A year after hundreds of families left the area in the wake of the massive Aliso Canyon gas leak, Porter Ranch is seeing a potential real estate boom.
Evan Press and his family moved from his old house in Porter Ranch to Bella Vista Bluffs, a luxury subdivision by Toll Brothers, the primary new home developer, a few months after the leak was finally capped.
"I could smell it every once in awhile," said Evan Press, a resident. "You know, we hadn't had any symptoms from it."
Press's new house is closer to the once-faulty well.
"The beginning of this year has been great for us," said Frank Su, Toll Brothers' vice president.
Su said there's more than enough demand already for 1,400 homes, some already under construction.
They're selling at, or above, market value. There are no discounts related to environmental concerns.
Press doesn't deny that the Aliso Canyon leak affected peoples' health, just not his.
That's why he didn't think twice about moving there.
"My wife is a nurse, and my doctor said he didn't think it was a huge issue," Press said.
