North Hills, Los Angeles

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = North Hills

| other_name = Sepulveda

| native_name =

| nickname =

| named_for = Location in the north of Los Angeles

| motto =

| image_skyline = View of Valley from North Hills VA Hospital - panoramio.jpg

| image_caption = North Hills and the valley from the VA Hospital.

| image_flag =

| image_seal =

| seal_size =

| image_shield =

| shield_size =

| image_map =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_map = United States San Fernando Valley#United States Los Angeles

| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{USA}}

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|California}}

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name2 = Los Angeles

| subdivision_type3 = City

| subdivision_name3 = Los Angeles

| government_type =

| established_title =

| established_date =

| established_title2 =

| established_date2 =

| established_title3 =

| established_date3 =

| area_total_km2 =

| area_total_sq_mi =

| area_land_km2 =

| area_land_sq_mi =

| area_water_km2 =

| area_water_sq_mi =

| area_water_percent =

| area_urban_sq_mi =

| area_metro_sq_mi =

| population_as_of = 2000

| population_note =

| population_footnotes = {{cite web |title=Los Angeles Almanac: City of Los Angeles Population by Community & Race 2000 Census |url=http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po24la.htm |access-date=April 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111043420/http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po24la.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2010 }}

| settlement_type = Neighborhood of Los Angeles

| population_total = 56,946

| population_density_km2 =

| population_density_sq_mi =

| timezone = PST

| utc_offset = -8

| timezone_DST = PDT

| utc_offset_DST = -7

| coordinates = {{coord|34|14|08|N|118|29|06|W|region:US-CA|display=inline}}

| elevation_m = 256

| elevation_ft = 841

| postal_code_type = ZIP code

| postal_code = 91343

| area_code = 818 and 747

| website =

| footnotes =

| subdivision_type4 = City Council Districts

| subdivision_name4 = • District 6
District 7
District 12

| subdivision_type5 = Neighborhood Councils

| subdivision_name5 = • North Hills East
• North Hills West

}}

North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.

North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After WWII, the newly developed suburban community was renamed Sepulveda, after the prominent Sepúlveda family of California. In 1991, it was renamed North Hills.

Geography

= Location =

The neighborhood of North Hills is located in the central San Fernando Valley, a region of the city of Los Angeles. It is intersected by the 405 Freeway and lies between Bull Creek and the Pacoima Wash. By road, it is 21 miles northwest of downtown; In relation to the cities surrounding Los Angeles, the neighborhood is about 17 miles north of Santa Monica, 16 miles east of Simi Valley, 14 miles northeast of Calabasas, 13 miles northwest of Burbank, 12 miles south of Santa Clarita, and 4 miles southwest of San Fernando.{{Cite web |title=Google Maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/34.2355901,-118.4730673/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Google Maps |language=en}} Surrounding neighborhoods are Northridge to the west, Panorama City to the east, Van Nuys to the south, and Granada Hills and Mission Hills to the north.

Overlapping Area codes 747 and 818 serve the area. The North Hills ZIP code is 91343.

== Neighborhood boundaries and area ==

While neighborhood boundaries in the Los Angeles area are generally informal, the official boundaries used by the North Hills East and West neighborhood council districts would make the neighborhood a {{Convert|4.31|sqmi|km2}} area between Bull Creek and the Pacoima Wash on the west and east respectively. The southern boundary is Roscoe Boulevard, starting on Bull Creek and ending at the Pacoima Wash; North Hills East includes a panhandle of land south of Roscoe Boulevard to the Coast Line railroad between the 405 Freeway and Sepulveda Boulevard. The northern boundary is Lassen Street, west from the Pacoima Wash to Woodley Avenue. Since 2012, North Hills is bounded by the community of Woodley Hill in Northridge which occupies a square area at the northwest area of the neighborhood bounded by Woodley Avenue in the west and Plummer Street in the south. The North Hills East and West neighborhood councils are separated by the 405 Freeway; the West district has an area of {{Convert|2.38|sqmi|km2}} and the East has an area of {{Convert|1.93|sqmi|km2}}.{{Cite web |title=Neighborhood Councils (Certified) |url=https://geohub.lacity.org/datasets/lahub::neighborhood-councils-certified/about |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=geohub.lacity.org |language=en}}

Other sources, notably the Los Angeles Times' Mapping L.A. project, extend the neighborhood's boundaries to Balboa Boulevard and Bull Creek ("the wash") on the west, and Lassen and Devonshire Street on the north, mostly to include the North Hills Shopping Center which is also claimed by Granada Hills.{{Cite web |title=North Hills |url=https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Mapping L.A.}}{{Cite web |title=North Hills {{!}} CD12 |url=https://cd12.lacity.gov/about/council-district-12/north-hills |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=cd12.lacity.gov}}

History

{{See also|History of the San Fernando Valley}}

The San Fernando Valley had been inhabited by Tongva people, as well as Tataviam and Chumash people. Their settlements, later called rancherías by the Spanish, were mostly located in the southern valley which was better irrigated in the dry season and provided shelter from winter floods; in the north valley were the villages of Paséknga, in modern-day San Fernando, and Pakoinga, of Tataviam etymology and located in modern Pacoima. The area of North Hills is between the northern and southern settlements in a relatively flat area of the valley which was subject to winter floods from the Pacoima Wash.{{Sfn|Gumprecht|1999|p=31}}{{Sfn|Gumprecht|1999|p=134}}{{Sfn|Roderick|2002|p=20}}{{Sfn|Jorgensen|1982|pp=34–35}}{{cite web |title=Mural at Pakoinga (Pacoima) |url=https://www.tataviam-nsn.us/mural-at-pakoinga-pacoima/ |access-date=2020-07-19}}

= Colonization and mission era =

{{Further information|Pueblo de Los Ángeles|Mission San Fernando Rey de España}}

Europeans first arrived at the valley during the Spanish Portolá expedition in August 5, 1769, and named it Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de los Encinos.{{Sfn|Roderick|2002|pp=20–24}} After having friendly encounters with the native people and camping in the southern valley, they crossed through the central valley, where North Hills is located, on the 7th and set up camp at the northern foothills before proceeding on their expedition.{{cite book |last=Bolton |first=Herbert E. |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0363412 |title=Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769–1774 |date=1927 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |pages=151–152|doi=10.14288/1.0363412 }} The colonization of the upper Californias began with the Portolá expedition and advanced in the following years. The San Gabriel Mission was founded in 1771,{{cite web |title=San Gabriel Arcángel |url=http://missions.bgmm.com/sgabriel.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327033851/http://missions.bgmm.com/sgabriel.htm |archive-date=2009-03-27 |access-date=14 March 2009 |publisher=California Missions}} and the Pueblo de Los Ángeles was settled in 1781.Guinn, J. M. A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Vol. 1. (Los Angeles: Historic Record Company, 1915), 74. Book 4, Title 5, Law VI of the Recompilación de Leyes de Indias and Ordinances 88 and 89 of the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries.

