A 50-acre park in Porter Ranch will be named after Boeckmann family, owners of Galpin Motors.
Since the day a vast park in Porter Ranch was proposed by an elected official several years ago, it has been the focus of controversy.
When it was first introduced in 2018 to the public by then-Councilmember Mitch Englander, he suggested naming it after his mother and sister and calling the park’s pavilion after himself. The proposal didn’t go as planned, especially after the FBI launched an investigation of corruption at City Hall that eventually sent Englander to a federal prison.
Nearly six years later, the suspense over the park’s name is almost at an end.
The Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council voted unanimously on Wednesday, July 11, in support of naming the 50-acre park the “Jane and Bert Boeckmann Park” in honor of the late philanthropists and owners of Galpin Motors dealership.
“The Boeckmanns affected the community in so many ways,” said David Balen, a board member and former president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council, who has been keeping an eye on the issue since 2017. “They touched the community over the years and they did it without wanting any recognition. They did it quietly behind the scenes, always helping financially and physically.”
Following the collapse of Englander’s plan to name the park after his family members, the area residents and members of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council endorsed several names including Porter Ranch Community Park, Coyote Park at Porter Ranch, and Shangri La Park.
Because the park is on the land of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, the tribe proposed to name it Sesevenga, or “the place of the sycamore woods.”
The Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council voted in 2019 to name it “Porter Ranch Community Park.”
But soon after that Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee, Englander’s successor, proposed to name it the “Jane and Bert Boeckmann Park.” He also sent a letter to the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners in 2022, proposing to support the name of the park after the Boeckmann family.
Last year, the naming took a new twist after the city accidentally installed a sign reading “Porter Ranch Community Park” at the entrance to the park — without final approval of that name from the neighborhood council or city officials.
It turned out that the city planning team gave the park its temporary name, Porter Ranch Community Park, while the city and neighborhood council worked on the renaming process.
Lee said in a phone interview that he expected the park to open by the end of the year.
“As we move forward with the naming process, there’s not going to be anything at this park that has (Englander’s) name on it,” Lee said. “We’re moving forward with naming the park after two incredible people.”
He added that several residents who attended the last neighborhood council meeting spoke in favor of naming the park after the Boeckmanns.
“We had everyone from former elected officials to an (LAPD) deputy chief, just different people who throughout the many years have been touched by the lives of the Boeckmann family and what they’ve contributed to this community,” he said.
Lee acknowledged that the Boeckmann family contributed to his election campaign in the past but said his decision to name the park after the family is based on the fact that “they truly have contributed to this community in so many ways.”
Lee added, “We have had long relationships with them over the years, and they have always been strong supporters of my campaigns.”
Romondo Locke, spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, said in a statement that his team is “reviewing the proposed names to ensure that they align with our park naming policy guidelines.”
He noted that that department will “issue an official statement addressing the naming and opening date of the park in the near future.”
Balen said he was happy with any name but Englander’s. “The only thing I was fighting was what Mitch (Englander) did ethically,” Balen said. “There was no reason to call the park after his mom or sister.”
