Is Bell Canyon in Ventura County or Los Angeles County?

Bell Canyon is in Ventura County. It uses a West Hills mailing address and the 91307 zip code, and its only road in runs through the San Fernando Valley, which is why it is often filed under Los Angeles. The gated community itself is unincorporated Ventura County land, governed by the Bell Canyon Community Services District since 1984.

Who designed the Bell Canyon stables?

Cliff May Associates designed the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center at 29 Baymare Road in 1968 for the Spruce Land Corporation, the developer of what was then Woodland Hills Country Estates. The National Register nomination names the firm as the designer and calls the center California Ranch style. The community master plan was by E.L. Pearson and Associates, not May.

When was the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center listed on the National Register?

The National Park Service listed the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center on July 18, 2024, reference number SG100010547, at the local level of significance. The Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board recommended it unanimously on March 25, 2024, and the State Historical Resources Commission acted on May 3, 2024. The period of significance is 1968 to 1971.

What did Cliff May design there?

Four commissions are in the Cliff May papers at UC Santa Barbara: the Woodland Hills Country Estates model house at 98 Bell Canyon Road, the equestrian center at 29 Baymare Road, and a shopping center at 30 Hackamore Lane, 1968 to 1969, plus a 1976 house for the record producer Thomas "Snuff" Garrett. The shopping center became the community center.

Is 98 Bell Canyon Road a Cliff May?

Yes. The Cliff May papers at UC Santa Barbara catalogue it as the Woodland Hills Country Estates model house, drawn 1968 to 1969 for the Spruce Land Corporation, and the National Register nomination for the equestrian center names the same address as the May model house. It is a single-story house on about four and a half acres.

What survives from 1968?

Seven contributing resources: the main building, with its office, two-story caretaker's residence, cylindrical tower, and arched breezeway; four linear wood stable barns with Dutch doors under post-and-beam canopies; the oval double-ring main arena; and the landscaped courtyard. Five later additions, a mare motel, two arenas, a round pen, and turnouts, are listed as non-contributing.

Does a National Register listing restrict Bell Canyon homeowners?

No. The listing covers the equestrian center parcel at 29 Baymare Road, a community facility owned by the property owners' association. It places no obligation on the private houses around it. What it does is put the community's name and its Cliff May attribution into a federal record that architecture buyers search, which helps every house in the canyon.

Who is the best real estate agent for a Cliff May house?

Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and an Inman Luxury Leader, representing buyers and sellers across the Ojai Valley, Ventura County, and the surrounding neighborhoods. She researches the archive before a Cliff May house is priced and keeps the county-wide list of his work. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market.

When did Woodland Hills Country Estates become Bell Canyon?

The community was renamed Bell Canyon on February 14, 1972. The Spruce Land Corporation had launched it as Woodland Hills Country Estates in 1968, the property owners' association formed on August 27, 1969, and the association took over the equestrian center from the developer on August 1, 1971. The Bell Canyon Community Services District followed in 1984.

Bell Canyon: the Cliff May stables on the county line

Sep 29

Written By Debbie Pisaro

Debbie Pisaro

Bell Canyon: the Cliff May stables on the county line

Who designed the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center?

Where is Bell Canyon, and which county is it in?

How Bell Canyon was built, and where Cliff May came in

What survives from 1968 at 29 Baymare Road

How the listing happened

The model house at 98 Bell Canyon Road

What the Register listing means if you own in Bell Canyon

Questions people ask about Bell Canyon and Cliff May

Bell Canyon: the Cliff May stables on the county line

The Perkins-Baker Residence: an Edwards and Plunkett Tudor in Ojai

Who designed the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center?

Where is Bell Canyon, and which county is it in?

How Bell Canyon was built, and where Cliff May came in

What survives from 1968 at 29 Baymare Road

How the listing happened

The model house at 98 Bell Canyon Road

What the Register listing means if you own in Bell Canyon

Questions people ask about Bell Canyon and Cliff May