With the pueblo's founding and by royal edict, all the waters of the Porciúncula River were reserved for use by the new pueblo, including valley lands, and royal concessions for grazing land were issued. Francisco Reyes, alcalde of Los Ángeles from 1793 to 1795, established a grazing operation of Rancho Los Encinos near Paséknga which included the agricultural settlement of Achooykomenga, worked by Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam laborers.{{Sfn|Young|Levick|1988|p=39}}{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=John R. |url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/sspshp%20ethnohistory-complete.pdf |title=Ethnohistoric Overview for the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resources Inventory Project |publisher=Southern Service Center, State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation |year=2006 |pages=}}{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=John R. |date=1997 |title=The Indians of Mission San Fernando |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41172612 |journal=Southern California Quarterly |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=249–290 |doi=10.2307/41172612 |issn=0038-3929 |jstor=41172612}} The rancho was acquired by Franciscan missionaries after being identified as a suitable site for a mission, and on September 8, 1797 the San Fernando Rey de España Mission was founded, placing most of the valley's land, including the area of North Hills, and its indigenous inhabitants under the mission's jurisdiction.{{Sfn|Young|Levick|1988|p=39}}{{Sfn|Engelhardt|1897|pp=411-412}}

After the independence of Mexico from Spain, an 1833 government decree led to the secularization of the missions in Alta and Baja California and the San Fernando Mission was officially secularized in 1834.{{Cite book |last=Engelhardt |first=Zephyrin |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003164018 |title=The Franciscans in California |publisher=Holy Childhood Indian School |year=1897 |series=The Missions and Missionaries of California |location=Harbor Springs, MI |pages=416–418 |chapter=Chapter XXII: San Fernando}} The mission became the head of a parish and the government commissioned a mayordomo to oversee the process of secularization and to administer the former mission land.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|pp=199, 261}}

= Rancho land =

{{Further|Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando}}

In 1845, governor Pío Pico signed a 9-year land lease, at $1,120 per year, to his brother Andrés Pico and his business partner Juan Manso who used it for cattle ranching.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=267}} In the wake of the American intervention in Mexico, the governor put the land up for sale as the Rancho Ex-Misión de San Fernando to raise funds. The ranch lands were sold to Spanish merchant Eulogio de Celis for $14,000 in June 17, 1846. A portion of land lying just north of modern North Hills surrounding the mission complex was reserved for Andrés Pico and became known as the Pico Reserve.[http://www.sfvhs.com/AndresPicoAdobe2.htm "Andreas Pico Adobe"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701025258/http://www.sfvhs.com/AndresPicoAdobe2.htm|date=2010-07-01}}, The Branding Iron, December 1976, Number 124; reprinted by the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, 1977; accessed 11 October 2011

The Mexican armed resistance to the American intervention ceased in the beginning of 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded the California Territory to the United States. The Treaty provided that the Mexican land grants would be honored and American officials acquired Spanish and Mexican records to confirm titles.Beck, Warren A. and Ynez D. Haase, Historical Atlas of California, first edition, p.24

Eulogio de Celis filed his claim to the rancho lands in October 1852, but the land grant was not formally upheld by the U.S. District Court until January 1873,[http://www.slc.ca.gov/Misc_Pages/Historical/Surveyors_General/reports/Willey_1884_1886.pdf Report of the Surveyor General 1844–1886] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320000647/http://www.slc.ca.gov/Misc_Pages/Historical/Surveyors_General/reports/Willey_1884_1886.pdf|date=2013-03-20}} after he had returned to Spain and four years after his death. In the mean time, Andrés Pico paid de Celis' lawyer, Edward Vischer, $15,000 for an undivided half-interest in the rancho in 1854, the same year Pico's lease expired.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=269}} The land was divided along a line which roughly follows Roscoe Boulevard, now considered North Hills' southern boundary, and the southern half was sold to Pico.{{Cite news |last=O'Neil |first=Rob |date=9 July 1997 |title=In 1800s, DeCelis Owned Most of the Valley |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-09-me-11129-story.html |access-date=4 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |publisher=}} Andrés eventually sold his half-interest in the rancho to his brother Pío in 1862, retaining the 2,000 acre Pico Reserve; in turn, Pío sold the interest to the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association for $115,000 in 1869; this association went through several name changes, eventually becoming the Los Angeles Farming and Milling Company.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=269}}

In a 1871 plat of the rancho, the North Hills area is shown to be an undeveloped land crossed by a road which led to the Pico Reserve and the mission in the north from the Rancho Los Encinos in the south. A sheep camp is shown to have been located just north of the ranch partition line on the west bank of the Pacoima Wash, which corresponds to the southeast end of modern North Hills.{{Cite web |title=Plat of the Ex Mission de San Fernando finally confirmed to Eulogio de Celis. |url=https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll4/id/12292/ |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=hdl.huntington.org}} De Celis died in Spain in 1869 and his son Eulogio F. de Celis returned as the administrator of his father's estate which was later finally patented to his father by the government on January 8, 1873.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=270}} After negotiations between the heirs of de Celis and the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association, the valley was formally divided into north and south. The heirs then sold the remaining northern half of the rancho, which includes present-day North Hills, to Charles Maclay and George K. Porter in 1875 for $125,000.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=273}} With this, the Rancho era essentially ended in the San Fernando Valley; land divisions continued, what remained of the original mission agriculture fell into disuse, and the remaining indigenous population nearly disappeared from the region.{{Sfn|Pauley|2005|p=273}}

= Porter land =

The former rancho land was placed under Porter's name and he owned a three-fourths interest in the property, with Maclay owning the remaining quarter. Porter saw the valley as a site with potential for agricultural development, whereas Maclay was more focused on its colonization.{{Cite web |last=Falzarano |first=Johanna N. M. |date=15 February 2003 |title=The Development of the San Fernando Valley: A History of Natural Resource Issues and Prospects for the Future |url=http://www.mulhollandinstitute.org/Library/Papers%20&%20Treatises/Open%20Space%20History%20Report.pdf |access-date=4 July 2024 |publisher=Pepperdine University}} In order to pay off the de Celis mortgage, they counted on the success of the town of San Fernando, which had then been newly platted along the Southern Pacific Railroad. A local bank failure and the departure of railroad workers led to a collapse in the real estate boom which made Maclay turn to renting land for sheep pasture and farming; then, a drought in 1876 and 1877 led to the failure of grain fields and the death of tens of thousands of sheep.

