Neighborhood Spotlight: Porter Ranch a scenic Valley community under a lingering cloud of unease

"Benjamin Porter took possession of the westernmost reaches of their purchase, which encompassed the future locations of Chatsworth and Porter Ranch; his cousin George took the middle portion, and state Sen. Charles Maclay took the easternmost acreage. Unlike many ambitious would-be empire builders during the real estate boom of the late 1800s, Benjamin Porter was primarily interested in using his 20,000 acres for ranching and farming."

"Porter and his heirs kept the rest of the ranch intact until the 1960s, when the demand for new housing in the Valley drove land prices up to the point where sentimental attachment to the 4,000-acre homestead was outstripped by the opportunity to cash in on a nearly century-old investment."

"Development of the ranch at first stuck to the flats between Chatsworth and Granada Hills, but in 1990 the city of Los Angeles approved a 1,300-acre master-planned community in the foothills above the 118 freeway."

Porter Ranch originated as part of a massive San Fernando Valley land purchase by three San Franciscans in 1874. Benjamin Porter received the westernmost portion, encompassing approximately 20,000 acres, which he used primarily for ranching and farming rather than real estate speculation. In 1888, Porter sold his holdings at the Santa Susana Pass to the San Fernando Valley Improvement Company, which developed the town of Chatsworth. His heirs maintained the remaining 4,000-acre ranch until the 1960s, when rising land prices and housing demand prompted development. Initial growth occurred in the valley flats, followed by a 1990 Los Angeles approval for a 1,300-acre master-planned community in the foothills above the 118 freeway.

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