SUBJECT:

COMMEMORATIVE NAMING POLICY FOR MUNICIPAL parkS, streetS and FACILITIES

OBJET :

POLITIQUE SUR LES NOMS COMMÉMORATIFS ATTRIBUÉS À DES PARCS, RUES ET INSTALLATIONS DE LA VILLE

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council approve the Commemorative Naming Policy for municipal parks, streets and facilities as outlined in the report.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil d’approuver la politique sur les noms commémoratifs attribués à des parcs, rues et installations de la ville, qui est décrite dans le présent rapport.

BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION

At the 10 April 2002 meeting of City Council, following a recommendation for park naming, the following Resolution was approved:

That staff be directed to develop a corporate policy for naming of City facilities as a priority, and that the policy be brought to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee for debate;

And that naming of City facilities be deferred until Council approves the policy;

And that the Parks and Recreation and Heritage Advisory Committees be consulted as part of the staff review of this item.

Subsequent to the approval of the above Resolution, a comprehensive review was conducted on the status of naming policies in municipalities in the former region, across the province, in large urban municipalities across Canada, as well as by the federal and provincial governments and other organizations. A detailed analysis of these policies is provided in the report.

The scope of the review identified the following key areas that should be included in any policy developed for the new City of Ottawa:

There must be detailed criteria to measure requests for commemorative naming, to ensure that relevant factors are present prior to honouring an individual or family;
There must be comprehensive public consultation conducted, to ensure that the affected community supports the naming request;
The process must be efficient and not take an undue length of time to determine the eligibility of each request for naming;
There should be one comprehensive list maintained, to be consulted when commemorative park, facility or street naming is contemplated, rather than individual lists resident in various departments;
There should be one central repository for commemorative naming requests, list maintenance, and public consultation;
A Commemorative Naming Committee should be established to review the approved Commemorative Names Reserve List and select an appropriate name for a park, or facility when a naming is required;
Commemorative street naming should be conducted as a separate process from park or facility naming, due to the volume and time sensitivity of the requirements for such naming.

All of these factors are identified in the proposed Commemorative Naming policy put forward for approval.

BENCHMARKING – OTHER NAMING POLICIES

Both the former municipalities of Nepean and Ottawa had formal Council-approved policies and procedures for commemorative naming of municipal parks, streets and facilities. Other municipalities had components of criteria or processes in place, however, they may not have been Council approved. These two policies were carefully reviewed in addition to eleven other jurisdictions. The policies were analyzed and compared against the ~~six criteria~~ seven principles outlined above. The results of this exercise are synthesized in the chart below.

Other Naming Policies Benchmarking Chart

Policy Maker	Detailed Criteria	Investigation Process	Public Consultation Process	Maintenance and use of single names list	Centralized location for naming requests	Naming Committee
Former City of Ottawa	Yes	No	Consultation process but no procedure on who should be consulted, or the timing of such consultation	Separate lists maintained in each City department	Yes	Staff Naming Committee
Former City of Nepean	Yes	No	No – advertising conducted after standing committee makes a decision	No	Yes	No
City of Mississauga	Yes	No- one month waiting period	Public input is solicited through newspaper ads, community meetings and general circulation. Input is incorporated into Council report.	No	Yes	No
City of Toronto	Yes	Yes	Yes- staff contacts relevant community groups, historical societies and other relevant groups	No	Yes	No
Policy Maker	Detailed Criteria	Investigation Process	Public Consultation Process	Maintenance and use of single names list	Centralized location for naming requests	Naming Committee
City of Vancouver (Note: this policy is for street naming only)	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
City of Edmonton	Yes	No, but nominators may appear before the Committee to testify	Yes, if the Names Advisory Committee deems it necessary	Yes	Yes	Yes
City of Calgary	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Province of Quebec	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Province of Alberta	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Federal Government- Geographical Names Board of Canada	Yes	Yes	No process indicated, but name must be in the public interest	No	Yes	Yes
Federal Government – Public Works Canada	No	No	No	No	Yes	No, at the discretion of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to choose
Ottawa Carleton District School Board	Yes	At the discretion of the Director	No	No	No	No
National Capital Commission	No	No	No	No	No	No

After reviewing the materials provided by other jurisdictions as outlined in the table above, key themes were identified including; the need for clear naming, criteria, clarity of process, the importance of the role played by legislative bodies, and the need for a solid consultation process.

