Last Update: October 19, 2021
1 CITY OF ALAMEDA
POLICY FOR NAMING CITY FACILITIES AND STREETS
INTRODUCTION
It is the City of Alameda’s goal to establish a uniform policy to name City facilities and portions thereof including, but not limited to: Parks and Recreation facilities, Libraries, fire stations, City Hall, Police Department facilities, parking lots, City streets (both private streets and public streets) and entryways to the City.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to reflect the City’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion. All facility names should reflect everyone in our community and intentionally broaden representation. City facility names should honor places, history, persons, organizations, events and natural environment that focus on local Alameda significance and may also reflect California or national names when appropriate.
RESPONSIBILITY OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Boards and Commissions represent the community and they have direct responsibility for various City facilities as prescribed in the City Charter and Alameda Municipal Code. It shall be the responsibility of the following Boards and Commissions most closely related to these facilities to, upon request from the City Council, make recommendations for potential names and the City Council will grant final approval.
Recreation and Parks Commission: City Parks , Recreation Centers, Athletic Facilities and Associated Recreation Facilities
Golf Commission: Golf Complex and Associated Facilities Public Utilities Board: Alameda Municipal Power Facilities Library Board: Libraries
Planning Board: Streets and all other City facilities not listed above Historical Advisory Board: Makes recommendations on C ity buildings and fac ilities that are historically significant
GENERAL NAMING CRITERIA
In selecting the name for a street of any City facility the following criteria shall be used.
1. All names shall reflect diversity, equity and inclusion and represent everyone in the Alameda community. New names should intentionally broaden the representation of people in our community.
2. A street or City facility named for an individual shall require that the person be deceased for a minimum of three years.
3. All names shall first focus on local Alameda significance but names that reflect California or a national lens may be approved if applicable to Alameda by direct or broad association.
Last Update: October 19, 2021
2 4. Only one name shall be used for each property or facility , however individual components such as a room or athletic field may also have a separate name.
5. A name that recognizes the donor of a significant gift of land or funds may be used for a City facility.
6. Names for corporate/business entities shall follow the Corporate Naming Criteria.
7. New streets at A lameda Point shall be named after WWII naval themes to be consistent with the area’s historic district designation.
PROCESS FOR NAMING NEW OR UNNAMED CITY PROPERTY OR FACILITY
Naming a new or unnamed City Facility requires a four -step public process with three meetings of the appropriate City Commission or Board and one meeting with City Council, as follows:
Step 1 - Commission/Board Meeting #1: Initial presentation on the City facility and confirm naming criteria
• Present the City facility to be named, its location and any identifying features. • Discuss and finalize naming criteria for the facility. Examples could include a maritime or naval reference if the facility is located at Alameda Point, a community value, a natural reflection of a location, or other theme.
• After criteria is confirmed, staff should conduct public outreach described below to solicit name ideas.
Step 2 - Commission/Board Meeting #2: Review a list of names that meet the criteria • The entire list of available names is reviewed, including the existing facility names list and new names generated from outreach.
• Staff recommends a shorter list of names that meets the criteria for Commission/Board review. The names on this list shall be previously researched and vetted, particularly names of people.
• Commission/Board discusses and narrows down to short list of names.
Step 3 - Commission/Board Meeting #3: Final name choice to recommend to City Council • Commission discusses a short list of names and recommends a name to City Council for final approval.
• Research and consultation with any affected group of the proposed name is strongly recommended.
Step 4 - City Council Meeting: The City Council will consider a recommendation from a Board or Commission and make the final decision to name a City property or facility.
Public Outreach: The meeting dates and opportunities for public input should be broadly marketed through print, social media, and email. Public outreach should extend beyond the standard meeting notifications as required by the Sunshine Ordinance with efforts made to involve a diverse group of stakeholders in the community, including residents who are historically underrepresented in City public discussions.
Last Update: October 19, 2021
3 PROCESS FOR NAMING CITY STREETS (BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC)
The Planning Board shall review all proposed names for new public and private streets as part of its review of Planning entitlements for new development and/or subdivisions. The Planning Board shall hold a public hearing prior to making a recommendation to the City Council on the proposed street name(s). Such public hearing may be part of the Planning Board’s public hearing on the proposed development project and/or subdivision.
