Porter Ranch, Los Angeles

Porter Ranch
Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Porter Ranch Location within Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
City	Los Angeles
Elevation	1,280 ft (390 m)
Population (2008 Los Angeles City Planner Estimate)
• Total	30,571
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	91326
Area code(s)	818

Porter Ranch is an affluent neighborhood in the northwest region of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is bounded by Brown's Canyon/Chatsworth on the south and west, Northridge on the south, and Granada Hills on the north and east. The Santa Susana Mountains, which separate the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, lie to the north. The principal thoroughfares are Mason Ave., Corbin Ave., Porter Ranch Drive, Tampa Ave. and Reseda Blvd., running north-south, and Sesnon Blvd., Rinaldi St. and the Ronald Reagan Freeway (State Route 118), running east and west. The Porter Ranch ZIP code is 91326.

Geography

Situation

Porter Ranch is in the hilly northwestern tip of the San Fernando Valley, where, according to a 2008 Los Angeles Times article, it was a "calm outpost of Los Angeles" that attracted residents "seeking sanctuary from the urban hubbub." It was noted that the neighborhood had "some of the cleanest air in the Valley year-around—some of which is attributable to winds that sweep through the community regularly." Nevertheless, "those same winds, which have been clocked at 70 mph, take down trees and holiday lights."

History

A Ralphs market in Porter Ranch

New home building that eventually took place in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaissance Summit development, was mired in controversy and Los Angeles politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Existing residents of the Porter Ranch area feared the increased traffic that would be brought by the planned building of an area commercial complex to service the new homes being built. Developments were also criticized for destroying the natural beauty of the brush and wild areas that inhabited the space before the houses were built.

However, Shapell Homes, a company founded by Nathan Shapell, a major Los Angeles builder, brought together powerful Los Angeles political figures to support the new home building.

File:Renaissance Home Porter Ranch.jpg

Porter Ranch home

2015 methane gas leak

Main article: Aliso Canyon gas leak

On October 23, 2015, Southern California Gas Company workers discovered a leak in one of the over 110 wells at the Aliso Canyon natural-gas storage facility, about one mile north of homes in Porter Ranch. The gas leak began spewing 110,000 pounds of methane per hour. SoCal Gas estimated that it would take three to four months to stop it. The leak involved gas stored under pressure in an underground well; the stored gas included mercapatan (tert-Butylthiol), an odorant added to the odorless natural gas to produce a "rotten egg" smell for safety. The California Air Resources Board estimated that the leak increased California's methane-gas emissions by 25%.

By order of the Los Angeles County Dept of Health, the company relocated thousands of families from the Porter Ranch area; the Federal Aviation Administration established a temporary flight restriction over the leak site until March 2016. On December 15, the county of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency, and two days later it approved a plan to close two schools in the area. Officials estimated that the leak would take months to repair.

Population

According to the U.S. Census in 2000, the population was 24,923. Based on the Los Angeles Department of City Planning estimates, the population was 30,571 in 2008.

With a population density of 4,462 people per square mile, Porter Ranch is among the lowest-density neighborhoods of the city of Los Angeles, but the density is about average for the county.

Ethnic makeup

According to Mapping L.A. of the Los Angeles Times, Porter Ranch was "moderately diverse," with a relatively high ratio of Asian and white people in the neighborhood. The figures for 2000 were 60.9% White, 26.8% Asian, 7.5% Latino, 1.8% black and 3.0% other races.

A total of 8,385 (33.6%) of residents were foreign born, about average for both the city and the county. Korea (21.4%) and Philippines (9.3%) were the most common foreign places of birth.

Household makeup

Average household size was three people, about the same as the rest of the city and county. Of the housing units in Porter Ranch, 91.8% were occupied by homeowners, while 8.2% were occupied by renters.

Income

The median household income was $121,428 in 2008 dollars, a high figure for the city and the county. In Los Angeles County, Bel-Air, Hidden Hills and Rolling Hills had the most similar household incomes. The percentages of households that earn $60,000 and above were high for the county. Porter Ranch is rated the wealthiest neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, with Encino ranked second.

Government and infrastructure

Local

Los Angeles Fire Department Station 8 and Station 28 are in the area.

Los Angeles Police Department operates from the nearby Devonshire Police Station.

County, state and federal

Porter Ranch is located in California's 25th congressional district, which is represented by Republican Steve Knight.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Pacoima Health Center in Pacoima, serving Porter Ranch.

Porter Ranch is located in Los Angeles City Council District 12, currently represented by Mitchell Englander. It also is represented by the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council.

The United States Postal Service Ranch Post Office is located at 19300 Rinaldi Street.

Education

Fifty-one percent of Porter Ranch residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high percentage for the city.

Schools

Schools within the Porter Ranch boundaries are:

Public

• Castlebay Lane Charter School, 19010 Castlebay Lane

• Porter Ranch Community School, 12450 Mason Avenue

Private

There are no private schools within Porter Ranch,

Libraries

Los Angeles Public Library operates a branch library within the community.

Parks and recreation

Palisades Park is an unstaffed park in Porter Ranch. Among others are Aliso Canyon Park, Rinaldi Park, Viking Park, Porter Ridge Park, Limekiln Canyon Park, Moonshine Canyon Park, and Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park. Porter Ridge Park is known to locals as "E.T. Park" as it the location where shots from the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) were captured.

See also

• Robert M. Wilkinson (ca. 1921–2010), Los Angeles City Council member and Porter Ranch lobbyist
• Hal Bernson, Los Angeles City Council member, 1979–2003, when Porter Ranch development was approved

• Renaissance Summit, a subdivision at the highest point of Porter Ranch

External links

• Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council