Fowler Municipal Code Ch. 5 Naming of Public Facilities

This chapter establishes the standards for naming and renaming of public facilities. The Community Development Director has the authority to implement this chapter and to adopt administrative policies for its implementation.

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

Department. The City department currently having primary responsibility for facility naming.

Director. The Community Development Director, or designee.

Expenses. All staff and consultant costs incurred by the City in reviewing an application, including: studying a proposal, preparing reports for the City Council, and implementing a decision to rename a facility.

Facility. Any building, street, park, or equipment owned by the City.

Minor Change. A request to change the suffix of a street, the name of a private street, or correction of a street name to meet commonly accepted spelling.

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

(a) General Standards for Special Names.

(1) Naming facilities after individuals shall be limited to those whose contribution or connection to the facility or community within which the facility is located are exceptional.

(2) Naming facilities after a major historic event must be based on a direct connection between the facility and the event.

(3) The naming shall engender a positive public image which does not unduly commercialize the facility.

(b) New Facilities.

(1) The naming of facilities proposed to be dedicated to the City shall be determined by staff in accordance with this Chapter.

(2) Decision. At a public meeting, the City Council will consider the proposed facility name. The City Council may approve the facility name, by resolution, if it finds that the proposed facility name is in the public interest.

(c) Existing Facilities.

(1) Application. A person or entity requesting a name change must file an application with the Community Development Department, on a form provided by the City. The request must state the reason for the proposed name; the street, park, or public facility proposed for consideration of a name change; the proposed new name(s); and include a map showing the location of the affected facility. A fee established by City Council resolution shall be paid by the applicant.

(2) The Director, or designee, will review the request and:

a. Determine on a case-by-case basis the appropriate scope of public outreach, and public notice.

b. Seek written comments from, at a minimum, the City's Police Department, Fire Department, Finance Department, the County of Fresno, and United States Postal Service.

c. Prepare a staff report for the Planning Commission and the City Council providing an analysis of the request and including alternatives, if available.

(3) The request shall be heard by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall provide a recommendation to the City Council. Upon the recommendation by the Planning Commission, staff shall schedule the request for the City Council's consideration at a public meeting.

(4) Decision. At a public meeting, the City Council will consider the proposed facility name. The City Council may approve the name change, by resolution, if it finds that the proposed name is in the public interest. Prior to commencement of renaming activities, the applicant shall enter into a cost recovery agreement with the City and pay a deposit to cover the renaming expenses.

(d) Exceptions. Exceptions to the naming criteria established under this Chapter 5 shall require the approval of the City Council.

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

(a) General. For clarity, to accommodate City street sign size, to accommodate Emergency 911 databases and calls, and for safety for police and fire responses:

(1) A street may have only one official street name.

(2) All streets on the same alignment shall bear the same name where practical.

(3) Suffix designations shall match the context of land use and street design (see subsection (b) below), and shall be spelled out in full on the final map.

(4) A new street may have a prefix compass designation (N, S, E, W) only if the streets cross the east-west axis (Golden State Boulevard) or the north-south axis (Merced Street).

(5) Symbols and numeric characters may not be used.

(6) Conjunctions may not be used as part of a street name. (Example: "Diamonds and Roses" or "Brick or Tile").

(7) Each name shall be of the commonly accepted spelling, according to a standard dictionary.

(8) Street segments:

a. Where a through street makes a distinguishable change in direction and cannot be considered curvilinear, a separate name for each direction must be assigned.

b. Where there is more than one access point from different streets to a circular loop street, only one access point may be designated as circle. It is preferable to separately name each directional segment of a circular or loop road.

c. No street name may connect into any other street so as to create more than one intersection of the same named street.

(9) The following are not permitted:

a. Names of similar pronunciation and/or spelling (Example: Foxglove Avenue and Foxclove Lane, or Briar Lane and Brier Drive).

b. Duplication of an existing street name or a very similar name, unless the new street is a continuation of the existing street. Street segments are considered continuous only where there is less than a 250-foot centerline alignment offset.

c. Variation of the same name with a different suffix (Example: Alder Avenue, Alder Lane, Alder Drive). An exception to this is a court located off of the same street (Example: Pine Avenue, Pine Court).

d. Names that sound similar to nearby communities, unless the extension of an existing street. (Example: Fresno, Selma, Kingsburg, Parlier)

(b) Street suffix designations. Each new street shall have one of the following acceptable street suffix (or type) designations:

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

(a) Purpose. This section establishes a process for considering a request to rename a public or private street within the City limits from a member of the public. The City may, in its discretion, change the name of a street by City Council resolution following some public outreach, such as a public hearing or public notice in order to correct a misspelling or clerical oversights.

(b) Standards. In addition to the standards set forth in Sections 7-5.03 and 7-5.04, the following factors will be considered:

(1) The number of businesses and/or residents directly affected.

(2) The number of businesses and/or residents indirectly affected, including those whose address is on a street accessed or served by the street under consideration.

(3) Compatibility with existing street names.

(4) The costs of change to the City and the other affected properties.

(5) Whether an action to approve the renaming might establish a desirable or undesirable precedent.

(6) The effect of a rename request on the public's general connection with existing name.

(7) The alternative of renaming sections of the proposed street and how the length of the street sections may affect the continuity of the street.

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

(a) Purpose. It is hereby found and determined that the creation of an honorary street naming dedication program enables the City to commemorate individuals and events that have made significant contributions to the community and humanity without imposing substantial burdens associated with modification to the official street map of the City. These honorary street names do not replace the official street name or require re-addressing of the street.

(b) Application and Approval Process. The procedures set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 7-5.03 of this chapter shall be used for establishing an honorary name. The application submitted shall indicate that the request is to establish an honorary street name and identify the street or portion thereof that shall be so designated.

(c) Signage. In order to provide for consistency in naming of streets and to promote safety of the community, all honorary street dedication signs must conform to the following criteria:

(1) Honorary street dedication signs must be mounted in a way that distinguishes them and does not distract from the primary street sign. These honorary signs may therefore be mounted:

a. Above or below the primary street sign;

b. In a way that is otherwise clearly distinguishable from the primary street sign.

(2) Honorary street dedication signs shall have a distinct design and be in a contrasting color to distinguish them from primary street name signs, as approved by the City. This official design shall be used for all honorary street dedication signs. Honorary street dedication signs must include the word "Honorary."

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)

(a) The default name for a Fire Station shall be number-based. For example, the second Fire Station in the City of Fowler shall be named "Fire Station No. 2".

(b) The default name for a Police Station shall be based on its directional relationship to the police headquarters. For example, a Police Station east of City Hall would be named "East Police Station".

(c) The default name for a well, pump or lift station shall be number-based.

(d) The default name for an alley shall be based on block number and the two streets it is adjacent to. For example, the "200 block 5th / 6th Street Alley."

(Ord. No. 2021-07, § 1, 12-7-21)