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Ordinance committee forwards revised rules for naming city buildings and honorary streets to council
Summary
The Ordinance Committee unanimously voted to send amended language for naming city buildings, facilities and honorary streets to the Common Council. The changes standardize procedures between buildings and streets and clarify voting thresholds, including a higher threshold when the honoree is living or recently deceased.
The Ordinance Committee voted unanimously to send amended naming rules for city buildings, facilities and honorary streets to the Common Council. The committee approved revisions to Chapter 27 (city buildings and facilities) and Chapter 95 (streets and sidewalks) that standardize procedures and adjust voting thresholds.
The changes align the process for naming buildings, parks and streets so the same general procedure applies across categories. The committee said the revisions restore language making a two-thirds Common Council majority the usual approval threshold, and a higher threshold — “two-thirds plus one” — when a name is proposed for a living person or someone deceased fewer than 12 months.
Committee members said the intent is procedural consistency. “We’re also trying to make these procedures identical so that we don’t have two different procedures for naming streets and buildings and facilities,” a committee member said during discussion. Staff noted redlined edits that add the phrase “or section thereof” and correct drafting errors that had removed the plus-one requirement in some places.
The committee closed two public hearings on the proposed amendments after receiving no public testimony specifically on those sections. After staff presentation and brief committee discussion, Jalen moved to forward the amended Chapter 27 ordinance to the Common Council; the motion passed unanimously. Josh moved to forward Chapter 95 (sections 9537–9539) to the Common Council; that motion also passed unanimously.
The committee did not change the substance of the higher voting threshold tied to naming living persons or individuals recently deceased; it only amended ordinance text to restore the intended requirement and to harmonize procedure across codes. The forwarded package will appear before the Common Council for final action.
The committee recorded the motions as unanimous and attached the staff redlines to the meeting record. The committee clerk will include the amended text in the Common Council packet for the next available council meeting.
