Where is Mel's Church Anyway?

Google Alert brings me the online news about Agoura Hills. Almost every day there is an article somewhere about Mel Gibson and his church. The media thinks that Mel’s church is in Agoura Hills, or maybe Malibu, but it isn't in either city. It is in an unincorporated area of L.A. County that has an "Agoura" address. No wonder the media is confused. The political and geographic boundaries in our area are enough to confuse even those who live here.

Agoura Hills is a city in L.A. County, but it is contiguous to a large unincorporated section of the county which has always been called “Agoura.” The post office in Agoura Hills services this part of L.A. County as well as the community of Oak Park, which is actually in Ventura County. It also services a section of another L.A. County city, the city of Calabasas. That section of Calabasas is sometimes called “Calabasas Hills.” To make matters even more confusing, a section of the city of Agoura Hills is widely known as “Old Agoura.” Old Agoura is a community on the east side of the city that enjoys a unique identity as an eclectic, equestrian area.

Confused? It gets worse. Agoura’s neighbor to the west, the City of Westlake Village is an incorporated city within the County of Los Angeles. But although the City’s political boundary stops at the county line, the designation of “Westlake Village” spills over into several neighborhoods on the Ventura County side of the line which is actually in Thousand Oaks. The body of water called Westlake Lake straddles the county line, one side in Westlake Village, the other in Thousand Oaks. But people living on both sides say they live in Westlake Village, or maybe just “Westlake.” The Westlake designation, along with the county line, extends north of the 101 freeway and takes in Westlake High School on the Ventura County side, and the area to the west of the high school up to and possibly including the auto mall. But, of course, Westlake High School is in Thousand Oaks and high school students from Westlake Village don’t go there. They actually go to high school at Agoura High. Whew!

Thousand Oaks includes the communities of Westlake (not the “Village”) and Newbury Park. I am very familiar with the political boundaries of Agoura Hills, and less so with the neighborhood boundaries of Westlake and Newbury Park. But it does seem like the residence of Newbury Park, having their own unique name, are somewhat less confused than some of the rest of us. Their high school aged kids actually go to Newbury Park High School.

In spite of this political balkanization, the communities of this region share a wonderful, and readily defined, geographic area, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the neighboring Las Virgenes and Conejo Valleys. The Ventura Freeway, U.S. 101, is a common link and commercial corridor that ties the region together. The communities in our region share a common ecology and economy. When the mountain lion known as P-1 crossed into the Santa Monica Mountains from the Simi Foothills, he didn’t care what city he was in. And I don't think he was looking for Mel's church.