SELLING VAN NUYS ON A NEW NAME.

Byline: BRAD DICKSON

WILL the last person to exit Van Nuys please turn out the lights?

Another portion of Van Nuys may be leaving the motherland. The West Van Nuys/Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council has applied to expand the Lake Balboa area to include the segment of Van Nuys west of the 405 Freeway.

If this passes, Van Nuys would splinter into more sections than the former Soviet Union. Valley Glen, Lake Balboa and parts of Valley Village were all formerly in Van Nuys.

City Councilman Tony Cardenas, whose district includes a swath of Van Nuys, says he's proud the community is "exploring options that will raise their neighborhood pride."

Pride? Doesn't he mean price?

Let's not kid ourselves, this is largely about property values. The name Van Nuys is less enticing to potential buyers than if your home is in the tonier sounding Valley Glen, even if there are still two bail bondsman shops on the corner.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect is if the name-change is enacted, Van Nuys Airport -- the nation's largest general aviation airport -- would no longer be in Van Nuys.

This is much worse than the Toluca Lake Carwash being somewhere in the vicinity of El Segundo. The airport has an international reputation, and although I've lost around two years (conservative estimate) of sleep in my lifetime from freight planes breaking curfew, the Van Nuys Airport should remain in Van Nuys.

Nonetheless, assuming this trend continues, by the time Van Nuys turns 100 in 2011, there may not even be a Van Nuys. The centennial celebration will be held in the newly formed Lake Kittridge.

I don't quite understand the perpetual drive to rename portions of Van Nuys.

Sure, there's graffiti. Crime is higher than it once was. Places touting "Checks Cashed" are more ubiquitous than Starbucks. But many good, solid people dwell here. There are far worse parts of town where folks live with their name and its ensuing baggage.

If approved, the plan would result in a significant increase for Lake Balboa, a small area about the size of a couple of dozen Super Wal-Marts or three McMansions.

Not surprisingly, some Lake Balboans aren't thrilled with that. The stated intent behind the creation of Lake Balboa, with its man-made lake, was to form an idyllic, pastoral oasis in the Valley. If this plan's approved, that oasis is going to include the idyllic, pastoral Anheuser-Busch brewery.

Unfortunately, changing the name of a locality seems to achieve its desired goal. West Toluca Lake and Valley Glen homes sell for more than their surrounding North Hollywood and Van Nuys brethren.

Thus I hereby call on residents of my North Hollywood enclave to start calling ourselves "Valley Falls." I know there's a certain irony in naming a neighborhood dominated by warehouses and public-storage facilities "falls," but I may soon have a house to sell.