Advisory board endorses Mayor Pechota’s proposal to rename City Hall Park the LaValley Municipal Campus

The Venice Citizen Advisory Board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve an honorary renaming of City Hall Park as the LaValley Municipal Campus in honor of retiring City Manager Ed LaValley.

Mayor Pechota presented the proposal to the board and described LaValley as a “beacon of ethics” and the longest-serving city manager in Venice history. The mayor said the planned renaming would include the municipal campus — which he described as encompassing City Hall, the fire station and related grounds — while leaving the name of City Hall and Council Chambers unchanged.

Pechota said the city plans a retirement event for LaValley on July 8 and that, if the board approves, the renaming would be moved forward to council notice and could be completed in June to coincide with retirement activities. He told the board, “I completely get it in my brain… I think of Ed LaValley. I think of somebody who is the beacon of ethics, who is responsive to our community.”

Board members expressed support at the meeting. A roll-call vote recorded each member in favor of forwarding the recommendation to City Council. The motion passed unanimously.

The proposal does not alter the formal name of the City Hall building or council chambers, according to the mayor; it is an honorary renaming of the larger municipal campus. City Council will receive the board’s recommendation and consider formal action.

No budget or physical signage details were finalized at the meeting; the mayor and staff said those implementation details would follow after council action.