The policy presented below has endeavoured to incorporate all of these themes as well as the ~~six~~ seven key principles as outlined ~~above~~.

New Commemorative Naming Policy for parks, streets and facilities

CRITERIA

Where the naming of a street, municipal park, part of a park, facility, or part of a facility, after an individual is being requested, at least one of the following criteria shall apply:

· The ~~recommended~~ nominated individual shall have demonstrated excellence, courage or exceptional service to the citizens of the City of Ottawa, the Province of Ontario and/or Canada;

· The ~~recommended~~ nominated individual shall have an extraordinary community service record;

· The ~~recommended~~ nominated individual shall have worked to foster equality and reduce discrimination;

· The nominated individual shall have risked or given his/her life to save or protect others;

· Where the nominated individual is a current City employee, the individual shall have made an outstanding contribution to the City of Ottawa outside of his/her capacity and duties as a City employee or they may be recognized for their exceptional service once they are no longer a City employee;

· An individual may be recognized for a significant financial contribution to a park or facility, where that contribution significantly benefits the community that the park or facility serves;

· Where the request is of a geographic, thematic, or location specific nature, a separate geographic Names Reserve List shall be maintained and monitored for duplication.

PROCESS AND INVESTIGATION

1. The City Clerk’s office shall be the central depository for all naming requests for municipal streets, parks, part of parks, facilities, or part of a facility. The term municipal park shall include other components, such as sporting fields contained within a larger park.

2. Any member of the public, or of City Council, may submit a name for naming consideration to the City Clerk’s office.

3. Upon receipt of the request, the City Clerk, or designate, shall conduct a review and investigation of the request for naming, to ensure that at least one of the relevant criteria apply to the individual being recommended for honour. Investigation is an integral part of the naming process since it is imperative that citizens names who are suggested have not only made a valuable contribution to the City of Ottawa, but have not acted in an inappropriate manner in another instance.

4. Upon completion of the investigation and evaluation process, and it has been concluded that the nominated name warrants inclusion, the ~~recommended~~ nominated name will be added to the Commemorative Names Reserve List for consideration ~~for~~ and use. The particular name can be referenced for a specific ward, or designated only for park or facility use, if appropriate. Where there is insufficient information to determine if the naming criteria are met, the name will not be entered on the Commemorative Names Reserve List and the requester will be so notified.

5. The Commemorative Nnames Reserve Llist shall be maintained by the City Clerk, or designate, for possible use in all instances of naming municipal streets, parks, facilities, etc.

6. When naming of a park or facility is required, an in-camera meeting of the Commemorative Naming Committee shall be convened to select a name from the Commemorative Names Reserve List. Street names shall be chosen by the developer, private landowner, or the City and must be drawn from the Names Reserve List. A meeting of the Naming Committee will not be required for the naming of a street. The Commemorative Naming Committee shall be constituted as outlined below. Naming of a street shall follow a separate process as outlined in the new Street Naming Policy.

7. Once the Commemorative Naming Committee has ~~chosen~~ approved a recommended and two alternate names for a particular park or facility, a public consultation ~~process~~ shall be undertaken. Public consultation will be conducted to ensure that community support exists for the recommended naming or one of the alternates. The public consultation process shall be as outlined below.

8. ~~Once~~ Following the public consultation process ~~has been completed~~with favourable response, the results will be forwarded to the Commemorative Naming Committee who shall be convened ~~again~~ to endorse the proposed name. Where there is public opposition to the use of the name, the individual requesting the naming will be so advised, and the name will identified as having a lack of public support to the Commemorative Naming Committee. Where the proposed name is not endorsed, the Commemorative Naming Committee shall ~~choose another name to undergo the public consultation process~~endorse one of the alternate names.

9. Once the Naming Committee has chosen the final name for a municipal facility, a report will be sent to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and Council, recommending the name assignment and recommending approval. With respect to the final name for a park, a report will be sent to the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee and Council, recommending the name assignment and recommending approval.

