Proposed ZIP code changes are stuck in red tape
By Nancy Needham  nancy@theacorn.com

Everyone in the Thousand Oaks area is waiting to see if the U.S. Postal Service is going to change their ZIP codes.

Local postal officials have already asked for a change. It just has to go through a bureaucracy, U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Richard Maher said.

"We're still expecting to hear sometime in January," Maher said.

So far, no public input has been sought in the decision that is supposed to be about the most efficient way to deliver the mail.

Still, those who want to contact the Postal Service about the proposed changes can write a letter, put a stamp on it and send it to the U.S. Postal Service Consumer Affairs Office, 28201 Franklin Parkway, Santa Clarita, CA 91383.

If the changes go through, everyone in Thousand Oaks may get a new address sometime this year. The ZIP codes 91320, 91360, 91361 and 91362, used for 57,941 delivery stops in Thousand Oaks, parts of Westlake Village and Newbury Park, would no longer exist.

Everything depends on where the mail destined for Thousand Oaks goes for processing. If it continues to go to Santa Clarita, the numbers will stay the same. If it goes to Oxnard instead, 25 miles closer to Thousand Oaks, new ZIP codes will be necessary because the first three digits of the ZIP code indicate where the mail is processed. Santa Clarita's district is 913. Oxnard's is 930.

If the codes are changed, both old and new ZIP codes would be recognized by the processing machines for a year after the change, according to Maher.

Usually a new ZIP code is created because of growth in an area. Annually, the post office adds about 2 million addresses nationwide, he said.

"We only added 45 new ZIP codes last year nationwide. Anytime you do, there are adjustments that have to be made," Maher said.