In spite of its rural charm, absence...

By CECILIA RASMUSSEN

Oct. 11, 1996 12 AM PT

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In spite of its rural charm, absence of smog and low crime, Agoura Hills suffers from an identity crisis--a confusion of boundaries, a misspelled name and the bungling of a tribute to an Indian chief.

The city’s eight square miles of rolling hills and scattered oak trees are a small part of a larger Agoura. There are actually three Agouras, all sharing ZIP Code 91301: the unincorporated Los Angeles County Agoura, the unincorporated bedroom community of Oak Park with an Agoura mailing address in Ventura County, and Agoura Hills, the incorporated city.

There are problems that come with straddling the county line. Proposals over the years have urged merging Agoura Hills and Oak Park into a new Ventura County city or creating a new county of several cities and calling it Chumash County, after the Indians that lived in the area more than 800 years ago. These ideas were abandoned after a study concluded that it would cost $1 million just to get them on the ballot.

Long before the confusion over the three Agouras, there was Pierre Agoure, a shepherd who moved to the area from France in 1871. Over a period of 35 years, he acquired almost 17,000 acres and 25,000 head of sheep and cattle.

By the early 1900s, there were 10 ranches in the area known as Independence Acres.

In 1928, another ranch sprouted up, but this one didn’t raise sheep. Paramount Pictures bought 2,700 mountain acres, and the town changed its name to Picture City.

Although Paramount Ranch is still there, the name didn’t last very long. That same year, residents submitted a list of 10 names to the U.S. postmaster, who chose the shortest and last name on the list--Agoure. He misspelled it Agoura, and the community of Agoura was born.

In 1940, Count Jean de Strelecki, a Polish immigrant, meant well when he coaxed 20 of the 200 townspeople into helping him build a 14-foot tall concrete statue of an Indian chief to honor the few remaining Chumash. But alas, he modeled the statue after a warrior of the Seminoles, an Eastern tribe. He might have been confused by the proximity of the resort of Seminole Hot Springs.

Nonetheless, “Chief White Eagle” has stood guard over the Agoura hills for more than half a century.

Another majestic city landmark--Ladyface Mountain--rises to an elevation of 2,000 feet and is named for the shape of its delicate ridgeline.

Also in view are things not of Mother Nature, such as billboards.

Since Agoura Hills incorporated in 1982, residents have fought to rid the city of its “truck stop” image and the billboards that hug a 3 1/2-mile stretch of the Ventura Freeway.

In 1989, the city became the first in the state to apply for a “scenic highway” designation. But the designation was rejected, in part because state officials believed that Agoura Hills had too many billboards.

Although more than a dozen billboards have come down without a fight, the remaining 18 sign moguls refuse to comply, and some have leases stretching into the 21st century.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

By the Numbers

CITY BUSINESS

Date incorporated: Dec, 8, 1982

Area in square miles: 8 miles

Number of parks: 6

Number of city employees: 18

1995-96 operating budget: $5 million

****

ETHNIC MAKEUP

Latino: 6%

White: 86%