Maclay was unable to meet the mortgage and de Celis filed for foreclosure in July 1876; the Los Angeles district court found Maclay personally liable for the mortgage payment in June 1877 and ordered the sale of his quarter interest, and that if the sale was insufficient to meet the mortgage, then Porter's interest would also be sold. While they managed to delay the foreclosure for two years, the interest accumulated. In July 1879, the Maclay portion was sold to Benjamin F. Porter and, because the sale amount was insufficient, George Porter's remaining share was sold to Josefa A. de Celis. George managed to reobtain his interest in April 1880 thanks to his agent, Francis M. Wright, a valley farmer. In February 1881, Maclay and the Porters reached an agreement to partition the land. Maclay kept a third of the land lying north of the railroad and east of the Pacoima Wash called the Maclay Rancho,{{Cite web |title=The Maclay Rancho : Ex-Mission of San Fernando, Cal. |url=https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll4/id/16356 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=hdl.huntington.org}} the Porters kept the remaining two-thirds to the west. In 1881, the Porter cousins split their holdings and George received the portion between the Pacoima Wash in the east and Aliso Canyon, about current-day Zelzah Avenue, in the west. George Porter's land included all of current North Hills.{{Cite web |title=Map of northern portion of the Rancho Ex Mission de San Fernando, Los Angeles Co., Cal. |url=https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll4/id/5015 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=hdl.huntington.org}}

In 1887, George K. Porter subdivided the land and established the Porter Land and Water Company to take advantage of a land sales boom. Nearly 17,000 acres were subdivided into ten and forty acre lots with an irrigation system sufficient for 4,000 acres.{{Cite journal |last=Hodges |first=Hugh T. |date=1986 |title=Charles Maclay: California Missionary, San Fernando Valley Pioneer: Part III |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41171239 |journal=Southern California Quarterly |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=329–363 |doi=10.2307/41171239 |jstor=41171239 |issn=0038-3929}} John B. Baskin, a partner and sales agent of the company began an extensive marketing and promotional campaign for the land subdivision; a frequent motif of the marketing is the remains of the mission which was surrounded by the tract. Baskin also hired California State Engineer William Hammond Hall to develop an irrigation plan for water derived from the local springs and arroyos like the Pacoima Wash. The boom began to fade by the end of 1888 and went bust the next year with internal company problems and declining national and local economies which preceded the Panic of 1893; the decline would also be exacerbated by severe droughts in the 1890s. In October 1903, Porter sold his firm and transferred remaining lands to a syndicate led by Leslie C. Brand which was incorporated as the San Fernando Mission Land Company.{{Cite web |title=Water and Power Associates |url=https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_the_San_Fernando_Valley_Page_1.html |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=waterandpower.org}}{{Cite web |last= |title=Porter Land and Water Company |url=https://lopezadobe.wordpress.com/category/porter-land-and-water-company/ |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=The Lopez Adobe |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Hoffman |first=Abraham |title=Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley–Los Angeles Water Controversy |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=1981 |isbn=0-89096-509-9}}{{Cite news |date=2 December 1904 |title=Courthouse Notes: Brevities Miscellaneous: Mission Land Company |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/164370998 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part II, p. 2 |publication-date= |volume=XXIII |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|164370998}}}}

= Community development =

File:WPA Land use survey map for the City of Los Angeles, book 3 (San Fernando Valley from Canoga Park District to Van Nuys District), sheet 8 (340).jpg

The 20th century began with important developments for the San Fernando Valley which led to its rapid settlement. In 1905, the City of Los Angeles announced its plans to bring water to the city from the Owens Valley and began construction on the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1908; the future arrival of water to the valley spurred development.Link 1991, pp. 36–38 The southern half of the former rancho lands were bought from the Los Angeles Farming and Milling Co. by a syndicate incorporated as the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, and the towns of Van Nuys, Marion, and Owensmouth were planned out along with a system of highways.Roderick 2001, p. 48Link 1991, p. 40 The Pacific Electric Railway also began an expansion into the valley which reached the burgeoning community of Van Nuys in December 1911, and was completed with its arrival in the city of San Fernando in March 1913, allowing better connections to Los Angeles from the valley.{{cite web |title=Pacific Electric San Fernando Valley Line, the Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California |url=http://erha.org/pewsfv.htm |access-date=16 May 2009}} The San Fernando Mission Land Co. began to market its then over 16,000 acres of land to the public in April 1912, advertising five, ten, and fifteen acre tracts adapted to citriculture and other agricultural uses.{{Cite news |date=21 April 1912 |title=Rich Tract to be Subdivided |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/159725603 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part VI, p. 13 |publication-date= |volume=XXXI |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|159725603}}}}{{Cite news |date=21 April 1912 |title=San Fernando Mission Lands |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/159737906 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part VI, p. 5 |publication-date= |volume=XXXI |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|159737906}}}}

In October 1912, The Angeles Mesa Land Company purchased Henry E. Huntington's one-tenth share in the Mission Land property holdings. The companies began to invest in the extension of the railway to San Fernando and the construction of a 4-mile boulevard, named Brand Boulevard, to connect San Fernando to Van Nuys on Sherman Way, hoping to open it for use when the Los Angeles Aqueduct is inaugurated.{{Cite news |date=20 October 1912 |title=Huntington Sells Valley Land |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/159817429 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part VI, p. 14 |publication-date= |volume=XXXI |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|159817429}}}} Work on Brand Boulevard advanced and workers began to spread asphalt on the first mile by mid-1913; one side of the road was designed for exclusive use by automobiles, while the other was multi-use for trucks, heavy wagons, and horse-drawn vehicles.{{Cite news |date=25 May 1913 |title=Work Progressing: Contractors Rushing Costly Highway Improvements in San Fernando Valley |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/159758765 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part VI, p. 1 |publication-date= |volume=XXXII |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|159758765}}}} The aqueduct water reached the valley in November, 1913.Jorgensen 1988 p. 121

Mission Acres was an agricultural community made by early developers who created 1 acre plots for agricultural activities, with irrigation supplied by the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913.{{cite news|title=Community Profile / North Hills|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-23-me-31693-story.html|access-date=23 July 2016|newspaper=LA Times|date=February 23, 1997}} The community was a stop for the Pacific Electric railway streetcars that transported passengers from downtown Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley.{{Cite web|last=Hoffmann|first=Michelle|date=2004-02-01|title=Treasures amid Valley bustle|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-01-re-guide1-story.html|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}

Residents of Mission Acres renamed the area Sepulveda in 1927.{{Cite book |last1=Pitt |first1=Leonard |url=http://archive.org/details/losangelestozenc00pitt |title=Los Angeles A to Z |last2=Pitt |first2=Dale |publisher=University of California Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-520-20274-0 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=360}} The Californio Sepulveda family, going back to the founding of the Pueblo of Los Angeles,{{cite journal |title=Three Generations of the Sepulveda Family in Southern California |journal=Southern California Quarterly |year=1991 |last=Wittenburg |first=Mary Joanne |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=197–250 |doi=10.2307/41171580 |jstor=41171580 |doi-access= }} is the source of various Los Angeles place-names, including the post-war community of Sepulveda. Sepulveda Boulevard is the primary north–south street through North Hills, crossing Sepulveda Pass to the south. The community saw significant growth between the 1930s and the 1950s.