Street Name Technical Standards:
1. The number of letters in the street name including suffix shall not exceed the number of characters and spaces in conformance with the 911 Emergency Communication Center system.
2. Consistency in naming shall be maintained within a Subdivision Tract , Planned Development or other development or geographic area where street names themes currently exist are planned or are discernible.
3. Street names shall remain the same across intersecting streets and throughout the length of the street.
4. Similarly spelled or pronounced street names shall be avoided within the City.
5. A street name shall not intersect another street name at more than one location. The use of circle or loop as a suffix is not encouraged except under limited specific design situations such as a roundabout.
6. Street names shall include a suffix to clearly indicate that it is part of the vehicular circulation system and to minimize the possibility of confusion with development or project place names. Names lacking such suffi x or ending in such words as Harbor Isle or Point are not encouraged except to retain the continuity of established naming schemes. Names utilizing terms from other languages such as Embarcadero, Camino, Via and other non-typical names shall be considered individually for appropriateness, merit, and general conformance to this policy.
a. Cul-de-sac or short dead-end streets.
• Court
• Place
• Terrace
• Square
b. Short connecting streets generally less than 1,000 feet in length. • Lane
c. Curvilinear streets generally through or connecting and of higher capacity. • Drive
• Way
• Parkway
• Boulevard
d. Street running diagonally to an established grid system. • Road
• Way
e. Generally north south grid streets.
• Street
f. Generally east west streets.
• Avenue
Last Update: October 19, 2021
4 7. The use of the same name but different suffixes for adjacent streets shall be avoided with the exception of a small court or cul-de-sac adjacent to a main road. For example, Brighton Court off Brighton Road.
Corporate Street Naming Criteria:
The Planning Board shall review proposed corporate street name(s) and make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council shall make the final decision to approve the use of a corporate street name based on the criteria below. A corporate name may be approved for a street that meet the following criteria unless an exemption is approved by the City Council.
1. The proposed corporate name would not compromise the City’s ability to provide swift emergency response.
2. The street to be named must meet all City standards as a street as determined by the Public Works Director.
3. The street to be named must be located in an area of the City designated in the General Plan for business, jobs, or employment use and on corporate property greater than one acre in size with two or more corporate buildings on the site.
4. The name to be used must be distinct from all other street names used in the City of Alameda to eliminate possible confusion during an emergency response.
5. The only buildings to be addressed from the corporate named street shall be those under the full control of said corporation, which are owned or leased long term and are used for the operation of the corporation for which the street is named. All addressing must be approved by the City’s Building Official.
6. To aid in emergency response, the type and location of all st reet signs used on the street shall meet City standards and specifications. All street signs shall be installed and maintained by the property owner of record.
7. In the event of the disappearance of the corporation for which the street is named, the street name shall remain in force until such time as the new property owner of record takes all necessary actions to rename the street subject to the review of the Planning Board and approval of the City Council. All costs associated with renaming such a street shall be borne by the new property owner of record including the payment of all appropriate processing fees under the Master Fee Resolution.
8. The street to be named shall otherwise comply with the City ’s street naming regulations as set out in AMC Section 13-25 and this City Facility Naming Policy.
9. The City shall collect funds , as stated in the City’s Master Fee Schedule, to pay for future renaming expenses if the company later moves from that street.
PROCESS FOR RENAMING A CITY FACILITY OR STREET
A request to rename a City facility shall be initiated by one or more City resident(s), business owner(s), or property owner(s) using a City Facility Renaming Request Application (Application), which would be submitted to the City Manager. The Application would include reasons and/or justifications on why the name should be changed as well as letters of support, articles, documents, and other evidence demonstrating broad- based community support for the Application. The Application must include a petition with at least 500 Alameda resident signatories (electronic petitions accepted). For a City street renaming, the application is required along with a petition of at least 50% plus one signatories of the resident and business property owners on that street and/or a petition with at least 500 Alameda resident signatories.
Last Update: October 19, 2021
5 The City Manager or his/her designee then reviews the Application to ensure it is complete. At a public hearing, the City Council reviews and has final authority through a resolution on whether the City facility will be renamed. For a street renaming, all tenants and owners of the affected street must be noticed of the public hearing. The appropriate Commission or Board then utilizes the naming procedure as outlined in PROCESS FOR NAMING NEW OR UNNAMED CITY PROPERTY OR FACILITY. City Council has final authority on City facility names.