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It used to be a place where a middle-class family could own a small house on a large parcel with a horse corral out back and a few chickens and roosters running around the yard.
But these days in Sylmar, the human population is going up while the number of horses is dropping. And this has some longtime residents concerned that a way of life in this foothill community on the northeastern edge of the San Fernando Valley is disappearing.
Even its name sounds pastoral, derived from a combination of the word "sylvan" and the Spanish word mar, roughly translating into "sea of trees." In Sylmar, olive trees once grew thick on land tilled by farmers and ranchers, who turned the arid countryside into a hub for olive growing and related agricultural enterprises.
After World War II, the land was subdivided into generous lots, giving it the feel of the country, even though it was only about 26 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
But developers looking for places to build in today's hot real estate market have discovered Sylmar. They are razing the ranch- style houses and replacing them with tracts of single-family homes, condominiums and town houses.
More than 1,200 new homes -- over half of them in a single hillside project -- are in the planning or construction stages.
"It's the last place in L.A. where a builder can still find a single-family home on half an acre," said Bart Reed, a Sylmar resident and president of a transit riders advocacy group. "They can tear them down and build 52 homes."
What's going on in Sylmar is a familiar story in Southern California. Residents say their semi-rural neighborhood is one of the last in Los Angeles to undergo the transformation in part because of its far-flung location and because longtime homeowners have been reluctant to sell. For some, however, that reluctance has given way as property values skyrocket.
"Developers are willing to give them so much, you can't fault them for selling," said Patty Hug, who has lived in Sylmar for more than 20 years. "The problem is, it impacts everybody else."
Longtime residents are concerned the new dwellings are threatening their equestrian lifestyle and eating up valuable open space. Much...