In 1937, councilman Jim Wilson offered a resolution that instructed the city's real estate agent to make the right of way cost appraisal for diverting flood waters from Wilson and East Canyons into Pacoima Wash to protect the community of Sepulveda from floods that occurred during heavy storms.{{Cite web |title=Daily News (Los Angeles) 17 April 1937 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DNLA19370417.1.8&srpos=134&e=------193-en--20--121-byDA-txt-txIN-%22Sepulveda%22+Fernando+Mission------- |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} This same year, the Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church was built and the parish was established years later in 1944.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.olpeaceschool.org/history |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Our Lady of Peace School |language=en}}

= Post World War II =

File:Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society Sanctuary aka The Onion 2016-03-13.jpg, also known as The Onion, built in 1964]]The area remained mostly rural through the 1940s, urbanization initiated during the 1950s during which the entire San Fernando Valley was experiencing a transition from semi-rural and agricultural uses into suburban development patterns. Multi-family residential units began to be developed in the 1960s.{{Cite web |title=Mission Hills – Panorama City – North Hills Community Plan {{!}} Los Angeles City Planning |url=https://planning.lacity.org/plans-policies/community-plan-area/mission-hills-panorama-city-north-hills |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=planning.lacity.org}}

Before the construction of the 405, Sepulveda Boulevard was a major highway and the neighborhood became a stopping point for travelers to and from Los Angeles. Motels began to be established along Sepulveda. Among these motels is the Good Knight Inn, which began construction in 1945 and featured a façade designed to resemble a castle; by 2023, the motel has continued to run and has retained much of its original form.{{Cite web |title=Report – Good Knight Inn |url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/345cc2a9-be37-46d1-8395-640f92f41205 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=historicplacesla.org}}

The Our Lady of Peace Catholic school was being built by 1951 and began to hold classes that year, the school building was officially completed in 1954, followed by various additions. Later that year of 1954, the new Our Lady of Peace church designed by Armet and Davis was completed;{{Cite web |title=Report – HPLA |url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/78af3dd3-16b2-4eff-a70a-0435ffcdd10c |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=historicplacesla.org}} the former church structure was repurposed by the parish as Schneider's Hall. By 1956, the school was the largest elementary school in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and remained so for two more years.

Plummer Elementary School, designed in the International style by E. R. C. Billerbeck for LAUSD, was completed in 1952.

The Sepulveda Veterans Administration Hospital was completed in a 160-acre property in 1955.{{Cite web |title=Report – Sepulveda Veterans Administration Hospital |url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/68cc37bd-bbc2-4f33-b7f5-e2bc1c64452b |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=historicplacesla.org}}

After four years of construction, Francisco Sepulveda Junior High School, designed by architect Arthur Froelich in the International style, was completed in 1960.{{Cite web |title=Report – Francisco Sepulveda Middle School |url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/e04dc66a-c469-4282-a570-3a371ff2c61f |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=historicplacesla.org}}

In 1991, residents of the western half of Sepulveda, west of the San Diego Freeway, voted to secede from the eastern section to form a new community named North Hills. The City of Los Angeles soon changed the name of remaining Sepulveda to North Hills also.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-22-me-92-story.html|title=What Remains of Sepulveda Will Also Become North Hills : Name change: Residents didn't want to be deserted by their former neighbors. Councilman Wachs says the decision takes effect immediately.|date=22 November 1991|via=LA Times}} The city then formed a new sub-neighborhood of "North Hills West" which begins west of the 405 freeway and goes to Bull Creek Wash/Balboa Blvd. and from Roscoe Blvd. to Devonshire St.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nhwnc.net/map-boundaries/|title=Map of North Hills West Neighborhood Council boundaries|accessdate=20 March 2024|archive-date=4 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204001357/http://www.nhwnc.net/map-boundaries/|url-status=dead}}Neilson 2009 The eastern section became the sub-neighborhood of North Hills East.{{cite web|url=http://www.northhillseastnc.org/north-hills-east-boundaries.htm|title=Map of North Hills East Neighborhood Council boundaries|access-date=2014-05-28|archive-date=2014-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529052345/http://www.northhillseastnc.org/north-hills-east-boundaries.htm|url-status=dead}}

North Hills East boundaries are east of the 405-San Diego Freeway, along the Pacoima Wash, South of Lassen, and North of Roscoe.2010 Census tracts data.

In June 1999, a damaged airplane landed safely on Hayvenhurst Avenue on its way to Van Nuys Airport.

By the year 2000, the neighborhood had a population of 52,333; Compared to 1990, North Hills had a population increase of 22% by the year 2000, among the highest total increase in the Valley, with a significant increase in Latino American (73.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (52.6%) residents.{{Cite book |last1=Kotkin |first1=Joel |url=https://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/davenport-institute/content/reports/changing-face.pdf |title=The Changing Face of the San Fernando Valley |last2=Ozuna |first2=Erika |date=2002 |publisher=Pepperdine University School of Public Policy |language=en}}

Between January 2010 and January 2011, 300 residents of the community of Woodley Hill signed a petition, initiated by resident Estelle R. Goldman, to separate from North Hills, citing that their issues and property values relate more to Northridge. Woodley Hills is bounded by Lassen and Plummer on the north and south, and by Bull Creek and Woodley on the west and east. The petition was received and filed by the city in April, 2011. The Northridge East Neighborhood Council supported the petition;{{Cite web |date=18 July 2011 |title=Community Impact Statement submitted by Northridge East Neighborhood Council |url=https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2011/11-0584_pc_7-18-11.pdf |website=LA City Clerk}} meanwhile, North Hills West opposed the renaming, stating that property values effects would be minimal and insignificant, that Woodley Hill is a desirable area along with western North Hills and that it would turn Woodley Hill into a less desirable part of Northridge, that stakeholders would potentially want to extend Northridge to the 405 Freeway, that their issues are substantially similar to those of North Hills, and that the change would cause confusion.{{Cite web |date=29 October 2011 |title=Community Impact Statement submitted by North Hills West Neighborhood Council |url=https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2011/11-0584_cis_10-20-11.pdf |website=LA City Clerk}} In early 2012, Goldman stated that she then felt that her statement concerning property values and issues was naïve and she wished to correct it. She amended the reasoning, stating that residents' concerns were that they did not send their children to North Hills Schools, they did not shop in North Hills, and that the nature of the community is purely residential with no businesses or apartments compared to North Hills; she further stated that residents identify more with Northridge because of community interests and socio-economic background.{{Cite web |last=Goldman |first=Estelle R. |date=14 February 2012 |title=Communication from Applicant |url=https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2011/11-0584_pc_2-14-12.pdf |website=LA City Clerk}} The application eventually gained approval and was adopted on August 3, 2012.{{Cite web |title=11-0584 (CFMS) |url=https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=11-0584 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=cityclerk.lacity.org}} While it was initially claimed that neighborhood council boundaries would not be changed, the North Hills West Neighborhood Council approved the transfer of Woodley Hills to Northridge East on March 22, 2013,{{Cite web |date=22 March 2013 |title=North Hills West Neighborhood Council General Board Meeting Minutes |url=https://www.nhwnc.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/3-22-13gbmminutes.pdf |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=North Hills West Neighborhood Council}} followed by approval by Northridge East on April 17,{{Cite web |date=17 April 2013 |title=Northridge East Neighborhood Council Board Meeting Minutes |url=https://nenc-la.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/Minutes_2013-04-17.pdf |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=Northridge East Neighborhood Council}} and the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners in July.{{Cite web |date=17 July 2013 |title=Northridge East Neighborhood Council Agenda |url=https://nenc-la.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/Agenda_2013-07-17.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205184551/https://nenc-la.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/Agenda_2013-07-17.pdf |archive-date=5 December 2020 |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=Northridge East Neighborhood Council}}

