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HomeMy WebLinkAboutN.B. 6 PARK NAMING 02-06-89, ~' ~'~.:~' ", :.~ ~:.'=~ r, ~ NEW BUSINESS OATE: JANU~Y 31 , 1989 ~~%~ ........... ! TO: .FROM: SUBJECT: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER COHHUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT PARK NAMING GUIDELINES RECOIMMENDATION- · Approve park naming gui delines as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission and staff. PARK NAFIING GUIDELINES: 1. The City of Tustin is the "City of Trees". Whenever appropriate, parks should be named for a tree. 2. When a tree name is not available or suitable, and whenever appropriate, park names involving a ranch theme could be used. 3. Since the Peters Canyon Wash runs through East Tustin, a canyon theme Could be used for parks developed in the Peters Canyon area. 4. If a person pays for a park's development in its entirety, the park could be named for them or the name of their choice as approved by the City Council. 5. If none of the guidelines above are applicable, the park could be named for a street location. BACKGROUND: At the January 19 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved staff recommendation to establish a formal policy for naming parks. The Commission recommended that the Council adopt-the guildelines set forth in this report as pul icy. The City of Tustin will develop over .~0 acres of park land in the next few years. These parks will be a variety of sizes and uses, including three large community level parks and three smaller neighborhood level- parks. Community parks are generally eight acres or larger and serve a minimum population of 1~,000. Neighborhood parks serve a minimum population of 2,,500 and are a minimum of three acres in size. This report will propose some suggested guidelines for naming future Tustin parks. The City has no formal written policy for naming parks. References are made in Council Minutes, but there is no record of a policy. A variety of names have been used for the City's nine existing parks. Two parks have been named for significant people in the history of Tustin, Columbus Tustin and C. E. Utt. Two have been named with a theme, Centennial and Frontier Parks. Two'have been named PARK NAMING GUIDELINES Page 2 January 31, 1989 for their location, McFadden-Pasadena and North Tustin Parkettes. Tustin has three, parks named for trees, Pinetree, PepperlLree and Magno.lia Tree Parks, which seems to be very appropriate since Tustin is the "City of Trees." Various naming themes could be generated from the new development in.East Tustin, Tustin Ranch. A ranch theme, a canyon theme, or the name of the neighborhood or housing tract could be used. While naming for the area could make the loc~tion easily identifiable, it might promote exclusivity by the neighboring residents and could discourage other citizens from using the park. · Staff contacted all Orange County Cities regarding whether or not they had a policy for naming parks. Of the twenty-seven cities, only three have formal policies. Many of the cities contacted use similar guidelines for naming opportunities which will be addressed later in the report. Santa Ana, San Juan Capistrano, Costa Mesa and Fullerton request recommendations for names from the public by using press releases and flyers. From the recon~nendations received each of the City Councils make the final decision on what names will be used. The City of Los Al amitos used a unique method for naming a new park. A contest was held which involved elementary, junior .high school and high school age children. Students were given the opportunity to select a name for the park. The only guidelines were that the name needed to relate to the City's heritage and suqgestions could include no living persons. Each student had to support their choice in 50 words or less. The entries were judged by the Parks and Recreation Commission with the City Council approving the final name. A prize of $50 savings. bond was given to each age-level winner, with an additional $25 savings bond given to the overall winner. Four of the cities contacted had no information as to how parks in their cities were named. Some of the cities allowed citizens groups or committees that had been involved in the planning or design of the park to recommend names. The following information regarding park naming guidelines and policies is from seven neighboring cities with reCent or current park development- In the City of Anaheim, parks adjoining schools are named in conjunction with the school. Community parks have no specific rules, but may be named according to the housing tract, nearby school or close major street. Neighborhood parks are named after botanical elements such as a tree or shrub. Generally parks are not named for people. The City of Irvine has no set policy. Park names are determined by the individual community committee established to design the project. In the City of Cypress parks are named after the vegetation that is indigeneous to the area. Also, if the park had large financial donation or if land was donated, the City would name a park after the vegetation and the contributor's name. Thus, many of their parks have dual names. PARK NAMING GUIDELINES P age 3 January 31, 1989 If the occasion arises, Cypress would also name parks after deceased people who have made a.contribution to the community. The City of Yorba Linda has no particular policy. Names are recommended by the Park and Recreation Commi-ssion and then decided on by the City Council. The City of Orange which currently has development occuring in Santiago Hills has no set policy regarding park naming. Newer parks may be named in conjunction with the development surrounding it, hence the name of "Santiago Hills Park". The City of Westminster had a policy that was written approximately 15 years ago, but was rejected by the City Council. Thus, there is no current policy in place. Parks are predominately named for the nearest major street, or if located near a school they are named for the school. Huntington Beach's City Council adopted a written policy in 1978. The policy listed guidelines for naming parks. These guidelines included parks being named for adjacent schools, for people who were major land or money donors, for former mayors, or for distinguished citizens who have served the City wel 1. The Police Department has .requested that a future park site be named to honor Officer Waldron Karp, the only Tustin police officer killed in the line of duty. Only one third of the cities in Orange County supported naming parks for people. Most cities surveyed, felt that it was better to use names involving natural things like trees and shrubs, or those designating the location of the park. Perhaps it might be more appropriate after naming a park, to dedicate it in honor of Officer Karp by placing a special monument plaque on the park site. The guidelines allow for enough flexibility to provide suitable names for future parks while keeping with the unique character and history of the Tustin area. nes Recreation Superintendent Royl~)~n ~. White, F)irector Comm(~rrft~ and Administrative Services RAW/SMJ/bw