City, Los Angeles County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 91302
Prestige gated city in the Santa Monica Mountains, near Woodland Hills and Calabasas, facing San Fernando Valley. Crime low, school rankings high. Kind of town where if you have to ask how much, you don’t belong. www.mccormacks.com
Population 2,016. Median age of residents is 40. Under 18 years, 33 percent. Over 55 years, 22 percent. Lot of kids but mommas and poppas are up there in years.
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About half the homes have nine or more rooms, reported the 2000 census. Locals call the homes “country estates.” No street lights, no sidewalks. Lots of trees and foliage. Rail fences. Many homes have pools and tennis courts. Community pool. Horse country. Trails meander through town. Golf course nearby.
To head off a proposed extension of Burbank Boulevard, Hidden Hills incorporated as city in 1961, just before the state passed laws to make it harder for small communities with no businesses to make themselves legal cities. As a legal city, Hidden Hills has control over its planning, police protection and civic affairs. The town in reality is run by a city government and a homeowners association. Tough rules on what can be built. Covenants and restrictions. Slow-growing.
According to state statistics, Hidden Hills added 63 single homes in the 1980s and 112 homes in the 1990s. The state in 2008 counted 607 housing units: 605 single homes, 2 single attached, no multiples and no mobiles. In the 1990s, Hidden Hills' population increased by 146 people. www.mccormacks.com
Security gates and guards at entrances to Hidden Hills. Patrolled. Many neighborhoods in this part of L.A. county, for reasons of safety and privacy, are gated and employ private security firms. This does not mean that they are crime free. Teens will still get into mischief, domestic disputes will break out. But it does mean that compared to other places, these places will have much lower crime. Zero homicides between 2005 and 1994. See Crime.
Served by Las Virgenes School District, which is using a $93 million bond to renovate schools and in 2003 opened a new middle school in Calabasas. In 2004, district passed a tax to retain programs and electives, which indicates strong educational values. These particular taxes require two-thirds approval; hard to get.
School district includes Calabasas and Agoura Hills, also upscale. Many schools in district are scoring in the top 20 percent of state. Round Meadow Elementary School, located at the edge of Hidden Hills, lands in the 90th percentile. See Schools.
No chamber of commerce. City hall: (818) 888-9281.
• Just west of Hidden Hills is another gated development, upscale, situated on unincorporated land, controlled by the county government. This project was built over the last 10 to 15 years and being hilly offers many view sites. We don't know the name of this place but it is within the Hidden Hills zip code and is part of the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Sometimes these unincorporated neighborhoods win a local identity, other times they take on the name of the closest town. This neighborhood can be reached by exiting Highway 101 at Las Virgenes Road, going north to Thousands Oaks Boulevard and turning east. www.mccormacks.com
For orientation on cities, towns and neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, see County Overview.
City web site: www.hiddenhillscity.org