On December 6, 2014, a celebration was held for the opening of the over 13,000 square foot Nanak Sadan Sikh Temple and Community Center at Nordhoff Street, followed by the celebration of a regular evening diwan.{{Cite web |last=Parmar |first=Dipal |date=2014-12-15 |title=Nanak Sadan Sikh Gurdwara Gets Grand Opening in North Hills, California |url=https://www.sikh24.com/2014/12/15/nanak-sadan-sikh-gurdwara-gets-grand-opening-in-north-hills-california/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112001659/https://www.sikh24.com/2014/12/15/nanak-sadan-sikh-gurdwara-gets-grand-opening-in-north-hills-california/ |archive-date=2020-11-12 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Sikh24}}

In late March 2016, a local man, Shehada Issa, murdered his wife, Rabihah, and later his son, Amir "Rocky" Issa, at their home on the 1500 block of Rayen Street in North Hills East. Prosecutors found that Amir's sexual orientation was a motivating factor for his murder, later also classified as a hate crime.{{Cite web |last1=Crouch |first1=Angie |last2=Goff |first2=Kelly |date=2016-03-29 |title=Two Dead in North Hills Home |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/two-dead-north-hills-home/2002124/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=NBC Los Angeles |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bugante |first=Kristina |date=2016-04-02 |title=Man Allegedly Killed Son Because He Was Gay: Prosecutors |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/man-charged-shooting-death-north-hills/155109/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=NBC Los Angeles |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=April 2, 2016 |title=North Hills father charged with killing son for being gay |url=https://abc7.com/north-hills-father-gay-shooting-kills-son-hate-crime/1273400/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2017 |title=North Hills man found guilty in murders of wife and son |url=https://abc7.com/north-hills-father-murdered-wife-son-man-killed-gay-shehada-issa/2465609/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2017-10-08 |title=North Hills man who stabbed his wife and shot his son is found guilty of murder – The Homicide Report |url=https://homicide.latimes.com/post/north-hills-man-found-guilty-hate-crime-killing-son-murder-wife/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=homicide.latimes.com |language=en}} It was the second killing of an LGBTQ person in the San Fernando Valley in two years, occurring a year after the murder of a trans woman in neighboring Van Nuys.{{Cite web |last=Martinez |first=Diana |date=2015-02-05 |title=Transgender Van Nuys Woman Killed – Members of the LGBTQ Community Rally |url=http://sanfernandosun.com/2015/02/05/transgender-van-nuys-woman-killed-members-of-the-lgbtq-community-rally/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=The San Fernando Valley Sun |language=en-US}} The murder quickly drew attention from the gay community, and local community group Somos Familia Valle organized a rally on April 4 at Sepulveda Boulevard and Nordhoff Street calling for family acceptance towards LGBTQ children and an end to discrimination and violence in the valley's neighborhoods.{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Ted |date=2016-04-04 |title=LGBT Community Rallies After Slaying of Gay Son |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/lgbt-community-rallies-after-slaying-of-gay-son/2002529/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=NBC Los Angeles |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2016 |title=Dozens rally for peace, tolerance in North Hills after gay man's killing |url=https://abc7.com/north-hills-father-gay-shooting-kills-son-hate-crime/1277335/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Blog Archives |url=http://www.somosfamiliavalle.org/4/archives/04-2016 |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Somos Familia Valle: San Fernando Valley LGBTQ+ Community Organization |language=en}} In September 2017, Shehada Issa was convicted of two counts of first degree murder with Amir's murder being enhanced as a hate crime, and was sentenced to life in prison; there was an attempt to appeal the conviction, but the state appellate court ruled that there was overwhelming evidence of Issa's guilt and in May 2020 the state's Supreme Court refused to review the case.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-27 |title=No appeal for North Hills man in killing of wife and son |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2020/05/27/no-appeal-for-north-hills-man-in-killing-of-wife-and-son/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Daily News |language=en-US}}

As of 2020, about 242 (1.3%) of the approximately 17,977 occupied structures in North Hills were built in 1939 or earlier, 34.9% were built from 1940 to 1959, 34% from 1960 to 1979, 5.2% from 2000 to 2009, 0.9% from 2010 to 2013, and 1% from 2014 or later.{{cite web |date= |title=Table S2504: Physical Housing Characteristics for Occupied Housing Units |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=860XX00US91343&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S2504&moe=true |access-date=October 14, 2022 |website=data.census.gov |series=2016-2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}

Government

= Local government =

{{Main|Government of Los Angeles}}

North Hills is governed locally by the City of Los Angeles and is represented in the Los Angeles City Council by the members elected for districts 6, 7 and 12; each district includes three different sections of the neighborhood.{{Cite web |title=NavigateLA |url=http://navigatela.lacity.org/common/mapgallery/pdf/council_districts/cd7.pdf |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=navigatela.lacity.org}}

class="wikitable"

|+Los Angeles City Council Members

!Council District

!Council Member

!Neighborhood area served

City Council District 6

|Imelda Padilla

|South portion of North Hills East

City Council District 7

|Monica Rodriguez

|North portion of North Hills East

City Council District 12

|John Lee

|North Hills West

== Neighborhood Councils ==

{{Main|Neighborhood councils of Los Angeles}}

Both North Hills East and North Hills West Neighborhood Councils work together to improve the overall quality of life in North Hills communities.

North Hills West Neighborhood Council was certified in 2003.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nhwnc.net/general-information/|title=North Hills West Neighborhood Council: history and information|accessdate=20 March 2024|archive-date=4 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204010701/http://www.nhwnc.net/general-information/|url-status=dead}} Their slogan is "Fostering Community," and its logo is of a green tree in the city. The 2012-2014 North Hills West Neighborhood Council was seated into office on September 20, 2012.{{cite web |last=wpadmin |title=Home New |url=https://www.nhwnc.net/}} A northwestern section became part of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council in 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://nenc-la.org/area-information/boundaries/|title=Boundaries|accessdate=20 March 2024}}

North Hills East Neighborhood Council was certified in 2010.{{cite web |title=North Hills East Neighborhood Council website |url=http://www.northhillseastnc.org/index.htm |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=2014-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529065551/http://www.northhillseastnc.org/index.htm |url-status=dead }} It has a growing, multicultural group of neighbors dedicated to service and community activism. In early 2014, North Hills East Neighborhood Council was approved as an Official Certifying Organization for the President's Volunteer Service Awards program, which is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the same organization responsible for AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. This status as an Official Certifying Organization has enabled the North Hills East Neighborhood Council to verify hours and eligibility for volunteers to receive an award, which, depending on number of hours worked can range from a pin to a personalized letter from the President of the United States. More about the awards can be found here: www.presidentialserviceawards.gov Volunteers do not have to be a resident or stakeholder of North Hills East to qualify for a President's Volunteer Service Award.

