CANOGA PARK PATCHING CRACKED IMAGE : CHAMBER COMMITTEE WORKING TO UPGRADE AREAS, ATTRACT VISITORS.Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer The real estate agent didn't know she was dealing with a Canoga Park businessman and chamber of commerce president when she tried to convince Ron Clary clary: see sage. he'd do better buying a home in West Hills. The property values, she said, are higher in West Hills than Canoga Park. The area, she said, is more desirable than the community to the east. The discouraged Clary let the woman talk. Then he politely explained how wrong she was about Canoga Park. ``She was spending five minutes telling me why I might want to go West Hills,'' Clary said. ``There is a tendency to talk down Canoga Park, and I think that's unfortunate because we've got a lot going.'' The image of Canoga Park as a rundown Rundown A summary of the amount and prices of a serial bond issue that is still available for purchase. rundown A list of available bonds in a municipal issue of serial bonds. place where you don't want to go - or live - is one the community has grappled with for years. It's an image the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce, with Clary as president, is trying to change. The chamber recently formed a business development committee to revamp re·vamp tr.v. re·vamped, re·vamp·ing, re·vamps 1. To patch up or restore; renovate. 2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example). 3. To vamp (a shoe) anew. n. Canoga Park's reputation. It has begun this month by circulating a visitor's guide that lists the area's shopping centers shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into , parks and other attractions. The brochure proclaims Canoga Park/West Hills as the ``hot spot'' of the west San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Clary said the group is considering such attractions as a farmers market and a fall festival highlighting the food and wares of the area's diverse cultures. Already, the community hosts a Memorial Day parade that residents say is the most popular in the Valley. But many agree that polishing the tarnished reputation won't be easy. Canoga Park still is smarting from a battle in the late 1980s pitting residents on the west part of town and those to the east. The war resulted in the secession of West Hills. There was a lot of mudslinging mud·sling·er n. One who makes malicious charges and otherwise attempts to discredit an opponent, as in a political campaign. mud , with most of the mud landing on Canoga Park. The community picture painted then still lingers, said Aline Hausman, the chamber's executive director. Many Canoga Park businesses, she said, use a Woodland Hills mailing address for fear of losing business. In the quest to redefine Canoga Park, West Hills folks are helping out this time. Once separate, the neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. chambers united three years ago, and business people from both sides are working toward the same goal. ``Canoga Park got old. And they're trying to rebuild it. But there's nothing wrong with Canoga Park at all,'' said Donald J. Leehey, president of the West Hills Property Owners Association and a chamber vice president. Some say there's no getting around it: Canoga Park is old and blighted blight n. 1. a. Any of numerous plant diseases resulting in sudden conspicuous wilting and dying of affected parts, especially young, growing tissues. b. . ``Canoga Park has a bad connotation con·no·ta·tion n. 1. The act or process of connoting. 2. a. An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: to it,'' said Mickey Epstein, a resident still bitter that his Canoga Park neighborhood between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Shoup Avenue was excluded from the West Hills split. ``It's a garbage pit.'' Epstein insists that the real estate agent was telling Clary the truth about property values. He said he lives in a 40-year-old Canoga Park home and owns another one, equal in size and age, that he rents out in West Hills. The West Hills home, he says, is worth more. ``The name, it doesn't seem like it means a hell of a lot,'' Epstein said. ``But it means a lot to people when they're buying a piece of property.'' David Gribin of Gribin and Associates real estate appraisers, compared about 1,000 properties sold in both communities in recent years. He found that the purchase price of the West Hills homes averaged about $100,000 more than those in Canoga Park, but said the higher-priced homes generally were newer and larger. Chamber officials acknowledge that some neighborhoods - especially around the business district - have become rundown. But they cling to Verb 1. cling to - hold firmly, usually with one's hands; "She clutched my arm when she got scared" hold close, hold tight, clutch hold, take hold - have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of the belief that improvements to the Sherman Way business corridor from DeSoto Avenue to Topanga Canyon Boulevard will motivate neighbors and landowners to spruce up spruce up Verb [sprucing, spruced] to make neat and smart Verb 1. spruce up - make neat, smart, or trim; "Spruce up your house for Spring"; "titivate the child" the surrounding homes. The business development committee and a year-old merchants association are determined to breathe new life into the business district, which was severely damaged in the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. and has a 20 percent to 30 percent vacancy rate. And much hope hinges Hinges may refer to:
Clary said he is excited about a proposed city program that would allow business owners on Sherman Way to borrow money to revamp their store facades. And he said he's considering pitching the idea of sign regulations that might eliminate storefront and window ads he calls unattractive. Epstein is dubious. He notes that there is an adult bookstore just across the street from the planned theater, and scant parking. City officials said they are studying the parking issue, and may turn to a valet system or shuttle service from nearby lots for theater patrons. |
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