.S. city since the Long Beach earthquake of 1933. It caused the greatest damage in the United States since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Although given the name "Northridge", the epicenter was located in the community of Reseda, between Arminta and Ingomar streets, just west of Reseda Boulevard. The death toll was 57 and more than 1,500 people were seriously injured. A few days after the earthquake, 9,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity; 20,000 were without gas; and more than 48,500 had little or no water. About 12,500 structures were moderately to severely damaged, which left thousands of people temporarily homeless. Of the 66,546 buildings inspected, 6% were severely damaged (red tagged) and 17% were moderately damaged (yellow tagged). In addition, damage to several major freeways serving Los Angeles choked the traffic system in the days following the earthquake. Major freeway damage occurred as far away as 25 miles (40 km) from the epicenter. Collapses and other severe damage forced closure of portions of 11 major roads to downtown Los Angeles.

This was the second time in 23 years that the San Fernando Valley had been affected by a strong earthquake. On February 9, 1971, a magnitude 6.5 event struck about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the epicenter of the 1994 event. The 1971 earthquake caused 58 fatalities and about 2,000 injuries. At the time, the 1971 earthquake was the most destructive event to affect greater Los Angeles since the magnitude 6.3 Long Beach earthquake of 1933.

Contemporary Era

By the late 1990s the San Fernando Valley had become more urban and more ethnically diverse with rising poverty and crime. At the beginning of the 21st century in 2002, the Valley tried to secede from the city of Los Angeles and become its own incorporated city to escape Los Angeles' perceived poverty, crime, gang activity, urban decay, and poorly maintained infrastructure. Since that unsuccessful secession attempt, a new Van Nuys municipal building was built in 2003; the Metro Orange Line opened in October 2005; 35 new public schools had opened up by 2012, and the Valley's ethnic majority is now Hispanic, edging out whites by 0.8%.

Parks and recreation

San Fernando Valley looking northeast; from the Top of Topanga Overlook Park above Woodland Hills in foreground

The San Fernando Valley is home to numerous neighborhood city parks, recreation areas and large Regional Open Space preserves. Many preserves are maintained as public parkland by the National Park Service's Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the California State Parks, and local county and municipal parks districts.

Small garden parks and missions

Recreation areas

Mountain open-space parks

Victory Trailhead to the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, West Hills

Municipalities and districts

Communities of the Valley as delineated by the Los Angeles Times

Incorporated cities (independent)

Unincorporated communities

City of Los Angeles neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley

⁺ These communities are also included in the Crescenta Valley.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys, lined with low-rise commercial establishments, is typical of the broad, straight boulevards in the San Fernando Valley. Photo, 2002.

Freeways

Major freeways cross the Valley, including Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway), U.S. Route 101 (Ventura Freeway/Hollywood Freeway), State Route 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway), State Route 170 (Hollywood Freeway), Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway), and Interstate 5 (Golden State Freeway). Notable streets include Sepulveda Boulevard, Ventura Boulevard, Laurel Canyon Boulevard, San Fernando Road, Victory Boulevard, Reseda Boulevard, Riverside Drive, Mulholland Drive, and State Route 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard).

Rapid transit

Subway, dedicated transitway, and express and local buses, provided by many agencies, serve the San Fernando Valley. Some of the former rights-of-way of the Pacific Electric Railway, which first accelerated population growth in the Valley, have been repurposed for busways and light rail lines.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates two Metro B Line subway stations in the Valley, which are located at Universal City and North Hollywood, which connect it directly to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. The Metro B Line is the first heavy rail subway in the valley, extended from its prior terminus in 2000. With transfers, it connects the Valley to the entire Metro regional light rail and subway network. The B Line's two Valley subway stations provide access to national travel through Bob Hope Airport and Amtrak and regional travel through Metrolink, Metro Rapid, Metro Local, and the Metro G Line. Metro approved a new light rail line, the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor. A new north–south light rail line on Van Nuys Boulevard from the G Line Van Nuys Station is planned. Construction is set to begin in 2021 with a completion date of 2027.

The G Line busway uses a dedicated transitway route running the east–west length of the Valley connecting the North Hollywood B Line Station to the Warner Center Transit Hub in Woodland Hills and then heads north through Canoga Park to the Chatsworth Metrolink train station.

Two additional Metro Busway lines are planned for the Valley operating from North Hollywood station: the North Hollywood–Pasadena Transit Line which will run to Pasadena with connections to the L Line, and the North San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor which will provide additional east-west services complimenting the G Line. Metro is also studying a route through the Sepulveda Pass, the Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor, including heavy rail and monorail alternatives.

Rail and air

Metrolink commuter rail has two Valley lines, the Antelope Valley Line and Ventura County Line, which connect the Valley and beyond to downtown Los Angeles and south, becoming one line at the Downtown Burbank station. Metrolink always had one Burbank Airport station on the Ventura County Line, but a second Burbank Airport station was built in 2017 on the Antelope Valley Line.

