HOPEFUL SIGNS AT CITY'S GATES SUN VALLEY'S RESIDENTS TRY TO SHAKE AREA'S IMAGE.

Byline: RICK COCA Staff Writer

SUN VALLEY -- Hoping to shake their town's reputation as a ``gravel pit,'' the residents of Roscoe voted in 1946 to change their town's name to the more aesthetically pleasing Sun Valley.

Forty years later, they're still trying to shed that rocky rep.

With the installation of three gateway monuments welcoming visitors to the community, along with a planned $200,000, 30-foot-high outdoor art sculpture, local leaders and residents are hoping to draw attention away from their dusty auto wreckage yards, landfills and, yes, gravel pits.

Sun Valley Beautiful, a coalition of businesses and residents established through the Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce and others, has helped raise enough money to try to improve the town's aesthetic appeal.

Vicki Burch, a Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce member who has lived in the area for 36 years, has seen residents and businesses butt heads over competing interests.

``We have to make nice with each other,'' Burch said. ``Maybe (some businesses) have caused problems in the past, and now want to work with the community to solve the problem.''

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, whose district includes a portion of Sun Valley, donated $10,000 through her office's street furniture fund.

Councilman Tony Cardenas also contributed $10,000 from the same fund.

``This has really been a partnership between both business owners and residents to beautify this neighborhood,'' Greuel said.

She's particularly excited about the art project, slated to be installed next year.

It's an 80-foot-long, 30-foot-high stainless steel snake-like structure by artist Michael Amescua.

Funded through the city's art fee -- where 1 percent of developer fees go toward public art -- it will be displayed on the Glenoaks Boulevard median between the two gateways already installed near Cohasset and Brandford streets. A third gateway is scheduled to be installed on Roscoe Boulevard near the 170 Freeway next year.

To combat the area's overflow of abandoned and stolen vehicles, the Sun Valley Neighborhood Council contributed $40,000 to pay for cameras on police cruisers that photograph license plates and automatically scan them to see if they've been involved in crimes or are stolen. Also, a pilot program allowing transportation officers to remove stolen cars has been extended.

``Many people drive through Sun Valley,'' Greuel said. ``We want them to know there is a community there.''

Greuel said she agrees with Burch that, when it comes to the beautification effort, there is a conciliatory tone in the air for many in Sun Valley.

``This never would have happened before,'' Greuel said. ``I think we're seeing a sea change.''

rick.coca(at)dailynews.com

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Sun Valley resident Vicki Burch stands near the newly built welcome placard leading into town.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer