Simi Valley, California

Location of Simi Valley, California

Simi Valley is an incorporated city located in the extreme southeast corner of Ventura County, California, bordering the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the Greater Los Angeles Area. As of the 2004 census, the city had a total population of 119,987.

Known today as the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, it ranks as the seventh safest U.S. city with a population between 100,000 and 500,000, according in the most recent annual survey. However, it also has gained notoriety as the location of the infamous 1992 trial of the four Los Angeles Police officers accused of beating Rodney King that sparked riots in Los Angeles on April 29, 1992.

The hills surrounding Simi Valley, because of their remote locations, have also been chosen as locations for religious and communal cults such as Pisgah Grande), the Blackburn Cult) and the WKFL Fountain of the World) led by Krishna Venta. Charles Manson and his 'family' lived at the Spahn Movie Ranch on the east side of the Santa Susana pass road near Chatsworth, an adjacent neighborhood within the city limits of Los Angeles.

Geography

Simi Valley is located at 34°16'16" North, 118°44'22" West (34.271078, -118.739428)Template:GR.

Simi Valley is located 700 - 1,000 feet (213 - 304 meters) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 102.1 km² (39.4 mi²). 101.5 km² (39.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.63% water.

Simi Valley is located 3 miles (4.83 km) north of the city of Los Angeles' Border community of Chatsworth and 40 miles (64.4 km) from Downtown Los Angeles, 380 miles (611.6 km) south of San Francisco, 160 miles (257.5 km) north of San Diego, and 350 miles (563.3 km) south of Sacramento. Commutes to Los Angeles are easy via the 118 Freeway and the Southern California Metrolink Commuter Train, which makes several daily trips from Simi Valley.

Simi Valley borders the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, Simi Hills to the east and south. Simi Valley is connected to the nearby San Fernando Valley by Santa Susana Pass to the extreme east of Simi Valley.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 111,351 people, 36,421 households, and 28,954 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,097.3/km² (2,841.9/mi²). There are 37,272 housing units at an average density of 367.3/km² (951.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 89.33% White, 1.26% Black or African American, 0.70% Native American, 6.33% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 6.50% from other races, and 3.74% from two or more races. 3.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 36,421 households out of which 42.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% are married couples living together, 10.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% are non-families. 14.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.04 and the average family size is 3.33. Many families of young children moved to Simi Valley in the 1970s and 1980s for affordable housing than in the nearby San Fernando Valley and across Los Angeles.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.6 males. By 2000, Simi Valley had more middle-aged adults - the majority of whom are white-collar professionals who commuted daily to Los Angeles, than the very old (senior citizens) or the young (under age 20) in terms of age demographics.

Simi Valley has one of the highest percentages of whites of any large community in Southern California. The city for years struggled to dispel a stereotype that the city is under racist or reactionary influences (such as neo-Nazi and KKK activity). The 1992 trial of four police officers in the Rodney King case was held at the California State Courthouse in Simi Valley, and the acquittal of the four officer helped to fuel some of the negative claims. In fact, Simi Valley has a large Jewish community and growing communities of middle-class blacks, Latinos and Asians. An Iranian-language radio station is based in Simi Valley.

Income

The median income for a household in the city is $70,370, and the median income for a family is $75,140. Males have a median income of $51,003 versus $35,237 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,586. 5.8% of the population and 3.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Once depicted a community of farmers and blue-collar workers, Simi Valley since incorporation in 1969 became an affluent suburban community after three decades of housing development and economic growth. Home values in the city's western section, the communities of Kanan Ranch and Tierra Rejada are worth over $400,000 as of 2006, much higher than in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Climate

Month	Average Temp. (°F)			Rainfall	Humidity (%)
	Min.	Mean	Max.	Inches	High	Low
Jan.	42	49	57	9.00	70	50
Apr	47	58	70	0.25	50	35
Jul.	62	71	81	0.00	50	38
Oct.	52	63	74	0.33	75	45
Year	51	60	71	9.58	61	42

Prevailing Wind Direction: SW
Average Wind Speed: 7 - 11mph

History

Pre-Colonial Period

Simi Valley was once inhabited by Chumash Indians. Along the coast they had an abundant supply of fish from the ocean. They ate seeds from sage, acorns from the oak trees, berries, and small animals. They were very skilled in making wooden bowls. Some writers think that the name of Simi Valley came from the Chumash word "Shimiji", meaning little white clouds.

Colonial Town

El Rancho Simi was the earliest Spanish colonial land grant within Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. It was one of the largest lands, but later when Mexico became independent from Spain, land was handed out much more freely. The small colonial town known as "Santa Susana del Rancho Simi" thrived in the late 19th century and had a Spanish-speaking majority, but many Anglo-Americans arrived to settle lands into farms, orchards and groves dominated the valley's landscape until 1980.

For a brief time, its postal address was known as Simiopolis, though it was soon shortened again to Simi by 1910. The first public school was built in 1890 in the northeast but was torn down in 1926. There was also a great deal of destruction caused by a flood in 1952. The city incorporated as Simi Valley in 1969, when the area had only 10,000 residents. In 1972, Boys Town West was founded in the eastern end of Simi Valley and the youth camp/ home facility is based on an older larger one in Boys Town, Nebraska.

Rodney King Trial

On November 26, 1991 Judge Stanley Weisberg of the California Court of Appeals selected Simi Valley as the venue for the case against four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. The officers (Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Brisenio) were accused of using unnecessary force in a March 3, 1991 beating of an African-American motorist "Rodney" Glen King. The case known as the Rodney King Trial was based on footage recorded on home video recorded by a bystander (George Holliday). The now famous video was broadcast nationally and caused tremendous response because the beating was believed to be racially motivated.