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner long-distance rail line has stops at Burbank Airport station, Van Nuys, and Chatsworth Station, before proceeding on to Ventura County, Santa Barbara, and Northern California or Union Station and San Diego.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority was planning two stations in the Valley, one in Burbank and the other in Sylmar, but the proposed Sylmar high-speed rail station was canceled owing to local opposition from the city of San Fernando. As of now, there's only one planned station in the valley, located in Burbank with an initial section of the railroad possibly opening in 2029.

The Valley's two major airports are Hollywood Burbank Airport and the Van Nuys Airport. The Van Nuys–Airport FlyAway Terminal provides nonstop scheduled shuttle service to LAX and back to the valley, with parking.

Utilities

Most of the utilities in the valley are served by public municipal governments, primarily the cities of Los Angeles, and Burbank, while there are only two private-owned utilities for gas and electricity in the valley as well. Southern California Edison has their overhead power lines going through the city of Burbank and through the Los Angeles city neighborhoods of Sylmar, Mission Hills, Arleta, North Hollywood, Studio City, Woodland Hills, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, and Chatsworth as well. Internet, cable television, and cellular phone service in the valley are by large private companies.

The valley is served by the following utility companies:

Electricity

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (serves the entire Los Angeles city section of the valley, which is two thirds of the land area, and is also the largest electric utility in the San Fernando Valley)
• Burbank Water and Power
• Southern California Edison (serves the cities of San Fernando, Calabasas, and Hidden Hills)

Natural gas

• Southern California Gas Company

Water

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (serves the entire Los Angeles city section of the valley, which is two thirds of the land area)
• Burbank Water and Power
• City of San Fernando
• Metropolitan Water District

Internet and Cable Television

• AT&T
• Frontier Communications
• Charter Communications (Spectrum)

Cell Phone Service

• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Cricket Wireless
• Verizon Wireless

Sanitation

• City of Los Angeles
• City of San Fernando (Republic Services, Inc.)
• City of Burbank

Healthcare

There are two Kaiser Permanente hospitals serving the San Fernando Valley, one in Panorama City and one in Woodland Hills. Also, there are two Providence hospitals, in Burbank and Mission Hills. Besides Kaiser Permanente and Providence hospitals, most of the valley is served by non-profit hospitals such as: Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Northridge, Olive View – UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, Encino Hospital Medical Center in Encino, Providence Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, and Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks.

Services

The Los Angeles satellite administrative center for the valley, The Civic Center Van Nuys, is in Van Nuys. The area in and around the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles City Hall is home to a police station, limited and unlimited jurisdiction superior courts and Los Angeles city and county administrative offices.

Branches of the Los Angeles Public Library and independent city's libraries service the residents.

Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and independent valley city departments. Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Burbank Police Department, and independent valley city departments.

Culture

The San Fernando Valley is home to a number of noteworthy culture assets, including:

• The Alex Theatre – Originally constructed in 1925 and later redesigned, the center of arts and culture for the city of Glendale.
• The Great Wall of Los Angeles – A 2,754 ft long mural designed by Judy Baca and painted on the sides of the Tujunga Wash, depicting the history of California.
• The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) – Glendale museum dedicated to signs and fine art pieces that incorporate neon lighting into their designs.
• The Nethercutt Collection – Museum in Sylmar best known for its collection of classic automobiles, also has collections of mechanical musical instruments and antique furniture.
• The Starlight Bowl – A 5,000 capacity amphitheater built in 1950, located in Burbank.
• The Valley Performing Arts Center – Located on the CSUN campus, features a 1,700-seat concert hall.

Valley independence and secession

Independence movements

The Valley attempted to secede in the 1970s, but the state passed a law barring city formation without the approval of the City Council. In 1997, Assemblymen Bob Hertzberg and Tom McClintock helped pass a bill that would make it easier for the Valley to secede by removing the City Council veto. AB 62 was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson. Meanwhile, a grassroots movement to split the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and create new San Fernando Valley-based school districts became the focal point of the desire to leave the city. Though the state rejected the idea of Valley-based districts, it remained an important rallying point for Hertzberg's mayoral campaign, which proved unsuccessful.

Measure F

In 2002, the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles again seriously campaigned to secede from the rest of the city and become its own new independent and incorporated city. The movement gained some momentum, as many San Fernando Valley residents within city limits felt they were not receiving Los Angeles city services on par with the rest of the city and their tax contributions.

Before secession could come out for a vote, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) studied the fiscal viability of the new city and decided that the new city must mitigate any fiscal loss incurred by the rest of Los Angeles. LAFCO concluded that a new San Fernando Valley city would be financially viable, but would need to mitigate the $60.8 million that the remaining portion of Los Angeles would lose in revenues. Secessionists took this figure as evidence that the Valley gave more money to Los Angeles than it received back in services. This triggered a petition drive led by Valley VOTE to put secession on the ballot. Measures F (the proposed new SFV city) and H (the proposed new Hollywood City, which was on the same ballot) not only decided whether the valley became a city, but voters also got to pick a new name for it. The proposed names on the ballot were San Fernando Valley, Rancho San Fernando, Mission Valley, Valley City, and Camelot. (There was already a separate City of San Fernando in the San Fernando Valley, so that option was not available.) Along with Measures F and H, elections were held for fourteen council members and a mayor. "Valley City" was the chosen name for the proposed SFV city.

