North Hills Could Make Sepulveda Just a Memory : Neighborhoods: After the western part of the community changed its name, east side residents say they feel isolated and uncertain.

One day after residents of western Sepulveda changed its name to North Hills, their neighbors east of the San Diego Freeway on Tuesday revived a campaign to join them--which would eliminate the community name of Sepulveda altogether.

The campaign was not welcomed by North Hills homeowners, who adopted the new name because they said they felt stigmatized by association with the eastern neighborhood’s reputation for drug dealing and street crime.

But residents of eastern Sepulveda said the secession of North Hills Monday left them feeling isolated and uncertain about the future of their homes and property. They characterized their campaign as an effort to keep the community united, whether it is called North Hills or Sepulveda.

“We felt we were being deserted,” said Carol Baker, who has lived in Sepulveda for 33 years, of the creation of North Hills. “We offered to stay united and all work together, but they just wanted a new name. We feel like second-class citizens.”

Baker and others involved in the drive said that since the residents on the west side changed the area’s name, those on the east side worry that their area will gain an even worse reputation, although it has several neighborhoods of single-family houses similar to those west of the freeway.

If the eastern residents are able to collect the required number of signatures on a petition supporting the name change, the community name of Sepulveda would die and the goal of the original secession drive would be nullified.

But the problems that give the eastern area its seedy reputation--drug dealing, prostitution and gang activity--probably would remain. Los Angeles police last year erected barricades on several streets on the east side to curtail drive-by drug dealing.

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents most of Sepulveda east of the freeway, will sign off on the name change if two-thirds of the residents and property owners support it, according to his press deputy, Arline DeSanctis. But, DeSanctis said, her boss would rather see residents working together to clean up their community.

“The name change is fruitless if people don’t work together,” she said.

This is not the first time that residents on the east side have been involved in the North Hills secession movement. Early on, they tried to prevent western residents from seceding, criticizing them for running away from the area’s problems. More recently, though, homeowners north of Nordhoff Street tried to join their neighbors on the west.

That effort collected a few hundred signatures and then stalled for several months. It was revived this week, but now includes the entire remaining area of Sepulveda. Organizers said they decided to include the whole community because they did not want to break Sepulveda into small chunks.

The task will be arduous. About 22,000 people live in the area, according to police statistics, and organizers must collect the signatures of two-thirds of residents and property owners for the name change to be approved. So far, Baker said, they have about 500 signatures, most of them left over from the previous efforts.

Michael Ribons, the real estate broker who coordinated the North Hills secession movement, did not seem thrilled about the prospect of welcoming the east side to the new community, but said he would do nothing to stop them.

“I think it would be hypocritical if we tried,” he said.

He did, however, challenge Wachs to work more closely with the community to clean up the problems that prompted the west side to secede.

“I’m challenging him to stop the rhetoric and clean up the problems once and for all,” Ribons said, inviting Wachs to meet with him to identify problem areas and work on solutions.

DeSanctis said the councilman has initiated several programs with the community and police to rid Sepulveda of its problems. But, she said, “it’s not something you can accomplish overnight.”