10. Once a Commemorative Name has been approved for a park or facility a plaque shall also be erected upon the site indicating the name of the site as well as its significance.

11. Street names shall be chosen by the developer, private landowner, or the City and shall remain the responsibility of the Development Services Department. However, where a request has been made for the commemorative naming of a street, the request shall be vetted through the Commemorative naming policy investigation and evaluation process. Once it has been investigated and evaluated, the application will be processed in accordance with the fees and procedures associated with the new Street Naming Policy. A meeting of the Commemorative Naming Committee will not be required for the naming of a street.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Public consultation shall be undertaken in accordance with the size and scope of the park or facility being named. ~~Public consultation~~ Consultation ~~will~~ shall consist of formal written notification of the proposed name to ward-affected Community Associations, applicable interest groups and City of Ottawa Advisory Committees (where appropriate) for comment. The public consultation period for comments shall last two months, or 60 calendar days. Where the naming request is not ward specific, all community associations and organizations listed on the municipal master contact list will be notified of the naming request for consideration.

Public consultation is recommended since the issue of commemorative naming of parks and facilities directly affects citizens and provides identity to the communities in which they live. Through public consultation at the community and city-wide level, residents will be able to ensure they maintain a strong connection to their communities and investigators will be able to gain a better understanding of the individual who has been nominated for recommendation.

COMMEMORATIVE NAMING COMMITTEE

The Commemorative Naming Committee shall be convened to select a name when a park or municipal facility is required to be named.

The Commemorative Naming Committee shall be composed of the following representatives:

The City Clerk (or designate)
The General Manager of People Services (or designate)
The General Manager of Corporate Services (or designate)
The General Manager of Development Services (or designate)
The Mayor (or designate)
The Councillor in whose ward the park or facility is located

In the event that a park or facility crosses ward boundaries and is located in more than one ward, all affected ward Councillors shall be considered part of the Commemorative Naming Committee.

The City Clerk shall convene a meeting of the Commemorative Naming Committee as required to discuss and name all new parks and/or facilities, which have been identified as requiring a name. Meetings will be held in-camera, in accordance with Section 12 (1)(b) of the Procedure By-law, “personal matters about an identifiable individual, including staff”. Committee support will be provided by the Commemorative Naming Policy Coordinator (see Financial Implications).

The Committee shall review the approved list of names eligible for consideration in determining the appropriate name for the identified park or facility. Upon selection of a recommended name and alternate names for the park or facility from the Commemorative Names Reserve List, the public consultation process will commence for 60 days. The Commemorative Naming Committee will reconvene to review public comment and develop a final recommendation. The recommendation will be submitted for approval to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and Council for commemorative naming of facilities and the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee and Council for commemorative naming of parks.

COMMEMORATIVE NAMES RESERVE LIST MAINTENANCE AND USE

The Commemorative Names Reserve list shall be amalgamated into one list, and shall be maintained by the Office of the City Clerk.

There shall be no prioritization system of commemorative names on the list. The Commemorative Naming Committee shall be free to choose any name on the list. Nominators will be free to designate the name for use in a specific ward, park, or type of facility at the time of nomination if they chose.

The List shall be made available on request to any interested party, although the results of the investigations of the naming requests shall remain confidential.

A commemorative name may only be used for a park, street and facility only once. If the nominator wishes that a nominated commemorative name be associated with a particular park, street or facility, it shall be noted on the Commemorative Names Reserve List.

The Commemorative Names Reserve List shall be consulted for the purposes of street naming, although a meeting of the Commemorative Naming Committee shall not be required for street naming.

RENAMING

The guidelines for the renaming of a park, street or facility are quite similar to the naming process except that the public consultation period requires that the Ward Councillor(s) hold one public meeting on the renaming. This is recommended as a means of ensuring that all stakeholders have a chance to offer input regarding local identity. The renaming process differs in that it entails the discarding of an old name, which most likely has become an important part of community identity. Thus, the need for public input is even greater. In addition, in the case of renaming, Council becomes the final authority on the proposed name as opposed to the Naming Committee. This mechanism is being recommended since current names, especially on larger facilities, such as the Jim Durrell Arena, are not only a part of ward identity, but are often focal points for the entire region. Thus, it is imperative that all residents of the City, through their Ward Councillor, have an opportunity to offer input.

