San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 20.03 Road Name Designation and Signage

The chapter establishes standards for the naming of roads and the location of required signage. All roads, as defined by this title, shall have an official road name as set forth in this title, for public health, safety, welfare and convenience.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

The department of planning and building shall maintain a Road Name Index to identify all official road names within the unincorporated portions of the county. In addition, a list of road names for roads to be named in conjunction with a construction permit shall be kept on file with the department of planning and building.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

A road name shall be required for all unnamed roads that provide vehicular access to more than one lot of record or to one lot of record with more than two buildings or four or more dwelling units. Road naming shall occur either prior to a land division map being recorded, prior to final building inspection being granted, or in conjunction with an application and petition from property owners located on the road.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Roads located entirely within a contiguous ownership of more than two hundred acres, and that do not provide access to more than two structures with no more than three dwelling units shall be exempt from the road name requirement of Section 20.03.014, except that the road may be named where the property owner requests such in writing.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Road names shall be based on the following criteria:

(1) Duplicate Road Names. Road names shall not duplicate another road name used elsewhere in the unincorporated areas of the county or in an incorporated city. Similar-sounding names are considered duplicate regardless of spelling.

(2) Family Names. Roads shall not be named after a family surname unless it can be proven in writing to the satisfaction of the department of planning and building that the surname is one of historical prominence in the area of the road to be named.

(3) Language. Road names in either English or a foreign language shall be grammatically correct and easy to pronounce and spell and shall not include the use of slang or profanity.

(4) Road Name Length. Road names shall be of a length to fit on a thirty-six inch sign blade (approximately eighteen letters)

(5) Road Type Classification. Road names shall include the appropriate road classification as set forth below:

(6) Continuity. A road that is continuous shall have the same name and road classification throughout its length, except in the following situations:

a. If an otherwise continuous road is interrupted by a drainage channel, freeway, railroad or other major physical obstruction with no planned connection, the segments shall have different names.

b. Where roads intersect at an interior angle of one hundred ten degrees or less, each segment shall be given a different name if doing so will reduce confusion.

(7) Road Name Descriptions. Only the following types of descriptions shall be used in association with road names:

a. "North," "South," "East" and "West" indicating direction from a numbering base line as assigned by the department of planning and building.

b. Road classifications as set forth in subsection (5) of this section.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Any road with an official road name shall be marked with a road name sign that is clearly visible and legible from the road and meets the following standards:

(1) Location. At the intersection of two or more roads or as required to clarify road location. The road name sign shall be visible from both directions of travel for a distance of not less than one hundred feet.

(2) Construction. For county-maintained roads, the sign blade and the mounting shall be as specified in the Standard Improvement Specifications and Drawings, Drawing M-6, on file in the county engineering department. For all other roads, the sign blade and mounting shall be as specified in the Standard Improvement Specifications and Drawings, Drawing M-6, on file with the county engineering department except they shall have silver Scotchlite applied to both surfaces and the letters shall be capitals of die-cut green Scotchlite.

(3) Erection and Maintenance. The purchase, placement, and maintenance of a road name sign is the responsibility of the following:

a. Any road created or extended by a division of land, or a road providing access to the division of land, shall have a road name sign purchased and erected by the subdivider. Maintenance shall be as designated in subsection (3)b. or (3)c., whichever is applicable.

b. The purchase and erection of a road name sign for all other roads that are currently unnamed is the responsibility of the party(ies) requesting the road name or the construction permit applicant. Responsibility for maintenance shall be with the party(ies) who requested the road name or with future construction permit applicants until such time as the county or another road maintenance entity is established to maintain the road and/or the road name sign.

c. Maintenance for road signs located on roads maintained by the county is the responsibility of the county. In the case of roads maintained by other agencies (e.g. community services districts, road maintenance districts, homeowners associations, etc.), road name signs shall also be maintained by the agency responsible for road maintenance.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Any unnamed roads shall be named at the time of construction permit application pursuant to the requirements as set forth in Sections 20.03.032 and 20.03.036, such that there are no unnamed roads from the project frontage to the nearest named road. The naming or renaming of a road not associated with a construction permit application or a land division, can be initiated by the owner of an addressable structure or parcel with road frontage, the board of supervisors, planning commission, department of planning and building or a public agency, and shall follow the procedures set forth in Sections 20.03.034 and 20.03.036. Roads created through a land division shall follow the procedures as set forth in Section 20.03.040.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

The application for a road name shall be completed and where the application is not in conjunction with a construction permit, a petition as described in Section 20.03.034 shall be submitted in addition to the following information:

(1) Applicant Information. This includes the owner name, mailing address and phone number;

(2) Location of Road. A location map clearly indicating the road location, the vicinity of the subject road and any cross streets shall be submitted with the application;

