CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
November 17, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita D. Scott, City Manager
Submitted By: Meg McWade, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: NAMING THE PHILLIPS RANCH GREENBELT, PLAYGROUND IN CIVIC CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT, AND THE MEADOW VIEW DEMONSTRATION GARDEN RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
Approve the name recommendations from the Parks and Recreation Commission for the Phillips Ranch Greenbelt, the Playground in the Civic Center Historic District, and the Meadow View Demonstration Garden which are as follows:
Phillips Ranch Greenbelt: Riparian Reserve at Phillips Ranch Park Playground in Historic Civic Center Plaza: Rec & Read Playground Meadow View Demonstration Garden: John and Gail Cook Memorial Meadow View Demonstration Garden; or Reject the name recommendations for the Phillips Ranch Greenbelt, the Playground in the Civic Center Historic District, and the Meadow View Demonstration Garden, discuss alternate names, and approve alternate park names.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In accordance with the Policy for Naming Park and Recreation Facilities (Attachment No. 1), the naming of new parks must first be considered at a publicly noticed meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission which occurred at its September 18, 2025 Meeting, with final naming authority resting with the City Council. This report presents the names submitted by the Parks and Recreation Commission for City Council consideration and requests that the City Council review the nominations and either approve or discuss /approve alternate names for each location.
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☐ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Councilmembers are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $500 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $500 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no costs associated with naming the parks. Costs may be incurred to purchase park monument signs to display the official park name at each location with actual costs determined based on then current bidding.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On January 24, 2022, the City Council adopted an updated policy for naming Park and Recreation facilities in the City.
On June 17, 2025, Parks and Recreation Commission formally initiated the park naming process for Phillips Ranch Greenbelt, Civic Center Plaza Playground, and Meadow View Demonstration Garden.
On September 18, 2025, the Parks and Recreation Commission considered the submitted park name nominations and made a recommendation to be provided to City Council for consideration.
DISCUSSION:
Park Naming Process
This report presents the final step in the park naming process for three new City parks:
Phillips Ranch Greenbelt (converted to a City Park effective July 1, 2025) Civic Center Plaza Playground (opening anticipated Spring 2026) Meadow View Demonstration Garden (Grand Opening July 16, 2025) The naming process was formally initiated at the June 17, 2025, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, in accordance with the City’s Policy. Community members were informed that recommendations or nominations must be completed and submitted by mail, in-person, or e-mail by August 31, 2025. Final recommendations of park names were referred to the Park and Recreation Commission and were considered during the regularly scheduled meeting of September 18, 2025. Final naming authority rests with the City Council.
Public Outreach
Following initiation, staff conducted a community outreach campaign to solicit park name nominations from residents and stakeholders. Outreach efforts included:
Posts on the City’s official social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) An email announcement to all City Commissioners
Announcements in the City Manager’s Weekly Report
Community pop-up events in July 2025, engaging residents and promoting City initiatives as follows:
On July 9, 2025, staff held a pop-up event at Civic Center Plaza in conjunction with the Library’s Fun and Games event. Staff connected with over 20 community members during the event.
On July 16, 2025, a second pop-up was held at the Meadow View Demonstration Garden, coinciding with the Garden’s Grand Opening celebration. The event was attended by approximately 30 community members.
Later that same day, staff hosted a third pop-up at the Phillips Ranch Greenbelt, where they connected with over a dozen community members.
Social media outreach also played a key role in promoting the community pop-up events, extending engagement beyond in-person interactions and encouraging submittal of nomination forms, which were available via links from social media accounts through August 31, 2025. These posts generated positive engagement, including likes, shares, and comments from community members:
Outreach Participation Metrics:
Instagram
Total Views: 141,580
Total Accounts Reached: 94,383
Facebook
Total Views: 72,098
Total Accounts Reached: 48,524
The combined data count was 213,678 total views and 142,907 total accounts reached. One account may view the post more than once. The total account is equal to the number of individual accounts who viewed the post at least once.
Park Name Nominations
Nomination forms were accepted in person, via U.S. mail, and via email. The total number of individual nominations received was 38, for a total of 29 nominated names. One nomination was received by a La Verne resident who worked for Pomona Unified School District for many years, and one nomination was received by an Ontario resident. All other nomination forms were submitted by Pomona residents. The breakdown of nominations received by park is below.
