Towns, City of Los Angeles
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91344, 91394
Granada Hills is a bedroom town that straddles Highway 118 on the north side of the San Fernando Valley, just west of Interstate 5. www.mccormacks.com
Knollwood is located north of Granada Hills and sometimes is lumped in with Granada Hills but the communities differ. Census population for both, 57,255.
North Hills, sometimes called Sepulveda, is located south of Granada Hills. All three are towns of the City of Los Angeles and educated by the Los Angeles School District.
When the San Fernando Valley boomed after World War II, developers, with exceptions, built from south to north. The first homes were modest two and three bedrooms, the next round, larger three bedroom units, and in the 1970s and 1980s, as prosperity increased, the homes often moved up to two stories and at least four bedrooms.
Granada Hills and North Hills, built in the 1950s and 1960s, came in the second wave and consists mostly of single homes, one-story ranchers, three bedrooms, with remodelings into four bedrooms. These are move-up neighborhoods from Panorama City and parts of North Hollywood, and they do a better job of buffering residential streets from traffic.
The land is fairly flat and the neighborhoods, to our eye, seem to flow seamlessly into one another. But if you drive the streets you will notice differences. Some blocks are built to higher standards, some homes show higher levels of care than others. Where there were empty lots, builders returned later and erected two-story modern homes. Sidewalks. Utility lines overhead. Shade trees. Lawns maintained by owners. Yards in front and back. www.mccormacks.com
In subtle ways, these are changing neighborhoods. It used to be that you bought a house and in a few years took your equity and moved up to a bigger house. This still goes on but these days a bigger, better house is often a more distant house from job centers. With the freeways jamming, homes closer to job centers are nudging up in popularity.
The price boom of the last eight years enabled many homeowners to cash in some equity and remodel and expand, with the happy result that the older neighborhoods were able to hold and often improve their looks. Many of the stores have been renovated or replaced, another trend in the older neighborhoods.
After Valley residents led the charge (unsuccessful) to break up the City of L.A., politicians paid more attention to Valley concerns. Voters came through with several bonds that are adding new schools to the Valley and renovating the existing ones. Schools scores middling to fairly high.
Crime higher than found in upscale neighborhoods but much lower than poor neighborhoods. See Crime.
In sum, suburban middle moving, at least in some sections, up to brie, chardonnay and spinach salad. Trader Joe's has opened a store in Granada Hills. www.mccormacks.com
Built over steep hills starting about the 1960s, Knollwood, north of Highway 118, was developed after Granada Hills and North Hills and mixes one- and two-story homes and has a more modern look than the other neighborhoods. Some homes employ custom features and in quality and appearance move up market, especially near the golf course on the east side of Knollwood.
Knollwood is accessed mainly by Balboa Boulevard, an arterial that traveling south intersects with Highway 118 and runs all the way across the Valley floor to Ventura Boulevard. Traveling north, it covers just a few miles until it connects to Interstate 5.
Knollwood was built over several decades. The first homes, toward Renaldi Street, a shopping thoroughfare near Highway 118, employ a gingerbread design popular in the 1960s. The homes toward Interstate 5 were erected about 15 years ago and favor the two-story Mediterranean style.
Many homes have views because of the hills, which go up and down throughout the neighborhood (and employ speed humps to slow traffic.)
Another fairly good commute. When the freeways are jammed, the arterials will take you across the Valley. About 20 miles to downtown L.A., 10 to 15 miles to job centers near Burbank and Van Nuys. New subway line to Valley has station in North Hollywood. Metrolink (commuter rail) at Northridge. Buses. At least two park-and-ride lots. See Commute.
Large regional park to north of Knollwood. Not too many neighborhood parks for all three towns but often schools are employed for sports and activities. One big golf course and one small one. Rec. centers at the parks, which tend to be large. Short drive to state university at Northridge. At least three libraries in area. www.mccormacks.com
School rankings: Monroe High (North Hills), about 50th percentile; Haskell Elementary (Granada Hills), 50th to 70th percentile; Granada Elementary, 50th percentile; Granada Hills High, 80th to 90th percentile. Several schools have magnet programs. Following 1994 earthquake, Van Gogh Elementary, 80th and 90th percentiles, was rebuilt as high-tech campus. See Schools.
For orientation on cities, towns and neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, see County Overview.
Chamber of commerce: (818) 368-3235.
• North Hills. In parts, close to active Van Nuys Airport. Check out noise.
