The Gated Municipality of Hidden Hills, California / by H. Pike Oliver

Hidden Hills, California, is a completely gated municipality with the main entry at the northwest quadrant of the interchange of the US 101 (Ventura) Freeway and Valley Circle Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley of the Los Angeles area. ImageThere are just 626 housing units in this equestrian oriented neighborhood, all of which are on relatively large lots.  According to the United States Census, the population of the 1.68 square mile community in 2010 was1,856.

Development of Hidden Hills began in 1950 when  A. E. Hanson put up a sign on Ventura Boulevard at the intersection of Long Valley Road announcing  the availability of one-acre lots for $4,750.  A lot that had been cleared of a former residence reportedly sold for $1.6 million in 2011.

Image

Image

The community is home to many noted entertainment industry celebrities. Numerous business owners and executives also live within this exclusive enclave.  One of the more notorious residents is David Sambol who Paul Muolo and Matthew Padilla identified as one of the major players in the subprime mortgage crisis in their 2008 book Chain of Blame.

Image