LAKE BALBOA BECKONS W. VAN NUYS WANTS TO SECEDE AND JOIN ITS TONIER NEIGHBOR EXPANSION WOULD INCLUDE AIRPORT.Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer LAKE BALBOA - The last burg to secede from Van Nuys would quadruple in size under the latest proposal to rename part of the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's oldest community. The West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council has applied to expand the hamlet of Lake Balboa to include the portion of Van Nuys west of the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. . The plan, to be considered at a council hearing this month, would strip Van Nuys of its historic airport and purloin pur·loin v. pur·loined, pur·loin·ing, pur·loins v.tr. To steal, often in a violation of trust. See Synonyms at steal. v.intr. To commit theft. Lake Balboa from Encino. ``We'd like to define ourselves as being different from Van Nuys -- that's the statement,'' said council Vice President Steve Leffert, who heads the renaming committee. ``It would be nice to have Lake Balboa in Lake Balboa.'' The proposal threatens to pit the 4,000 residents of the existing Lake Balboa community against an estimated 40,000 residents of west Van Nuys who may want to share their name. It already has angered stalwarts of old Van Nuys and neighboring Encino who stand ready to defend their turf. If successful, the nearly century-old Van Nuys -- which had already lost a third of its neighborhoods to Sherman Oaks, Valley Village and Valley Glen -- would shrink by another 30percent. ``Why stop there?'' said Don Schultz For the Marketing expert, see . Don Schultz is a former president and a former vice-president of the United States Chess Federation. He was born in New York in 1937 and currently lives in Florida. He was elected vice-president on August 14 2005. , president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Association. ``Why not go for everything north of Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. ? ``I'm against any name changes that take away from Van Nuys because the good people of Van Nuys are doing everything they can to bring back the prestige and pride going back at least four decades.'' Escaping gritty image For years, however, others have hoped to escape the gritty image of Van Nuys. Five years ago, former Van Nuys residents cheered the day city officials unveiled street signs for Lake Balboa, the Valley's 32nd community. Located in two square miles of mostly single-family homes just north of the Sepulveda Dam Located in Los Angeles, California, the Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, built in 1941 to control winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. Recreation Area, residents of Lake Balboa had hoped to create Smalltown, USA -- and raise property values. Nevermind that the shimmering shim·mer intr.v. shim·mered, shim·mer·ing, shim·mers 1. To shine with a subdued flickering light. See Synonyms at flash. 2. Lake Balboa in the park across Victory Boulevard Victory Boulevard is a major thoroughfare on Staten Island, measuring approximately 8.0 miles (12.87 km) and stretching from the west shore community of Travis to the upper east shore communities of St. George and Tompkinsville. was actually in Encino. Or that the Lake Balboa community, celebrated in a city sign-raising by Councilman Dennis Zine in April 2002, was never made official at City Hall. ``I can find no indication that the City Council has previously recognized the Lake Balboa area as a community,'' bureaucrat Todd Gaydowski wrote in an October memo from the Office of City Clerk In the United States, a City Clerk is an elected or appointed official who is responsible as the official keeper of the municipal records. In some places, the Clerk may be known as the "Village Clerk" or "Town Clerk". that is included in the greater Lake Balboa name application. Residents of west Van Nuys wanted ZIP code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. 91406 to be part of Lake Balboa, too. Their community, they said, was largely residential, as opposed to the more commercial boulevards east of the 405. So when the West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council was certified two years ago, one of its first priorities was to whittle its name down to Lake Balboa. ``It's necessary in order to brand the area,'' said Bill Haller, former president of the council. ``If there's a cohesiveness, it'll help property values.'' ``If I had had Lake Balboa on my address when I just sold my (west Van Nuys) condo, I could have gotten more money,'' added Councilwoman Brenda Winchell, co-founder of RE/MAX RE/MAX Real Estate Maximums (Canada) on the Boulevard, a real estate agency in Sherman Oaks who just moved to Marina del Rey Del Rey may refer to:
``People want Louis Vuitton The Louis Vuitton Company (more commonly known simply as Louis Vuitton) is a luxury French fashion and leather goods brand and company, headquartered in Paris, France. It is a division of the French holding company, LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy S.A. , they want Gucci ... and they want Lake Balboa because people can visualize where it is.'' Proponents have gathered more than 600 signatures in support an application to enlarge the Lake Balboa neighborhood of eight large blocks to more than seven square miles -- including a two-square-mile industrial swath around Van Nuys airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. . Seeking approval The name change would also split the basin north of the Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River is an intermittent river flowing through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley, 51 miles (82 km) southeast to its mouth in Long Beach. , with the lake, Japanese Tea Garden and a golf course going to Lake Balboa. If approved by the neighborhood council, the proposal would advance to a City Council committee before a vote by the entire council. It might get a positive reception. City Councilman Tony Cardenas Tony Cardenas served in the California State Assembly. In the Assembly, he had the powerful position of chair of the Budget Committee. He is now a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 6th district, which includes parts of the San Fernando Valley. , whose district encompasses part of Van Nuys, said he's proud the community is ``exploring options that will raise their neighborhood pride.'' Councilman Greig Smith, who shares the greater portion of the proposed Lake Balboa, was generally supportive, too. ``They make a very good argument that there's no need for Van Nuys to be west of the 405,'' Smith said. ``This is a community-unity concept.'' Others say Van Nuys' troubles aren't easily rectified by a mere name change. ``Changing the name is not going to solve the problem -- the crime problem, the graffiti problem, the gang problems of Van Nuys,'' said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino, who does not support the plan. Encino not pleased When they learned of the plan last week, members of the Encino Neighborhood Council, which shares jurisdiction over the basin with the West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa council, were also less than pleased. ``The people who were at the meeting were upset,'' said Joel Simon, president of the Encino council. ``I suspect we will be writing a letter indicating our disapproval.'' Residents of the original Lake Balboa, meanwhile, say they have nothing in common with residents of west Van Nuys or the industries and strip clubs surrounding Van Nuys Airport. ``The negative aspects haven't been put on the table so that we can honestly have a dialogue,'' said Paul Fabre, 33, of the original Lake Balboa who is leaning against the expansion. ``You add the Anheuser-Busch brewery, as well as the nation's largest general aviation airport, and they don't fit in well with our community ... (or) with the original intent of Lake Balboa.'' dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3730 CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Patty Lopez of Reseda follows her 3-year-old son, David, as he chases birds at Lake Balboa on Wednesday. John Lazar/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) ``It would be nice to have Lake Balboa in Lake Balboa,'' said Steve Leffert, vice president of the West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council. (3 -- color) The expansion plan being considered by the West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council would strip Van Nuys of its historic airport and take Lake Balboa from Encino. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer (4 -- color) A pedestrian on Balboa Boulevard waits for traffic to pass Wednesday before crossing Victory Boulevard, which now displays a Lake Balboa street sign in a neighborhood that still bears a Van Nuys address. |
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