Valley politicians such as State Senator Richard Alarcón and City Council President Alex Padilla opposed the initiatives. The leader of the LAUSD breakup and former congresswoman and busing opponent Bobbi Fiedler also campaigned against secession. Supporters pointed out that the Valley suffered from many of the same problems of poverty, crime and gang activity as the rest of the city.

Measure F did not receive the necessary votes to pass for the Valley to secede. The proposal passed with a slight majority in the Valley, but was defeated by the rest of Los Angeles due to a heavily-funded campaign against it led by then-Los Angeles mayor James Hahn. Republican Assemblyman Keith Richman of Northridge was voted in as mayor of the stillborn city, which according to vote returns would have been named San Fernando Valley. Richman and other activists behind the secession movement attempted to redirect their civic energies toward influencing Los Angeles city politics, but their efforts largely fizzled. Hertzberg's 2005 mayoral campaign, which received heavy support in the Valley, nonetheless finished in third place (only a few percentage points behind incumbent Mayor Hahn), and no secession supporters were elected to positions on the Los Angeles City Council.

Had the measure passed, the southern portion of the city would have remained as the city of Los Angeles, with about 2.1 million people. The northern Valley portion would have created a new municipality of 211 square miles (546 km²) with about 1.3 million residents. If secession had passed, the new City of San Fernando Valley would have been the seventh most populous city in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Also, it would've been a new "twin cities" metropolitan area just like the twin cities metropolitan area of, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

District renamings

The NoHo Arts District was established and the name was chosen as a reference for its location in North Hollywood and as a play off New York City's arts-centered SoHo District. According to the San Fernando Guide, the change helped develop a "primarily lower to middle-class suburb into . . . a collection of art and a home for the artists who ply their trade in the galleries, theaters and dance studios in this small annex."

According to the Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council, from 2002 through November 2007 there was a debate about the official recognition of Lake Balboa as a community by the City of Los Angeles. New community names were not sanctioned by the city until January 2006, when the city adopted a formal community-naming process (City of Los Angeles Council File Number 02 -0196). On November 2, 2007, the City Council of Los Angeles approved a motion renaming a larger portion of Van Nuys to Lake Balboa.

Demographics

Mission San Fernando Rey de España gardens

As of 2012 the population of the San Fernando Valley was 1.77 million, of which 41.8 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 41.0 percent were non-Hispanic white, 12.7 percent were Asian and 4.6 percent were African Americans. The largest city located entirely in the valley is Burbank, with over 107,000 residents. The most populous districts of Los Angeles in the Valley are Van Nuys and Pacoima, which like the city of Burbank have more than 100,000 residents each. Despite the San Fernando Valley's reputation for sprawling, low-density development, the valley communities of Panorama City, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Reseda, Canoga Park, and Northridge, all in Los Angeles, have numerous apartment complexes and contain some of the densest census tracts in Los Angeles.

The San Fernando Valley has a significant population below the poverty level. About 30 percent of Valley households in 2009 earned less than $35,000 a year, including 10 percent who made less than $15,000 a year. The Pacoima district, once considered the hub of suburban blight and of having the highest poverty rate, is no longer such. Other San Fernando Valley neighborhoods such as North Hollywood, Panorama City, and Arleta now have poverty rates which are higher.

In general, the areas with lower poverty rates have become fewer and more scattered, while many of the now affluent communities have become compartmented, having their own private, planned and gated communities. Many of these tend to be on or near the borders of the Valley in the foothill regions.

Economy

The Valley is home to numerous companies, the most well known of which work in motion pictures, music recording, and television production. The former movie ranches were branches of original studios now consisting of CBS Studio Center, NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company (and its ABC television network), and Warner Bros.

The valley was previously known for advances in aerospace technology and nuclear research by companies such as Lockheed, Rocketdyne and its Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Atomics International, Litton Industries, Marquardt, and TRW's predecessor Thompson Ramo Wooldridge.

Education

Public schools in the San Fernando Valley are served by three unified school districts; The Northwest and East Regions of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Glendale Unified School District and the Burbank Unified School District. There are four community colleges in the valley; Los Angeles Valley College in Valley Glen, Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, and Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills. All except Glendale College are served by the Los Angeles Community College District. The only state university in the San Fernando Valley is California State University Northridge in Northridge.

In 1994 there were 180,000 PK-12 students attending Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses in the Valley. During the same year, about 45,000 PK-12 students, or one in five of all such students, attended the over 200 private schools in the Valley.

Images for kids

• 

  San Fernando vs Livermore valleys water comparison map by William Mulholland, 1912

• 

  Californio ranchero Eulogio F. de Celis once owned most of the San Fernando Valley.

See also

In Spanish: Valle de San Fernando para niños