The Name Game Has Crossed the Line : Official Boundaries and Council Vote Should Be Required for Renaming a Community

When urban ills venture too close to home, and when too many of the so-called common folk have moved onto surrounding streets, San Fernando Valley residents have a simple solution. Change the name of your neighborhood and, poof! --instant upscale. Well, not quite.

Take North Hills, for example. This geographically featureless community was known as Sepulveda until residents in its western half renamed it North Hills in 1991 to disassociate it from drug and crime problems.

But the remaining half of Sepulveda also renamed itself as North Hills, and the original secessionists suddenly found themselves remarried. Sepulveda is gone. The crime remains; only the name has changed to protect the image-conscious.

This all began in 1931, when Canoga Park was called Owensmouth for its reliance on Owens River water. “Who was Owen anyway, and why did I seem to live in his mouth?” asked one smart-aleck then. Goodby Owensmouth. Hello, Canoga Park, which was then “ready for the prosperity now on the way without having to overcome the handicap of a name calling forth unfavorable comment,” according to the Owensmouth . . . er, Canoga Park Gazette.

The Gazette folded, Canoga Park faded, and its western residents defected to become West Hills in 1987. Now, it’s all out of control. Newly named Sherman Village, for example, was a part of Studio City. It changed its name to avoid association with North Hollywood. (Still with us?) It’s so small (40 homes and one mailman) that some who live and work there seem confused. “We’re in Valley, uh, it’s Valley something. Valley View. I forget,” said a motel owner.

At its best, perhaps, the name game merely shows which Valley neighborhoods are in demand, and which are not. Reseda, which can’t even get a quake named after it, is out. Chunks of it have defected to Tarzana and Encino. Sherman Oaks is on top, having gained portions of Encino, North Hollywood and Van Nuys.

The problem with all of this is that it is a poor substitute for substantive change, and for the hard work of ridding down-on-their-luck communities of the problems that have caused their loss of popularity. We’re talking about crime, economic malaise, poor planning and unimaginative leadership. It also sets neighbors apart from one another at a time when progress demands cooperation and a healthy dose of “we’re-all-in-this-together” thinking.

Right now, Los Angeles City Council members can change a community’s name at the request of residents. A plan is in the works that would require official boundaries and a vote by the full council before more changes could occur. It should be approved before Valley residents isolate themselves even further.