= Federal and State legislature representation =

The neighborhood is represented federally by the congress member elected for California's 29th congressional district and both senators from California. On the state level, it is represented by the state assembly member elected for California's 46th State Assembly District and the state senator elected for California's 20th State Senate district.

{{Columns-start}}

class="wikitable"

|+Federal representatives

!United States Congress

* Tony Cardenas (California's 29th congressional district)
United States Senate
* Laphonza Butler

{{Column}}

class="wikitable"

|+State representatives

!California State Assembly

* Jesse Gabriel (California State Assembly District 46)
California State Senate
* Caroline Menjivar (California State Senate District 20)

{{Columns-end}}

Demographics

= 2020 census =

In the 2020 census, North Hills had a total population of 53,764 just within its Neighborhood Council boundaries.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Total Population. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P1 (Census Block Group 2, Tract 1173.01; Block Group 3, Tract 1173.01) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P1?t=Population%20Total&g=1500000US060371173012,060371173013 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau }}{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Total Population. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P1 (Census tracts 1174.07, 1174.05, 1174.04, 1173.03, 1172.02, 1175.10, 1174.08, 1275.20, 1175.20, 1172.01, 1171.02, 1175.30, 1171.01) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P1?t=Population%20Total&g=1400000US06037117101,06037117102,06037117201,06037117202,06037117303,06037117404,06037117405,06037117407,06037117408,06037117510,06037117520,06037117530,06037127520 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}}This includes people counted in the census tracts and census block groups located within the boundaries of the North Hills West and North Hills East Neighborhood Councils. The population in the 91343 ZCTA was 62,595;{{Cite web |title=ZCTA5 91343 |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/ZCTA5_91343?g=860XX00US91343 |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} this covers all of North Hills West and most of North Hills East boundaries, while including portions within Northridge East and Granada Hills South's boundaries. The average population density is about 10,591.4 per square mile within the ZTCA's 5.91 square miles.{{Cite web |title=91343 |url=https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/91343/ |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=United States Zip Codes}} 31,132 people (49.7%) were identified as male and 31,463 (50.3%) as female.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Sex by Age for Selected Age Categories. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P12 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P12?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} The 2020 age distribution was 14,684 people (23.5%) under 18, 6,599 people (10.5%) from 18 to 24, 17,925 people (28.6%) from 25 to 44, 15,458 people (24.7%) from 45 to 64, and 7,929 people (12.7%) who were 65 or older, The median age was 35.8.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Median Age by Sex. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P13 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P13?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}}

== Housing ==

There were 18,545 housing units, at an average density of 3,137.9 units per square mile, of which 18,117 units were occupied and 428 were vacant.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Occupancy Status. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table H3 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.H3?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} 9,127 occupied units (50.4%) were owned; 7,470 (81.8% of owner-occupied units) were owned with a mortgage or a loan and the remaining 1,657 (18.2%) were owned free and clear. 8,990 units (49.6% of occupied units) were rented.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Tenure. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table H4 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.H4?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} In terms of household size, 2,828 units (14.6%) were 1-person households, 4,005 units (22.1%) had 2 people, 10,281 (56.7%) had 3 to 6 people, and 1,003 (5.5%) had 7 or more.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Household Size. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table H9 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.H9?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} 14,173 units (78.2%) were family households; 8,942 (63.1% of family households) were married couple family households and the remaining 5,231 (36.9%) were occupied by families with unmarried householders. 3,944 units (21.8%) were nonfamily households.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Household Type. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P16 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} Of vacant units, 211 were for rent and 13 were rented but not occupied, 17 were for sale and 21 were sold but not occupied, and 11 were for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Vacancy Status. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table H5 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.H5?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}}

== Race and ethnicity ==

In 2020, the makeup of racial identity in North Hills included: 16,580 (26.5%) people who identified as White, 2,704 (4.3%) as Black or African-American, 1,035 (1.7%) Native American, 9,606 (15.3%) Asian, 98 (0.02%) Pacific Islander, 23,701 (37.9%) identified as other races, and 8,871 (14.2%) as two or more races.{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Race. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P3 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P3?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} 12,012 people identified as Non-Hispanic White (19.2% of total pop., 72.4% of White people).{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race. Decennial Census, DEC Demographic and Housing Characteristics, Table P5 |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P5?g=860XX00US91343&y=2020&d=DEC%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Characteristics |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}}

36,701 people (58.6%) identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race. At 23,290 people, most Latinos (63.5%) identified as some other race, followed by 7,532 (20.5%) who identified with two or more races; 4,568 (12.4%) Latinos identified as White, 966 (3%) identified as Native American, and 166 (0.5%) identified as Black.

= Other data =

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these North Hills community statistics: median household income: $52,456.{{Cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills|title="North Hills" entry on the Los Angeles Times "Mapping L.A." website|accessdate=20 March 2024}} Population size is 60,254 according to 2010 Census data. This summarizes both sides of the 405 freeway. The North Hills West neighborhood had 24,000 residents in 2009. The North Hills East neighborhood had nearly 40,000 residents in 2010.

According to Mapping L.A., Mexican (38.4%) and German (2.8%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (47.3%) and El Salvador (12.2%) were the most common foreign places of birth in 2000.{{Cite web|url=https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills/|title=North Hills|website=Mapping L.A.|accessdate=20 March 2024}}

The 91343 ZCTA had a 60.9% employment rate and had a median household income of $77,790 according to 2022 estimates.

Education

=Public schools=

The community is served by schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-re-guide1feb01,1,4538259.story |title=Treasures amid Valley bustle |website=www.latimes.com |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128093020/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-re-guide1feb01,1,4538259.story |archive-date=28 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}

Gledhill Street Elementary School, Langdon Avenue Elementary School, Mayall Street School, and Parthenia Street School serve North Hills.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lausd.org/domain/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lausd.org%2Fsite%2Fdefault.aspx%3FDomainID%3D4|title=Los Angeles Unified School District / Homepage|website=www.lausd.org|accessdate=20 March 2024}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Most students attend Sepulveda Middle School. Those students residing west of Woodley Avenue attend Holmes Middle School.{{cite web|url=http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Holmes_MS/|title=You are about to leave the LAUSD Network|website=www.lausd.k12.ca.us}}

North Hills high school students attend James Monroe High School.{{Cite web |url=http://monroe.lausd.k12.ca.us/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115025518/http://monroe.lausd.k12.ca.us/ |archive-date=2006-01-15 |url-status=dead }}

There are magnet programs in some schools, such as the Sepulveda Middle School which has a Gifted / High Ability Magnet, and Kennedy High School which has an Architecture/Digital Arts Magnet. A school bus is provided if pupils are more than 5 miles away from the school. North Hills West is also served by charter schools of all grades.

