But it is drawing complaints from Van Nuys residents and business owners such as Ron Feinstein, who have labeled the attempted breakaway as "divisive and disheartening to those of us who give so much time to clean up our community."
Steven Leffert, a retired science and math teacher who has lived in Van Nuys since 1969, organized what began as the bid to join the Lake Balboa neighborhood. He said real estate sales statistics show that homes with a Lake Balboa address have escalated in value at nearly twice the rate of those with Van Nuys addresses.
"The overarching factor was real estate values," he said.
Several real estate agents were in the crowd of about 100 attending Monday evening's hearing at the Van Nuys Civic Center.
Alarcon suggested that they exercise caution in using the Lake Balboa name when selling homes.
"The legal name is not Lake Balboa. I'd talk to my lawyer if I were you. I believe it puts you in jeopardy" to advertise homes for sale as being sold there instead of Van Nuys, he said.
Alarcon said he supports the concept of residents defining their communities by renaming them. But he said the new approval system requires a broad public consensus.
With the name change proposal now in limbo, city officials will work with residents to produce a satisfactory compromise, Alarcon said.
In the case of Lake Balboa, Zine -- whose council district at the time included part of Van Nuys -- asked the city's Department of Transportation to erect the name signs, and a ceremony commemorating them was held in April 2002 at Balboa and Victory boulevards. But Zine never entered a motion before the council to make the name change official, said Sharon Sandow, his chief of staff.
L.A. is famous for renaming neighborhoods, often at the request of residents who believe that living in, say, North Hills rather than Sepulveda might boost property values.
There are now nearly 180 designated neighborhoods in L.A. -- but there is a growing feeling at City Hall that the name game needs to be tamed.
City rules now require the City Council to approve neighborhood name changes -- something that didn't happen in the case of Lake Balboa and perhaps other neighborhoods.
It's far from a new trend -- but officials said neighborhood naming is growing in popularity.
In the last decade, dozens of Los Angeles-area communities have adopted names -- some historic, others made up.