The renaming process shall be identical to the commemorative naming process and also require City Council as the final authority for approving the proposed park or facility name. The renaming process differs in that it entails the discarding of an old name, which most likely has become an important part of community identity. Thus the need for public input is even greater. It shall be recognized that this need for public input must also be balanced with the need to protect the confidentiality of the person or family after whom the existing facility or park is being renamed.

CONSULTATION

The Parks and Recreation, Heritage and Equity and Diversity Advisory Committees were consulted on the draft naming policy, and all other Advisory committees were distributed a copy of the policy for their information.

The following input was provided by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and where indicated was incorporated into the draft policy presented to CSED for approval.

· That an individual may be recognized for a significant financial contribution to a park or facility, where that contribution significantly benefits the community that the park or facility serves. (This contribution has been incorporated into the report and attempts to recognize the contribution made by community partners and the benefit this provides to the community.)

· That the public consultation period be extended past 30 days to ensure the public and advisory committees, community associations and other groups have an opportunity to respond. (This suggestion has been incorporated and the policy reflects a 60-day consultation phase.)

· That members of the public have a seat on the Commemorative Naming Committee to provide input into the process from a public perspective. (Although this suggestion has not been incorporated into the structure of the Committee, the need for clear-cut public consultation and input is important, and the policy attempts to reflect this.)

· That the City investigates and develops a sponsorship/partnership policy for recreation and sports facilities. (This suggestion will be forwarded to the Communications and Marketing Branch and the Real Property Asset Management Branch.)

The following input was provided by the Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee, and where indicated, was incorporated into the draft policy presented to CSED for approval.

· That facility and park names should be sold to increase City revenue. (This suggestion was also made by the Parks and Recreation Committee, and an additional criteria to recognize individuals who have made a significant financial contribution to a park or facility was included.)

· The investigation process should be measured in a similar manner to a federal government security clearance. (This suggestion will be used in the investigation process, and provides a less subjective mechanism for evaluating and accepting names.)

· That one member and an alternate of each of the Equity and Diversity, Heritage and Parks and Recreation Advisory Committees have a seat on the Commemorative Naming Committee to provide input into the process from a public perspective. (Although this suggestion has not been incorporated into the structure of the Committee, the need for clear-cut public consultation and input is important, and the policy attempts to reflect this.)

The following input was provided by the Heritage Advisory Committee, and where indicated, was incorporated into the draft policy presented to CSED for approval.

· That the 30-day consultation period be extended. (This suggestions incorporated.)

· That the after naming process is completed the site also include an interpretative plaque explaining the significance of the commemorative name. (This suggestions has been incorporated.)

· That historical names be given precedent. (This suggestion has not been included since it was felt that all names should be considered with equal weight and in consultation with the public)

· That commemorative nominees may not be living individuals. (This suggestions was not incorporated since many facilities and parks, such as Ben Franklin Place are named after living individuals, and as well it offers Councillors and members of the public an opportunity to recognize outstanding achievement in a timely fashion.)

Development Services Department, People Services Department, Real Property Assest Management Branch, and Legal Services Branch have reviewed and provided input on the new policy.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

It is anticipated that .5 FTE will be required to coordinate and facilitate the Commemorative Naming Process. Costs of advertising and community outreach for the annual public consultation when commemorative naming is to be undertaken will be approximately $50,000. There are not presently funds available in the Secretariat Services Branch budget to accommodate this workload.

The Commemorative Naming Policy Coordinator could potentially be combined with the Public Participation Coordinator position, if approved by City Council in September 2002, and the workload could be accommodated as 1 FTE, with an expense of $62,400 total.

DISPOSITION

Upon approval of the policy by Council, the City Clerk, or designate, will liaise with the relevant departments to amalgamate the existing lists of names into one list and implement the new policy and guidelines.

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

and Council/et au Conseil

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION

CONSULTATION

DISPOSITION