Lake Balboa, Los Angeles, California

Lake Balboa is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California.

It is bordered by the following Los Angeles communities: Encino to the south, Van Nuys to the east, Reseda to the west, and Northridge and North Hills to the north.

It is named for a 27 acre artificial lake that is actually in Anthony C. Beilenson Park. The lake was created out of farm land in the early 1990s at the bottom of real estate bust in the San Fernando Valley. It is now part of a recreational park adjacent to the Balboa Park Golf Course with abundant fish, birds, mature flowering trees and scenic open and covered picnic areas. Real estate values in the surrounding area of Lake Balboa have dramatically increased in past years and have made such properties more desirable to potential buyers. The lake is supplied with water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, operated by the city's Bureau of Sanitation.

There was debate about the official recognition of Lake Balboa as a community by the City of Los Angeles. The reason for this stems from the fact that the community of Lake Balboa was created by Councilman Dennis Zine in 2002 before the existence of any formal community naming process. As a result, the community of Lake Balboa was created under the best practices known at the time. It was only later, in January 2006, that the City of Los Angeles adopted a formal community naming process (City of Los Angeles Council File Number 02-0196). This debate had important implications for the official existence of many other Los Angeles communities that were created prior to January 2006. These communities include Arleta, North Hills, Porter Ranch, Valley Glen, Valley Village, West Hills, Winnetka, and many others.

History

On November 2, 2007 the City Council of Los Angeles approved a motion renaming a larger portion of Van Nuys to Lake Balboa. The new boundaries are as follows: [ [http://www.lakebalboanc.org/pdf/lakebalboamap.pdf] ]
*The I-405 freeway from where it meets the 101 Freeway north to Saticoy Street,
*Saticoy Street west to Valjean Avenue,
*Valjean Avenue south to Vanowen Street,
*Vanowen Street west to Hayvenhurs Avenue,
*Hayvenhurst Avenue north to Saticoy Street,
*Saticoy Street west to Balboa Boulevard,
*Balboa Boulevard north to Balboa Place and then north to Roscoe Boulevard,
*Roscoe Boulevard west to Louise Avenue (south side of Roscoe Boulevard from Balboa Boulevard to Louise Avenue will remain in Northridge with the 91325 zip code),
*Louise Avenue south to Saticoy Street (east side of Louise Avenue from Roscoe Boulevard to Stagg Street will remain Northridge with the 91325 zip code),
*Saticoy Street west to White Oak Avenue,
*White Oak Avenue south to Victory Boulevard,
*Victory Boulevard east to Balboa Boulevard,
*Balboa Boulevard south to the Los Angeles River,
*The Los Angeles River southeasterly to where the 101 and I-405 Freeways meet.

These new boundaries were the compromise plan worked out with Los Angeles City Councilpersons Greig Smith (CD12) and Tony Cardenas (CD6) that kept Van Nuys Airport and the predominately industrial area north of Saticoy Street east of the airport in Van Nuys.

Emergency services

Lifeguarding service

The [http://lacitylifeguards.pyroinnovations.com Los Angeles City Lifeguards] are responsible for water safety at this recreation area.

Fire service

Los Angeles Fire Department operates [http://lafd.org/fs100.htm Station 100] (West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa), serving the community.

Police service

The Los Angeles Police Department operates the nearby Van Nuys Community Police Station at 6420 Sylmar Avenue, 91401, serving the neighborhood [http://www.lapdonline.org/van_nuys_community_police_station] .

Education

The area primary and secondary schools are operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Birmingham High School is Lake Balboa's high school. [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Mulholland_MS/ Mulholland Middle School] is Lake Balboa's middle school.

Elementary schools include:
* [http://www.lausd.net/Bassett_St_EL/ Bassett Street Elementary School]
* [http://www.lausd.net/Cohasset_EL/ Cohasset Elementary School]
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Gault_EL/ Gault Street Elementary School]
* [http://www.staggelementary.org/ Stagg Street Elementary School]

References