About the City of Norwalk
The City of Norwalk was incorporated on August 26, 1957 becoming L.A. County’s 66th City. Located in the midst of some of Southern California’s most accessible highways in the greater Los Angeles area, and located only 17 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the 9.35 square miles that make up the City of Norwalk have become one of the most rapidly developing and growing communities anywhere in the state of California. The City of Norwalk is approximately 95 feet above sea level, has an average temperature of 63 degrees, and averages an estimated 10 inches of rainfall per year. The City of Norwalk proudly celebrated its 50th anniversary as a city during 2007, and with a community sense of pride and accomplishment, eagerly looks forward to an even brighter future. The City is governed by five council members a year on a nonpartisan basis. The mayor and vice mayor are selected each year by the council members. The city uses the city manager form of government. Council meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month in the Council Chambers, located at City Hall. All council meetings are open to the public and members of the community are encouraged to attend and bring their views to the council.
The City is a general law city, and contracts for services in law enforcement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and also contracts out for fire, water, street sweeping, and trash disposal. The City is served by one of the nation’s most successful and responsible municipal transit services, the Norwalk Transit system. In business, education, government, and law enforcement, the signs of growth serve as evidence for a bright future. Norwalk’s parks and community recreation programs are administered by the City’s Recreation and Park Services Department. The parks system consists of 12 parks with a total of 87.3 acres of land.
An additional asset to the city is, of course, its location. Norwalk sits at the heart of an expanding regional transportation network which is an outstanding convenience to residents that work anywhere in Los Angeles or Orange Counties. The community is served by four freeways: the 91 (Riverside) Freeway borders the city to the south, the 605 (San Gabriel) Freeway is at the city’s western border and the Interstate 5 (Santa Ana) Freeway passes through the community and Interstate 105 (Century) Freeway which runs from Norwalk to the Los Angeles International Airport, thereby providing additional access to even more important business and recreational points throughout the state. Two commuter rail lines serve Norwalk: the Metro Green Line, with connections to downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, and LAX; and the MetroLink system, with connections to Orange, San Bernardino, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego counties, and the Union Station in Los Angeles County. Norwalk’s access to regional transportation is unparalleled in Los Angeles County.
Time has always brought many changes, and the City of Norwalk is no different when it comes to change. Today, with a population approaching 110,000 Norwalk’s future continues to be as bright as the California sun as today’s modern pioneers work together for a better community in which the residents of Norwalk can be proud. But to understand completely the overall importance of the City of Norwalk and its bright and important future, one must have a full understanding of its rich heritage.
