Item No.
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
BY: MATTHEW BAUMGARDNER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/CITY
ENGINEER
DATE: MAY 28, 2024
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF STREET NAME CHANGES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council will consider providing direction to staff on moving forward with a survey of affected property owners along 2nd, 3rd and 4th Streets, and New Street in the downtown area as it relates to changing the name of those streets. Proposed street name changes are under consideration by City Council that reflect the City’s history and culture. Council direction will focus on the limits to the streets under consideration, the level of support from affected property owners, as well as discussion on new street names for consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council:
1. Discuss the process for changing the names of streets in the City; and
2. Discuss and provide direction to staff regarding whether to proceed with the name change process for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets, as well as New Street in the Downtown area.
BACKGROUND
At its meeting of March 12, 2024, the City Council directed staff to return at a future meeting to discuss the process for changing the name of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets, as well as New Street in the Downtown area. The discussion centered around exploring street names that celebrate the City’s history and culture. In the past, the City has gone through the process of changing the name of a street – most recently in 2009, when the City changed the name of Clark Avenue between Lakewood Boulevard and Foster Road to Columbia Way. Each time the City changes the name of a street, the process has begun by surveying the affected properties to gage support for such changes. At the time of the last change, 62 percent of the property owners were in favor of changing the name to Columbia Way in honor of the astronauts that were lost in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident.
As part of the survey process, staff determines the list of property owners that would be affected by changing the name of the street. A survey is first conducted of the property
APPROVED BY
CITY MANAGER
DISCUSSION OF STREET NAME CHANGES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA
MAY 28, 2024
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owners to determine their support of a name change. The reason for doing this is to provide the City Council a deeper understanding of how the property owners may be impacted. When a street name is changed, all residents and businesses will have to notify their utility companies, vendors, and others with whom they correspond of the new street addresses. Businesses may also need to change legal documents and advertisements.
City staff will need to coordinate with the Postal Service to inform it of the address changes as well as change out of streets signs at all intersections. It is important to note that a survey is not required by law, but the survey allows the Council to understand the level of support while making a final decision. Following a discussion by City Council of the survey results, a Resolution must then be adopted to change the name of the street should the Council determine it wants to proceed with the name change.
ANALYSIS
Section 5026 of the California Streets and Highway Code enables any County or City legislative body to change the name of its streets by resolution, provided that the body promptly forwards a copy of the resolution by the City Clerk to the clerk of the Board of Supervisors. As part of the initial process to changing street names in the downtown area, staff first determined potential limits of the street name changes for the City Council to consider, as shown in the following table:
Street Name From To # of
Intersections
# of
Properties
2nd Street Civic Center Paramount Blvd. 6 18
2nd Street Civic Center Pomering Rd, 10 107
3rd Street Civic Center Paramount Blvd. 6 49
3rd Street Civic Center Old River School Rd. 11 134
4th Street Downey Ave Paramount Blvd. 5 26
4th Street Downey Ave Rives Ave. 7 68
New Street Firestone Blvd. 5th St. 5 13
Since there were no specific limits identified by the City Council, staff has shown different limits for the Council’s consideration, as well as the number of intersections between these limits and the number of properties impacted. Based on the number of affected properties, Staff recommends confining the limits to just within the downtown area, as extending 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets beyond Paramount Boulevard significantly increases the amount of time required to survey all of the property owners. By limiting the western boundary to Paramount Boulevard, the total number of affected properties is 93, as opposed to a total of 309 affected properties, if the limit was extended further west. The areas under consideration are shown on Attachment A.
Determining Potential Street Name Candidates
The City Council may discuss several names for consideration and direct staff to conduct a survey based on those names. Alternatively, if additional time is desired to explore new street names, staff recommends coming back at a future City Council meeting for further deliberation on street names. It is recommended that street names be selected before any survey is conducted. Staff could then send letters to affected property owners and follow up with door-to-door visits to ensure the highest level of response to the survey.
DISCUSSION OF STREET NAME CHANGES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA
MAY 28, 2024
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Potential Costs Related to Street Name Change
While the initial costs related to changing the name of streets in the downtown area are limited to postage and staff time, there is a cost of up to $1,000 per intersection for purchasing and installing new street signs.
Direction from City Council
Following the discussion of the preceding items, staff seeks direction from the City Council on proposed street name changes and the limits of the proposed streets for consideration. Future discussion will include surveying the community. Staff anticipates that it would take approximately 60 days to complete the survey of the affected property owners and would return upon completion with results and potential resolutions for the City Council to consider. During this period, it is anticipated that up to 40 hours of staff time will be needed to conduct follow-up surveys with property owners and to summarize all of the findings for City Council.
Staff has provided a set of options for the City Council to consider below:
Current Direction Sought:
Decision 1: Whether to proceed with street name changes for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and New Streets.
Option 1: Direct staff to proceed with the name change process.
Option 2: Keep the current names of the streets.
Decision 2: Determine the western limits of the street name changes for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets.
Option 1: Make Paramount Boulevard the western limit for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Street name changes. Results in a total of 93 affected properties on those streets.
Option 2: Extend the street name change further west of Paramount for 2 nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets. Results in a total of 309 affected properties on those streets.
Decision 3: Begin Conversation on Street Names.
If the City Council directs staff to move forward, staff recommends that Council also begin a discussion of potential street names/themes at its May 28, 2024 meeting. From this discussion, staff can return at the June 11, 2024 meeting with a list of potential street names for the City Council to consider, discuss, and approve.
Future Direction:
Decision 4: Determine whether to conduct a community survey once street names have been decided.
Option 1: Direct staff to survey the residents of the affected parcels and review the findings.
DISCUSSION OF STREET NAME CHANGES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA
MAY 28, 2024
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Option 2: Direct staff to survey the residents and Council could set a positive response threshold, wherein it would proceed only if the threshold is exceeded (ex., simple majority, 60 percent [60 percent is consistent with the Columbia Way change, which moved forward with 62 percent approval], or other desired percentage).
Option 3: Do not conduct a survey.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Quality of Life, Safety & Infrastructure
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Limits of Proposed Street Name Changes