Bernson Will Back Majority in Carving North Hills From Sepulveda

A proposal to rename part of Sepulveda as “North Hills” has gained key support from City Councilman Hal Bernson, and backers say enthusiasm for the idea is growing among residents.

More than half the 4,000 homeowners in the neighborhood west of the San Diego Freeway have signed petitions demanding the new name. The effort needs 3,500 signatures to succeed.

Michael Ribons, a 27-year-old real estate broker and the spokesman for the secession campaign, said part of the campaign’s appeal is that the name North Hills sounds more prestigious than Sepulveda.

He acknowledged that the new name bears little relation to the topography or location of the area, which lies south of Lassen Street and is as flat as a chessboard except for the sloping mound on which the Veterans Administration Hospital stands. “People just think hills are better,” he said.

Organizers of the renaming campaign also say that the freeway forms a dividing line between what they say is the crime-plagued neighborhood of apartments and businesses to the east and the relatively crime-free neighborhood of mostly single-family homes to the west.

Bernson, who has the authority to approve the name change without consulting the full Los Angeles City Council, will do so if the majority of the residents favor it, said Greig Smith, Bernson’s chief deputy. In 1987, Bernson joined Councilwoman Joy Picus to approve changing the name of a section of Canoga Park to West Hills when residents in the area--which includes portions of both Bernson’s and Picus’ districts--joined a secession movement started in the section represented by Picus.

“If most of the residents want it, then we’re going to give it to them. It’s not a big deal,” Smith said. “All you have to do is stand in the middle of the freeway and look to the left and to the right to know that those are two totally different communities.”

Residents who live on the east side of the freeway have no direct say in the matter, because the freeway divides Sepulveda into two council districts. Bernson represents the western portion, and Councilman Joel Wachs represents the east side.

No organized opposition to the name change has surfaced, but some residents on the east have called Wachs’ office to express their opposition, said Arline DeSanctis, one of Wachs’ deputies. She said both council offices should have a say in the decision.

“We encourage people to improve the community rather than leave it,” DeSanctis said, reflecting the concern of many who live on the east side of Sepulveda that those on the west side will abandon community improvement efforts if that area is renamed.

Armando Vazquez, president of the newly formed Sepulveda Coordinating Council, said the council has not taken a position on the secession movement. But he chastised proponents of the secession campaign for failing to participate in community efforts to beautify the area and reduce crime.

“My personal opinion is that Sepulveda should remain Sepulveda, and we should deal with problems and not try to change names and pretend that there are not problems here for the less fortunate,” Vazquez said.

But Ribons said the name change would stimulate more community involvement, including participation in what would be neighboring Sepulveda. He denied that raising real estate values is a motivation.

“If we were really running away from the problems, we would just sell our houses and leave,” Ribons said. “It’s just that things have gotten to the point where people on the west side of the freeway are so frustrated with the name Sepulveda and the connotations of crime and prostitution that they are closing themselves in and not getting involved.

“The name change would give them some instant pride, and then we’d ask them to help out in the community.”

Ribons, who grew up in Sepulveda, said he has spent about $1,000 of his own money to print petitions and mail them to property owners in the area. He said organizers decided to conduct a mail campaign, instead of continuing to canvass door to door, because it is more efficient.

Proponents are not seeking a ZIP code change for the area, partly because of the difficulty in getting the U.S. Postal Service to approve it, Ribons said. It is commonly believed that ZIP codes are used to determine auto and home insurance rates.

Instead of changing ZIP codes, Ribons said, residents of the newly named community would probably use the North Hills name and the Sepulveda ZIP code. Residents on the northern and western edges of Sepulveda’s boundaries consider themselves part of Granada Hills and Northridge, respectively, and often use those community names with the Sepulveda ZIP code, Ribons said.

But John Conte, a Postal Service spokesman, said inconsistencies between community names and ZIP codes can cause delays in mail delivery.