(3) Specific Request. To be included with road name applications in addition to all other information required by this section:

a. Type of request: Describes the reason for the request: Naming a previously unnamed road or changing the name of an existing named road,

b. Road name requested: Specify the road name that is being requested as part of the application. The name shall satisfy the provisions of Section 20.03.018. In the case of a road being named as part of a construction permit, the construction permit applicant may propose a name for consideration, or the county shall assign a name from a list of road names on file with the department of planning and building,

c. Reason for selecting name: Note the reason for the specific road name being requested,

d. Translation: If the proposed road name is written in a language other than English, a literal, as well as a commonly accepted translation shall be submitted;

(4) Owner Verification. Dated signature of property owner or the applicant's representative, where an owner's consent form is used.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

A petition must accompany an application as set forth in Section 20.03.032. The petition shall contain the following information:

(1) Type of Road Being Named. An indication that the road is presently unnamed or what its existing name is if a road name change is being proposed;

(2) Road Name Requested. State the road name that is being requested;

(3) Petitioner Information. The petition shall include:

a. Date petitioner signed petition,

b. Assessor parcel number of petitioner,

c. Signature of Petitioner. Only one signature is counted per addressable structure or parcel of land,

d. Dated signature of person who circulated petition;

(4) Required Number of Signatures. The petition must have the signatures representing a majority of the owners of addressable structures with frontage abutting the road. If less than two addressable structures have frontage abutting the road, then a combined majority of the owners of addressable structures and owners of parcels with road frontage shall sign the petition. At the discretion of the director of planning and building, the department of planning and building can sign the petition for an owner(s) of an addressable structure or parcel if doing so will expedite the road naming process for the purpose of public health, safety and welfare.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Issuance of a road name not associated with a land division map shall be processed by the department of planning and building as follows:

(1) Schedule Administrative Hearing. Upon receipt of a completed application and where applicable, a petition, the department of planning and building shall schedule the road name request at an administrative hearing before the planning director or designee.

(2) Public Notice. Ten days prior to the hearing, notice of the administrative hearing shall be posted a minimum of three public places along the road to be named or renamed, or be published in a newspaper of general circulation, or mailed to owners of addressable structures or parcels of land which abut the affected road. The type of notice shall be at the discretion of the department of planning and building.

(3) Notice of County Action When Hearing Continued. If a decision is continued by the county to a time which is neither previously stated in the public notice provided pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, nor announced at the hearing as being continued to a time certain, then county shall provide notice of further hearings in the same manner and within the same time limits as subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Administrative Hearing. A public hearing before the planning director on each road name proposal shall be conducted to allow any interested persons to present information and testimony relevant to a decision on the proposal. If upon conclusion of the hearing, the planning director finds that the road name satisfies the requirements of this title, the road name shall be adopted as official. This action makes the road name the official road name and this name will take precedence over any name previously associated with the road.

(5) Final Decision. Immediately at the conclusion of public testimony at the hearing, the planning director shall:

a. Announce that the approval requested for the road name as set forth in the staff report is the final administrative action and that the road name will become effective in ten days unless appealed; or

b. Announce that the approval requested for the road name is changed as a result of information provided at the hearing and whether the final decision is approval or denial; or

c. Continue the hearing to a date certain to provide additional time to evaluate information obtained at the hearing prior to a final decision; and

d. In the event final action is taken at the hearing, inform those present of the procedures by which the decision of the planning director may be appealed.

(6) Notification of Final Action. After the road name becomes effective, the department of planning and building shall notify all appropriate public and private agencies, and owners of parcels and addressable structures abutting the road of the newly approved road name and any new addresses of existing structures along the road where necessary.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)

Roads proposed on a land division map shall be named as follows:

(1) Names Required. A road that is an extension or portion of a named road shall bear the name of the existing road. A road that is an extension or portion of an existing unnamed road shall be named per Section 20.03.036. A road that is newly created by the land division, and is wholly contained in the boundaries of the map, shall be named as set forth in this section.

(2) Application Content. A completed application for road name shall be filed by the owner or his agent with the department of planning and building after the board of supervisors approves the tentative map. The content of the application shall be the same as specified in Section 20.03.032 with the following additions:

a. Applicant Information. The owner name, mailing address and phone number and the name, mailing address and phone number of the applicant's representative;

b. Owner Verification. Dated signature of property owner and the applicant's representative.

(3) Processing. The request for road name shall be processed as follows:

a. Proposed road name shall be reviewed by the department of planning and building to determine compliance with Section 20.03.018. If a determination is made that the name conforms to road name selection criteria, then the name shall be approved by the department of planning and building and shall be shown on the final map to be approved by the board of supervisors and recorded.

b. The road name is deemed approved and becomes official when the board of supervisors approves the final map shown with the road name and the map is recorded with the county recorder.

c. After the final map is recorded, the department of planning and building shall notify all appropriate public and private agencies of the newly approved road name and its location.

(Ord. 2521 § 1 (part), 1991)