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Public Schools in North Hills{{Cite web|url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills/schools/#public|title=North Hills|website=Mapping L.A.|access-date=2017-01-21|archive-date=2017-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202012950/http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills/schools/#public|url-status=dead}}

!Name

!Grades

Mayall Street Elementary

|K-5

Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet

|K-5

Lassen Elementary

|K-5

Francisco Sepulveda Middle

|6-8

Gledhill Street Elementary

|K-5

Albert Einstein Continuation

|9-12

Valley Region Elementary No. 12

|K-5

Plummer Elementary

|K-5

James Monroe High

|9-12

Valley Charter Elementary

|K-5

Our Community Charter

|K-8

Rosa Parks Learning Center

|K-5

Langdon Avenue Elementary

|K-5

Noble Avenue Elementary

|K-5

Vista Middle

|6-8

== Local school district administration ==

North Hills schools are locally administered by the Regional Superintendent for LAUSD Region North. The neighborhood schools are represented in the LAUSD Board of Education by the members for district 3, which covers most of North Hills West, and district 6, which covers North Hills East and a portion of West including Gledhill Street Elementary and Monroe High.

{{Columns-start}}

class="wikitable"

|+LAUSD Regional Superintendents

!Region

!Superintendent

!Neighborhood area served

North

|David Baca{{Cite web |title=Region North |url=https://www.lausd.org/Page/19254 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302194728/https://www.lausd.org/Page/19254 |archive-date=2 Mar 2024 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.lausd.org |language=en}}

|Whole neighborhood{{Cite web |title=Regions Maps |url=https://www.lausd.org/Page/18933 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222205902/https://www.lausd.org/Page/18933 |archive-date=22 February 2024 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.lausd.org |language=en}}

{{Column}}

class="wikitable"

|+LAUSD Board of Education Board Members{{Cite web |title=Board of Education Homepage |url=https://www.lausd.org/boe |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=lausd.org |language=en}}

!District

!Board Member

!Neighborhood area served{{Cite web |title=Board of Education Districts Maps |url=https://www.lausd.org/Page/8686 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221231829/https://www.lausd.org/Page/8686 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |access-date=24 June 2024 |website=www.lausd.org |language=en}}

3

|Scott Schmerelson

|Most of North Hills West{{Cite web |title=District 3 Map |url=https://boardmemberscott.org/about/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=Scott Schmerelson |language=en-US}}

6

|Kelly Gonez

|North Hills East and small portion of West{{Cite web |title=Board District 6 Map |url=https://www.lausd.org/domain/815 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.lausd.org |language=en}}

{{Columns-end}}

= Public Charter Schools =

Valor Academy High School is a free public charter high school in North Hills. It is under the Bright Star Schools administration which operates eight other schools across Los Angeles. Valor Academy Elementary School and Valor Academy Middle School are also in North Hills and within close distance of each other. As of 2025, there are 530 students attending Valor Academy High School.{{Cite web |title=Valor Academy High School |url=https://brightstarschools.org/VAHS |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=brightstarschools.org |language=en}}

=Private schools=

The private and parochial schools in North Hills include Valley Park Baptist, Valley Presbyterian School, Heritage Christian, Our Lady of Peace, and Church of the Living Word. Los Angeles Baptist High School also serves the community and in 2012, was combined with Heritage Christian High School.

Several North Hills residents serve as host families to international students studying in the US. As of early 2014, about 50 foreign exchange students are attending school in the North Hills area. Host families get to share their way of life and culture with the students, and at the same time learn more about the students and their home countries.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Private Schools in North Hills{{Cite web|url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/north-hills/schools/#private|title=North Hills|website=Mapping L.A.|access-date=2017-01-21}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

!Name

!Grades

Los Angeles Baptist Middle School/High School

|6-12

North Hills Prep

|7-12

Valley Presbyterian Elementary

|K-6

Our Lady of Peace Elementary

|K-8

Centers of Learning

|K-12

New Generation

|K-6

Holy Martyrs Armenian Elementary

|K-5

Valley High School/Site 1

|6-12

Valley High School/Site 2

|6-12

= Public library =

The Los Angeles Public Library Mid-Valley Regional Branch, one of the biggest in the San Fernando Valley, is located on Nordhoff Street at Woodley Avenue in North Hills.{{cite web |title=Mid-Valley Regional Library – Los Angeles Public Library |url=https://www.lapl.org/branches/mid-valley |website=www.lapl.org}}

Infrastructure

= Transport =

File:San Diego Freeway 405 - panoramio.jpg

California Interstate 405 has direct access to the neighborhood on two points: exit 68 on Roscoe Boulevard and exit 69 on Nordhoff Street.{{cite web |date=March 17, 2020 |title=Interstate 405 Freeway Interchanges |url=https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/safety-programs/documents/exit/calnexus-i-405-03-2020-a11y.pdf |access-date=October 22, 2020 |work=California Numbered Exit Uniform System |publisher=California Department of Transportation}} Main thoroughfares include Sepulveda and Roscoe boulevards; Hayvenhurst, Woodley, and Haskell avenues; Lassen, Plummer, and Nordhoff streets. These thoroughfares, as is the case in most of the San Fernando Valley, are arranged in a grid pattern with north–south ways labeled as avenues and east–west ways labeled as streets.

Bicycle infrastructure in the neighborhood includes marked street-side bike lanes on Devonshire Street, on Nordhoff Street starting eastward from Orion Avenue, Parthenia Street eastward from Burnet Avenue, and south–north lanes on Woodley Avenue. Plummer Street is designated as a bike route, allowing cyclists to share space with other vehicular traffic.{{Cite web |title=City of Los Angeles Bikeways |url=https://lahub.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?layers=8cecdd0293264602bef3432e8d7a4afe |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=lahub.maps.arcgis.com}}{{Cite web |title=LA County Bikeways Map |url=https://dpw.lacounty.gov/bike/map.cfm |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=dpw.lacounty.gov}}

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates Metro Bus local lines 152,{{Cite web |title=152 Metro Local Line |url=https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=LA Metro |language=en-US}} 166,{{Cite web |title=166 Metro Local Line |url=https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=LA Metro |language=en-US}} 167,{{Cite web |title=167 Metro Local Line |url=https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=LA Metro |language=en-US}} 234,{{Cite web |title=234 Metro Local Line |url=https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=LA Metro |language=en-US}} and 237{{Cite web |title=237 Metro Local Line |url=https://www.metro.net/riding/schedules/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=LA Metro |language=en-US}} through the neighborhood and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation's Panorama City/Van Nuys DASH route also runs through part of the neighborhood.{{Cite web |title=DASH Panorama City/Van Nuys {{!}} LADOT Transit |url=https://www.ladottransit.com/dash/routes/panoramacityvannuys/panoramacityvannuys.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.ladottransit.com}}

