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Virginia Beach council weighs formal criteria for honorary street names after recent "proliferation"
Summary
Staff proposed a formal policy for honorary street designations—sponsorship, significance tests, family consent and periodic review—after several honorary namings in recent years. Council members sought safeguards (limits on frequency, sponsor thresholds, and review periods) and discussed whether criteria should apply to other public facilities.
Planning staff presented a draft policy to formalize how Virginia Beach approves honorary street names and to reduce ad‑hoc decisions that council members said have become more frequent.
Kathy Warren explained the existing practice: honorary names are added by council resolution and do not change official addresses, but they lack consistent criteria. Staff recommended sponsorship by a council member, evidence of significant positive contributions (historic, humanitarian, service, career), consent from the honoree or family, limits on frequency and a five‑year review of existing honorary names.
Council members said the recent pace of namings made clear the need for rules. “There's been a proliferation of this… we could each name in the community hundreds of people who deserve recognition,” Councilman Bulichcci said, arguing for criteria to ensure fairness and avoid politicized or impulsive decisions.
Council members debated several specific options: requiring sponsorship by three council members in line with agenda setting rules; limiting nominations to deceased or long‑retired figures versus a service‑duration threshold (suggestions included 25 years of continuous service); applying the policy to other public facilities; and creating an "exit strategy" for rarely‑remembered honors. Several members favored retaining other recognition options such as proclamations and keys to the city for people who do not meet the high bar for an honorary street.
What happens next: Staff will draft a council policy incorporating the points of consensus and return it for further review; members asked staff to consult the city attorney's office and prepare one or more policy drafts for council consideration.
Why it matters: Honorary namings are symbolic public recognitions with reputational effects; council members said consistent rules would protect residents, avoid perception problems, and ensure the honor remains meaningful.