Number of Nominations Received:
Phillips Ranch Greenbelt: 18
Civic Center Plaza Playground: 8
Meadow View Demonstration Garden: 7
Non-specific Location: 5
The nominated names by park are listed below and included in Attachment No. 3. All submitted names were reviewed by staff in accordance with the criteria outlined in the naming policy and evaluated for eligibility based on the criteria. After staff review, six nominated names were determined not to meet naming criteria, leaving 23 eligible park names for consideration Where submitted names did not include the word “Park” or “Playground” it has generally been added in parentheses for clarity. Exceptions were made when terms like “Trail” or “Vista” were included, as these imply a different naming convention. Staff recommends that, if selected, each name include “Park” in the official name unless an alternative term is more appropriate to the site’s character. For the Civic Center Plaza, staff would recommend including “Playground” as the larger site is known as the Civic Center Historic District. Name nominations are below:
Phillips Ranch Greenbelt
Nominated Name
Count of Nominations Received
Policy Selection Criteria Met
Greenbelt Park
1 #1 – Geographic Location
John and Gail Cook’s Memorial Park
7 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
Riparian Reserve at Phillips Ranch
1 #1 – Geographic Location
Louie Park
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
Sparky Park
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
Run Ranch Park
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
Genesis Renee (Park)
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
Village Ranch Park
2 #1 – Geographic Location
Village Loop Park
2 #1 – Geographic Location
Louie V Park
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
Civic Center Plaza Playground
Nominated Name
Count of Nominations Received
Policy Selection Criteria Met
Mundo de Niños de Pomona (Children’s World Pomona)
1 #1 – Geographic Location/ Link to City development
Rec and Read Park*
1 #1 – Geographic Location/ Link to City development
Governor Gavin Newsom Park*
1 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
We’aashar (Playground)
1 #1 – Geographic Location/ National Heritage
Fatima (Playground)
1 Does not meet criteria per Staff review
C.P. Park/Peraza Plaza
1 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
Dream Park*
1 #1 – Geographic Location/ Link to City development
Dr. Mary Montes (Playground)
1 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
*Staff recommends altering “Park” in favor of “Playground” for these name nominations as the larger Civic Center area is known as the Civic Center Historic District and the name nomination is strictly for the new playground area.
Meadow View Demonstration Garden*
Nominated Name
Count of Nominations Received
Policy Selection Criteria Met
Meadow View Demonstration Garden
1 #1 – Geographic Location
Meadow View Trail
1 #1 – Geographic Location
Mt. Baldy View Park
2 #1 – Geographic Location
Meadow Views (Park)
1 #1 – Geographic Location
Meadow View Vista
1 #1 – Geographic Location
Moving Views Garden
1 #1 – Geographic Location
*For Meadow View Demonstration Garden, the overwhelming response from the community was in favor of including “Meadow View” as part of the park’s name in memorial of the homes lost on Meadow View Drive.
Non-specific Location
Nominated Name
Count of Nominations Received
Policy Selection Criteria Met
Freedom Park
1 #1 – National Heritage
David Roy McElwain Memorial Park
1 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
Tongva (Park)
1 #1 – National Heritage
Agape (Park)
1 #1 – National Heritage
Dr. R. Rachel Madrigal (Park)
1 #2 – Individual with Significant Contribution
Parks and Recreation Commission Consideration and Recommendation All submitted names were reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission in accordance with the criteria outlined in the naming policy. The Commission held a robust discussion on names submitted, including consideration on why each name was nominated. For the Greenbelt, the Commission felt recognition of the area as a riparian might open funding opportunities which could assist with improvement projects or long-term maintenance costs. When considering names for the playground in Civic Center Plaza, the Commission was moved that the name “Rec and Read” was submitted by a seven-year-old Pomona resident who was looking forward to visiting the newly refurbished library and then going outside to play on the playground. Finally, the Commission wanted to acknowledge that several residents in Phillips Ranch wanted to honor residents John and Gail Cook, and while that name was submitted for the Greenbelt, discussed that as a memorial garden to the homes lost on Meadow View Drive, it would be appropriate to both honor long-term residents and Meadow View homes, thus recommended John and Gail Cook Memorial Meadow View Demonstration Garden for the demonstration garden.
City Council holds final naming authority and may select to approve names as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission, or reject the names recommended by the Commission, discuss alternate names, and approve those discussed at the City Council Meeting. Names recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission comply with the policy and are as follows:
Park Location
Recommended Name
Phillips Ranch Greenbelt
Riparian Reserve at Phillips Ranch
Playground in the Historic Civic Center Plaza
Rec & Read Playground*
Meadow View Demonstration Garden
John and Gail Cook Memorial Meadow View Demonstration Garden *If selected by Council, Staff would recommend altering the name to Rec & Read Playground to avoid confusion with the larger Civic Center Historic District.
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the recommended park names as proposed by the Parks and Recreation Commission or reject the nominated names, discuss alternate names, and approve alternate park names.
Prepared by:
Lindsay McElwain, Senior Management Analyst
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment No. 1 – Policy for Naming of Park and Recreation Facilities Attachment No. 2 – Nomination Form for Naming of Park and Recreation Facilities Attachment No. 3 – Submitted Nomination Forms
Attachment No. 4 – Presentation
Naming the Phillips Ranch Greenbelt, Playground in Civic Center Historic District, and Meadow View Demonstration Garden