KRUGERVILLE — There’s Chicago’s Gold Coast — 60611 — and New York City’s Tribeca — 10036 — but probably none so famous as Beverly Hills’ 90210.

Krugerville leaders are seeking a numeric identity for the city, having agreed this month to ask the U.S. Postal Service to give the city, population 1,230, a ZIP code of its own.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Krugerville officials want the city to have its own ZIP code rather than sharing 76227 with Aubrey and Cross Roads.

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Mayor Erich Ransleben doubts the postal service will agree, but the bottom line is the city’s bottom line, he said.

When people move to Krugerville and set up telephone and other services that are franchised through the city, the providers sometimes ask for only the street address and the ZIP code, Ransleben said. Providers use the ZIP code to quickly identify the city even though that’s not the purpose of the codes.

Aubrey, Cross Roads and Krugerville all share 76227.

ZIP codes — developed as a Zone Improvement Plan in the 1950s and adopted nationwide in the 1960s — helped postal workers manage the large increase in mail after World War II.

“The original intent has always been to facilitate the timely and accurate delivery of the mail,” said Sam Bolen, postal service spokesman.

Because of the limited number of numbers, new ZIP codes are rare.

“Usually it has to be such significant growth that we’d have to build a new post office,” Bolen said, adding that the postal service bases its growth on revenue, just like a business does.

Aubrey is getting a new post office, but the area will likely remain listed as 76227, Bolen said.

For smaller cities, the practice of using ZIP codes for other means can mean that franchise taxes get directed the wrong way, Ransleben said.

“That can be a lot of money on the table,” he said.

Similar problems with city identity in fast-growing parts of Tarrant County led the postal service to redistribute some ZIP codes between Keller, Roanoke and North Richland Hills, Bolen said.

Keller residents have had problems with their mail and other city services. For some whose mail is routed through Roanoke, the post office has agreed to a “preferred last line” designation — with Keller as the city, but a ZIP code usually identified as Roanoke. The post office programs its computers with that designation to acknowledge city identity, Bolen said.

Krugerville received a preferred last line designation in 2000, Bolen said.

Nationwide, the postal service is studying the possible closure of 3,200 facilities, Bolen said, pointing to the slowing economy and the shift to electronic commerce and communication.

Even the postal service does 30 percent of its business online, Bolen said.

Most possible closures are in larger cities where service and retail centers could be combined or reconfigured, Bolen said. No Denton County facility is slated for closure.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .