CANOGA PARK DETRACTORS BLIND TO SUCCESS CRITICS SHOULD LOOK AT IMPROVEMENTS IN BUSINESS, ARTS FOR CHILDREN, SAFETY.

Byline: DOROTHY JEAN JAUCK

RECENT allegations that Canoga Park has become a ``ghetto'' of adult-entertainment businesses and head shops is one more example of negative publicity hurled at a community that's been aggressively trying to improve itself since the Northridge Earthquake.

This negative characterization of our community has been made by two individuals, Paul White and Robert McGill, who teach at the West Valley Leadership Academy, an alternative school for teens on criminal probation who have been expelled from other schools. The two have circulated fliers deriding the community and its pending ``ghettoization.''

As one of many community activists who have spent thousands of volunteer hours working for the revitalization of Canoga Park, I take strong exception to this characterization. It undermines our efforts to market Canoga Park as a safe and clean community with an eclectic collection of businesses and arts and entertainment venues.

I invite Canoga Park's detractors to sit down with representatives of the Canoga Park Improvement Association, Main Street Canoga Park, the Chamber of Commerce, Councilman Dennis P. Zine's representative and the Community Redevelopment Agency to discuss what we consider to be the dramatic turnaround of Canoga Park since the 1994 earthquake.

Since early 1995, city government and the CRA have invested more than $15 million in the revitalization of the Canoga Park commercial district. Projects have included the Madrid Theater, which was built on the site of a demolished adult theater and now offers free Monday morning performances for children and youths; eight blocks of streetscape improvements, including new sidewalks; new facades for three blocks of storefronts; the Canoga Park Youth Art Center, serving local children and youths; and the new Main Street Performing Arts Studio, offering dance classes to children and youths, with scholarships available to eligible Canoga Park residents.

Shortly after the earthquake, the vacancy rate in downtown Canoga Park storefronts was more than 30 percent. Main Street and the CRA now get several calls a week from community-serving, family-oriented businesses wishing to locate in Canoga Park, but it is getting harder and harder to find vacant spaces for them. This is a sign that our efforts are paying off.

Canoga Park is a success story demonstrating what can be accomplished when city officials and employees work with local residents, businesses and property owners. Through the Canoga Park Improvement Association, the streets and alleys of our community are now cleaner, due to regular landscaping and maintenance efforts, and safer because of the presence of a private security company and a close relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street are major boosters of Canoga Park through aggressive marketing of the business district and successful special events that bring thousands of people into the community - many of them enjoying, for the first time, the uniqueness of Canoga Park's retail businesses.

Finally, the ``new'' Canoga Park Neighborhood Council is a representative body of local stakeholders who advise city officials on programs that impact the Canoga Park community.

All involved in these community-based organizations are volunteers, having spent thousands of hours of their own time over the years for the betterment of their community. I am sure that everyone with a historical perspective of Canoga Park spanning the last 10 years will agree that their efforts have paid off.

Characterizing Canoga Park as a ``ghetto'' is a classic example of the outlook on the world that the glass is half-empty, rather than half-full. It also demonstrates the adage that there are people in this world who could drown in a tablespoon of water.

I suggest that Canoga Park's detractors spend an afternoon watching a children's art class at the Youth Art Center or a ballet class for 2- and 3-year-olds at the Main Street Performing Arts Studio. Stroll around antique row and then get a latte and dessert at Pastries by Edie. This is what Canoga Park is about today.