On April 29, 1992 a Ventura County jury (made up of ten whites, one Hispanic, and one Filipino-American) acquitted three of the four officers (Koon, Wind, and Brisenio) and did not reach a verdict on one (Powell). The acquittal led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and mass protest around the country.

Wildfires

Southern California has a high fire risk (which broke out in several fires across Southern California in October 2003). Hot weather and high winds caused several fires to spread rapidly over a short period of time. The fires that burned in the hills of Simi Valley endangered the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Most of the city was surrounded by flames as homeowners packed up their bags, ready to evacuate. The blazes were extinguished with relatively little damage.

The 2005 fire started on September 28th at an estimated 7,000 acres. On September 29th, the fire was estimated to be 17,000 acres. More than 1,000 firefighters worked against the tricky combination of dry brush, low humidity and temperatures in the high 90s along the line that divides Los Angeles and Ventura counties. About 45 evacuees gathered at Canoga Park High School in the San Fernando Valley where the Red Cross had set up cots and provided meals. One firefighter was struck on the head by a 40-pound boulder and was taken to a hospital, officials said. The fire was later brought under control and extiguished, without serious injury. Three homes were lost in outlying areas. None within the city limits.

Landmarks

Simi Valley is home to two California Historical Landmarks:

NO. 939 Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (Thematic) - GRANDMA PRISBREY'S BOTTLE VILLAGE - This fantastic assemblage is one of California's remarkable Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments. In 1956, Tressa Prisbrey, then nearly 60 years old, started building a fanciful 'village' of shrines, walkways, sculptures, and buildings from recycled items and discards from the local dump. She worked for 25 years creating one structure after another to house her collections. Today, Bottle Village is composed of 13 buildings and 20 sculptures. Location: 4595 Cochran St, Simi Valley

NO. 979 RANCHO SIMI - This is the site of the headquarters of the Spanish Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi. The name derives from 'Shimiji,' the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. At 113,000 acres, Rancho Simi was one of the state's largest land grants. Two prominent Spanish and Mexican family names are connected with the Rancho: Santiago Pico who first received the grant, and José de la Guerra who purchased the Rancho in 1842. Two rooms of original adobe remain, part of the Strathearn home built in. Location: Robert P Strathearn Historical Park, 137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-78000825

Infrastructure

Simi Valley Station is used by Amtrak and Metrolink and is located at 5000 Los Angeles Avenue, west of Stearns Street. Simi Valley Transit buses stop on Los Angeles Avenue in front of the station. There are connections from Simi Valley north to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, and south to Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties. These trains, as well as the buses, run 7 days a week and stop in Simi Valley several times each day. The Simi Valley station is unstaffed; however, tickets are available from automated ticket dispensers, conductors onboard the trains, travel agents, by telephone, or from the Amtrak and Metrolink websites.

Industry

In Simi Valley there are two main areas of industry--one in the eastern part of the city and the other one in the west. The primary industry is machinery and tools with 69 firms, and the secondary is the metal Industry with 51 firms, both situated in the eastern and western industrial areas. Other industries such as Lumber/Wood Products, Food, Plastic Products, Apparel/Textiles and Minerals, are also largely concentrated in these industrial areas.

The Volkswagen of America Design Center is in an industrial complex across from the Costco wholesale club near Madera and Cochran.

Simi Valley is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which has been visited by more than 800,000 people since it opened. Reagan was buried there in June 2004.

Hazards

An aspect of Simi Valley's location, situated beside the beautiful Simi Hills, is that it lies in a high-risk area for the wildfires that sweep through Southern California's mountain ranges every few years.

Simi Valley is one of the communities that some claim to be contaminated by the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory Contamination.

Simi Valley is also at risk for earthquakes. The valley is surrounded by earthquake faults; the closest ones being the Santa Rosa Fault to the Northwest, the Northridge Hills Fault to the Northeast, and the Chatsworth Fault to the South. In 1994, portions of Simi Valley received significant damage from the Northridge earthquake.

Education

Simi Valley is served by the Simi Valley Unified School District (SVUSD).

Schools of higher education located nearby include Moorpark College, CSUCI, California Lutheran University, Louis Brandeis Institute of Justice, Pepperdine University, California State University Northridge and UCLA.

Recreation

Simi Valley has 20 city parks and five county parks to preserve large swaths of open space in the nearby Santa Susana Mountains, locally known as the "foothills". The city boasts six golf courses and the Kanan Ranch home development has nature trails for hikers, bicyclists and equastrians to enjoy. Two collegiate baseball teams: The Simi Valley Senators and the California Oaks of the California Collegiate League in Thousand Oaks, provide sports action to local fans.

In Film

Filmed in Simi Valley, the 1982 motion picture Poltergeist addresses the issue of ghosts, with an oblique treatise on the rampant development and buried history of suburban Southern California. The MANN 6 Movie Theater formerly located within the Sycamore Shopping Center was used for the movie theater scene in the 1984 film "Bachelor Party" staring Tom Hanks. The Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley is home to the original Power Ranger base. Being located so near Hollywood, Simi Valley and the surrounding hills have been host to such television series as Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie and M*A*S*H. The finale toy company and its car park scenes from Sneakers were filmed at the Countrywide Loans Data Processing - Admin Plant at 400 Countrywide Way. The delivery of the ransom money in The Big Lebowski shows a highway sign naming Simi Valley. The video for Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins was filmed in Simi Valley. And in the 1999 comedy Joe Dirt, the character found his long-lost parents in a trailer home park in Simi Valley (but on some versions, it was changed to Yucca Valley, California).

External links

• City of Simi Valley Website
• Simi Valley - Restaurants, Hotels, Shopping
• About SimiValley
• Simi Valley Hospital
• Safest Cities in America
• Simi Valley Yellow Pages
• Simi Valley Real Estate
• Yankee Doodles Simi Valley