= Parks and recreation =

There are few public parks and recreational facilities within the neighborhood. North Hills Community Park is a {{Convert|3.895|acre|adj=on}}{{Cite web |title=Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Boundaries |url=https://geohub.lacity.org/datasets/lahub::los-angeles-recreation-and-parks-boundaries/about |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=geohub.lacity.org |language=en-us}} recreational space in the more densely populated area of North Hills East, with a children's play areas and sports facilities which host several youth sports programs.{{Cite web |title=North Hills Community Park {{!}} City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |url=https://www.laparks.org/park/north-hills-community |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.laparks.org |language=en}} The park was established in 2001 as Sepulveda Park West,{{Cite news |last=García |first=Irene |date=14 December 2000 |title=Land to be Bought for New Park: Recreation: Tobacco Tax Funds Will be used for Parcel that Completes 3 1/2-Acre Area Envisioned when Adjacent Field was Purchased Two Years Ago |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2109167479 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page= |pages=Valley Edition, p. B5 |volume= |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|2109167479}}}}{{Cite news |last=Stassel |first=Stephanie |date=12 October 2001 |title=New Park Rises on Site of Old Strip Club |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2148606792 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Valley Edition, p. B4 |volume= |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|2148606792}}}} and it continues to be the only proper recreational park within the neighborhood as of 2024. The Mid-Valley Library in North Hills West is in a {{Convert|7.5|acre|adj=on}} site which had been previously dedicated as the Nordhoff Recreation Center in 1978 before funds were available to build the library.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=11 May 1978 |title=7.5-Acre Site to be Dedicated as Park and Baseball Diamond |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/158599487 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |page=Part VII: San Fernando Valley, p. 2 |volume=XCVII |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|158599487}}}} The library building and parking spaces covered more than half of the original site when the park became the library campus in 1996,{{Cite news |last=Taub |first=Daniel |date=16 March 1996 |title=Crowds Check Out New Library Branch On Its Opening Day Mid-Valley Branch Embodies 30-Year Plan |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/281527955 |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=Los Angeles Daily News |page= |volume= |no-pp=y |id={{ProQuest|281527955}}}} but an open grassy area with paved footpaths and benches remains.

More parkland and recreational facilities are located outside the neighborhood. The large, {{Convert|10.587|acre|adj=on}}, Sepulveda Recreation Center provides access to parkland and recreational facilities to residents, especially those in North Hills East. Despite sharing North Hills' former name, it is actually located in Panorama City, just outside the neighborhood's east boundary on the Pacoima Wash.{{Cite web |title=Sepulveda Recreation Center {{!}} City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |url=https://www.laparks.org/reccenter/sepulveda |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.laparks.org |language=en}} Other parks near North Hills East include the Albert Piantanida Intergenerational Center,{{Cite web |title=Albert Piantanida Intergenerational Center {{!}} City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |url=https://www.laparks.org/mid-valley-intergenerational-multipurpose-center |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.laparks.org |language=en}} and Marson Street Pocket Park, both in Panorama City, as well as Devonwood Park in Mission Hills. To the west, Dearborn Park in Northridge also provides recreation and parkland to residents.{{Cite web |title=Dearborn Park {{!}} City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |url=https://www.laparks.org/park/dearborn |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.laparks.org |language=en}}

In 2022, there was an unsuccessful movement by community members and residents to prevent the construction of a new charter school on Plummer Street in North Hills East and promoting the creation of a park. They cited a desire to preserve and create a public use for a historic house on the site which dates to the settlement of Mission Acres and was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument,{{Cite web |title=22-0975 (CFMS) |url=https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=22-0975 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=cityclerk.lacity.org}}{{Cite web |title=Historic Landmark Programs {{!}} Los Angeles City Planning |url=https://planning.lacity.gov/preservation-design/historic-landmark-programs |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=planning.lacity.gov}} and the lack of green space in the neighborhood. While the house is to be preserved, plans went forward for the construction of the Valor Academy Elementary School.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-06 |title=Protestors rallied at one of oldest houses in North Hills to stop school from being built |url=https://abc7.com/north-hills-protestors-plummer-street-house-valor-academy/12021640/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-20 |title=New permanent campus for Valor Academy Elementary School may be coming to North Hills |url=https://abc7.com/valor-academy-elementary-school-la-city-council-north-hills/13271026/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}

= Healthcare =

North Hills is home to the large Veterans Administration Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center campus, which serves veterans in the San Fernando Valley, with residential and outpatient care.{{cite web |last=Affairs |first=VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veterans |title=Sepulveda VA Medical Center – VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System |url=https://www.losangeles.va.gov/locations/directions-SACC.asp |website=www.losangeles.va.gov}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.va.gov/greater-los-angeles-health-care/|title=VA Greater Los Angeles health care|website=Veterans Affairs|accessdate=20 March 2024}}

Landmarks

A {{convert|12|ft|m}} ivy poodle living sculpture is located on a utility pole at Plummer Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue, next to Bull Creek. The poodle was originally sculpted by North Hills resident Brian Welch in the 1980s and it quickly became a local celebrity. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ordered the sculpture removed in 1987, but Welch ignored the order. In the 2010s, the Welches began a tradition of turning the poodle to a reindeer each December.{{cite news |author=Ethan Varian |title=Here's the story behind North Hills' beloved ivy poodle and its annual reindeer makeover |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2017/12/11/heres-the-story-behind-north-hills-beloved-ivy-poodle-and-its-annual-reindeer-makeover/ |newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News |date=December 22, 2023}}

= Filming locations =

Many locations in North Hills have been used for various films, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Halloween, Halloween II, American Beauty, and Step Brothers. Several of these films shot in the Sepulveda VA Clinic, such as Step Brothers, where the area was used to film a fight between two men and a group of kids. Additionally, one of the most famous moments in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in which the T-1000 drives a semi-truck through an overpass wall and into a channelized river, was filmed at Bull Creek's Plummer Street/Hayvenhurst Avenue overpass.{{Cite web |title=North Hills |url=https://filmoblivion.com/tag/north-hills/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Film Oblivion |date=15 January 2019 |language=en}}

Notable people

  • Bart Andrus, professional football coach and former collegiate player
  • Felix Barajas, soccer player{{Cite web |title=LA Galaxy |url=http://glxy.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=1654414&player=150943007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515161847/http://glxy.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=1654414&player=150943007 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=U.S. Soccer Development Academy}}
  • Kerry Rossall, stuntman and actor
  • Sharon Shapiro, gymnast

Notes

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{Cite book |last=Gumprecht |first=Blake |url=https://archive.org/details/losangelesriveri0000gump |title=The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-8018-6642-1 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |oclc=607227293 |via=Internet Archive}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Jorgensen |first=Lawrence C. |title=The San Fernando Valley Past and Present |publisher=Pacific Rim Research |year=1982 |isbn=0-941014-00-2 |location=Los Angeles, California |oclc=8668305}}
  • {{Cite book |last1=Link |first1=Tom |title=Universal City – North Hollywood: a centennial portrait: an illustrated history |last2=Cordova-Molmud |first2=Laura |last3=Kelly |first3=Robert J. |publisher=Windsor Publications |year=1991 |isbn=0-89781-393-6 |edition=1st |location=Chatsworth, California |oclc=22812623}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Pauley |first=Kenneth E. |url=http://archive.org/details/sanfernandoreyde0000paul |title=San Fernando, Rey de España : an illustrated history |date=2005 |publisher=Arthur H. Clark Company |isbn=978-0-87062-338-7 |location=Spokane, Washington |page=199 |via=Internet Archive}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Roderick |first=Kevin |title=The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb |publisher=Los Angeles Times Books |year=2002 |isbn=1-883792-55-X |edition=2nd |oclc=611202438 |orig-date=2001}}