Community Is Renamed in Bid for Better Image

The western portion of Sepulveda in the central San Fernando Valley was officially renamed North Hills on Monday, a victory for residents who complained that Sepulveda’s name had become tarnished by drug dealing and street crime in the eastern part of the community.

The new community, formerly the portion of Sepulveda west of the San Diego Freeway, is also bounded by Roscoe Boulevard on the north, the Bull Creek Flood Control Channel on the west and Lassen Street on the south.

City Councilman Hal Bernson officially announced the secession Monday. Bernson approved the change after the campaign gathered signatures from 2,900 residents--86% of those in the area--favoring the name change.

Secession proponents said their area of single-family homes did not want to share a name with neighborhoods east of the freeway that have more apartment houses and crime.