About Us
Panorama City, California — “Heart of the Valley”
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This land used to be occupied by the Tongva Native Americans. It was a beautiful, fertile area with many native flowers, plants and animals. The land that is now Panorama City was covered by the San Fernando mission.
Panorama City was the first planned community on the West Coast. In 1947, developer Fritz B. Burns partnered with industrialist Henry J. Kaiser in the collaboration of Kaiser Community Homes and purchased 411 acres of the Pellissier family's Panorama Ranch. In 1950 the company purchased another 400 acres south of Roscoe Blvd.
Here, on this former farming land, located in the center of the still largely undeveloped San Fernando Valley and dictated by the remoteness of the area from other Valley population centers, Burns envisioned and embarked upon building a "total community," a city within a city, with equal weight given to attractive, well-built homes, schools, churches, recreation, and shopping.
A central business district surrounded by homes still defines the community. The parks, schools, churches and curved residential streets that intersect in unexpected ways still serve their original purposes. An industrial district runs along the Union Pacific right of way. A shopping center, police and fire facilities, and office buildings have replaced the General Motors Van Nuys assembly plant. A beautiful Panorama High School now sits on the old Carnation laboratory site where Coffeemate was invented.
Panorama City has always been a suburban home for young working families. Veterans returning from the Second World War bought the original two-bedroom, one-bath, 900 square foot ranch style homes. Today the community of approximately 75,000 is diverse, with a Latino majority, a significant Filipino population, and African-American, Anglo and Armenian minorities.
Early signs proclaimed Panorama City “The Heart Of The Valley”. Encompassing zip code 91402, its central location between the 405 and 170 Freeways and north of the railroad line to Ventura makes it the most conveniently located area in the Valley for transportation; nearby are the Flyaway bus terminal to LAX, the Burbank airport, 118, and 5 freeways, and a local Amtrak station. Panorama City is also a Metro bus transit hub, with a new light rail line along Van Nuys Blvd planned to open in 2028.
Panorama City’s single family homes remain among the most affordable houses in the Valley. They are comparable in price to houses in the distant desert areas of Palmdale and Lancaster, and yet are located in attractive neighborhoods minutes away from jobs and commuter corridors. The west side of Panorama City has been converted almost entirely to apartments, in the largest concentration of apartments in the Valley.
Who We Are
We are an all-volunteer council made up of people who want to help our neighborhood. We are constantly looking for others who share the same drive to improve our community and love when people share their input and enthusiasm! Join us at a meeting today! We care: come and share.
The neighborhood council represents
all of the interests in the community. Because of this, it is an effective resouce for community action. The council advocates for the social and business interests of the Panorama City area, and organizes community members and partners in community improvement efforts.
The City of Los Angeles provides modest funding for official city advisory agencies called Neighborhood Councils. These volunteer efforts have the right to advise on all city services for a local community. There is a governing board that is elected every two years. Anyone who lives, works or owns property in the neighborhood, or who declares some other factual stake, is eligible to run for a seat on the Board and to vote in neighborhood council elections. Panorama City’s Board of Directors has seats for homeowners, renters and business people, and provides that none of the groups can form a majority of the Board.
In Panorama City, there are 21 seats on the council’s Board of Directors, plus 5 Alternate positions. However, the council can only be as effective as the number of volunteers that participate. Most of the council’s work is done in committees. All committees are open to anyone with an interest in Panorama City. You do not need an official seat on the Board or an Alternate position to be an active participant in the council. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join in the council’s efforts to improve Panorama City.
Meetings
Join us once a month at the Panorama City Neighborhood Council Board Meeting and find out what is happening in the community. Everything from crime reports to city politics to local schools is covered. The Board meets on the fourth Thursday of every month at 6:30 PM.* Meetings are held at the Mission Community Hospital Medical Office Building, 14860 Roscoe Blvd, west of Willis, in Room 208. Free parking is available in the parking structure on the east side of the hospital campus.
*Because of holidays, meetings in November and December are the 3rd Thursdays.
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