Porter Ranch sits on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley in the city of Los Angeles. The neighborhood begins on the valley floor and climbs into the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains. The new home construction of this area has been extending further out and higher up every year. Most of the Porter Ranch that we see today was developed in the 1980’s and 90’s, against some well deserved opposition. In a tale as old as greed, the developers proceeded to give us an endless monochromatic cluster of the blandest, stalest, soulless expanse of uninspired homes this side of Vegas. Tuscan style dullness in waves of beige. A drab gated hellscape built in a literal fire zone.
The remnants of the 2019 Saddle Ridge can be found all throughout Porter Ranch and the blackened palm trees tell a story. It is quite a sight to see the fire damage all throughout the hills stop right at the property lines of the vast majority of homes in the area. Fire fighters risking their lives for what exactly? To save the hideous homes of some of the Valley’s wealthiest residents who have decided to live in a fire zone? Natural disasters are unpredictable yet inevitable and there may even be a certain level of hubris for those of us who call Southern California their home, living in constant awareness of the impending “big one”. Fires, on the other hand, are predicable in the fact that we do know that they will occur every single year, with a fierce regularity. There are multitudes of fires in Southern California year after year and many of them are long lasting and destructive.
Porter Ranch stands as a testament to this hubris. Perhaps not coincidently, it is the wealthiest neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. A neighborhood which stands as a symbol of narcissism and decadence. Not only challenging the risk of destruction by fire by its mere existence but also by continuing to expand, developing further into these fire zones. There are places where we simply should not build homes and the foothills above Porter Ranch is certainly one of these. This foolish human desire to continue expanding further and further into the outskirts of our cities is becoming a growing problem all over the country. Los Angeles is in dire need of more housing but perhaps building multi million dollar single family homes in fire zones is not the answer we are looking for.
While the convergence of homes and natural landscapes is nothing new, if not the very definition of civilization, there is something that feels a bit more insulting in the expansion of Porter Ranch into the hills surrounding the Valley. These developments somehow stand out in their lack of any sense of style. Beige throngs of uniform homes spilling out into the hills. Gated communities that separate the residents from the liquor stores and laundromats down below only to be replaced by the sterile facade of a Walmart surrounded by low grade chain restaurants. The delusion of “finer” living. If the people truly desire dull stucco mediocrity, there are plenty of gated communities in Santa Clarita.
The hills and mountains that surround the San Fernando Valley are a constant reminder of the natural beauty that surrounds us, even in the megalopolis that is Southern California. It is sad to look north from the Santa Susanas and see the relentlessly spreading sea of stale looking homes as they engulf the once beautiful hills. It is sadder still to stand amongst the many trails in these hills and be surrounded by these homes, foot trails that climb higher and higher, only to be granted the strangely voyeuristic views of the backyards of Porter Ranch. Views straight into family room windows, backyard swimming pools and private tennis courts. These eyesores are expanding. New developments spreading out further west and further into the hills. Progress may be inevitable but it appears to be approaching without much forethought in regards to our natural surroundings or any accounting for taste.
