One of the curiosities of the City Council agenda for Thursday, November 15 is that it contains not one, but three items relating to the Interstate Avenue / Cesar Chavez Boulevard controversy.
The first item, no. 1362, is a resolution to rename the street. The second item, no. 1363, is an ordinance to authorize renaming the street. These two were introduced by Mayor Potter. The third item, no. 1326, is to be carried to Thursday from Wednesday, and declares the city's intent to name some major street after Mr. Chavez, with a suitable process for public input and a review committee. It's being introduced by Commissioners Adams and Leonard.
In the order given on the agenda, the Adams-Leonard resolution will become moot if the Mayor's resolution and ordinance pass, because the City will already have renamed Interstate Avenue after Mr. Chavez -- unless, that is, the City is going to rename two streets after him.
To me, though, the interesting thing about the Mayor's ordinance (no. 1362) is this little passage:
The provisions of Municipal Code chapter 17.93, renaming City Streets, shall be waived, except for the following sections: Subsections (G) and (H) of 17.93.040; 17.93.060.
Some parts of the City Code contemplate that the Council can waive them. For example, in land use matters the City is authorized to grant variances and adjustments to relax how the regulations affect specific properties, in each case only if the properties satisfy the code requirements. And in the case of land use, the City is releasing other people from the requirements of the Code; in this case the Mayor proposes to release the City Council itself from the requirements of the Code. This is a dangerous step.
The street naming ordinance (which I've posted in the continuation below) doesn't allow the Council to grant exemptions, and it says specifically that the Council can't itself initiate action to rename a street to honor a deceased person without someone going through the hoops. (The City itself could be the one to go through the hoops.) The hoops include collecting 2500 signatures from legal residents or at least 75% of the abutting property owners, trying to get a letter of concurrence from the deceased person's family, submitting a biography to be reviewed by a committee of historians, and paying the costs of sending out the mailings and notices. I understand that there was some effort to get signatures, but that it didn't get 2500 signatures or the concurrence of the abutting property owners, but that the rest of the process mostly didn't happen.
The puckish thought occurred to me: if the City Council can waive regulations on itself that it doesn't want to follow, and that don't specifically allow for waiver, could it waive other parts of the City Code? For example, if some day Mayor Potter and two of the commissioners all stalked out of City Hall, could the remaining two councilors vote to waive the absence of a quorum and proceed to finish up the day's work? Could it waive the requirement of Section 2.04.150 that to pass, a city ballot measure has to receive more than 50% of the vote? There's no logical reason to distinguish one refusal to follow the rules from another.
Here's the full text of the City's street-naming ordinance, which you can find at this site also:
Chapter 17.93 Renaming City Streets
-Note
17.93.010 Criteria For Renaming a City Street.
17.93.020 Selection of Street to be Renamed.
17.93.030 Application Procedure and Fees.
17.93.040 Review of Application and Public Hearings.
17.93.050 Council-Initiated Action to Rename a City Street.
17.93.060 Implementation.
17.93.010 Criteria For Renaming a City Street.
Any individual or organization may apply to the City to rename a City street. City streets may only be renamed after a prominent person. Such prominent person must be:
A.
1. a person who has achieved prominence as a result of his or her significant, positive contribution to the United States of America and/or the local community;
2. a real person; and
3. a person who has been deceased for at least five years.
B.
17.93.020 Selection of Street to be Renamed.
The name of the street proposed for renaming shall not be changed if the existing name is of historic significance, or the street is significant in its own right.
A.
B. The street proposed for renaming must start and terminate entirely within City boundaries.
C. The name of any street shall be the same for its entire length. Renaming only portions of a street shall not be permitted.
17.93.030 Application Procedure and Fees.
The applicant must conform to the following procedure in applying to rename a City street:
A. The applicant shall submit evidence to the City Engineer that the street renaming proposal is in compliance with Section 17.93.010 A. 2. and A. 3., and Section 17.93.020 B. and C. If the City Engineer determines the submittal does not comply with these sections, the applicant will be so advised and the City shall take no further action. If the submittal is in compliance with the above referenced sections, the City Engineer shall issue the application materials described in Subsection B.
B. The applicant shall obtain from the City Engineer:
1. official petition forms;
2. instructions as to fees and required procedures; and
3. the application form.
C.
1. Obtain a minimum of 2500 signatures in support of the proposal from legal residents of the City at large or signatures of at least 75% of the abutting property owners along the street proposed for renaming on the petition forms supplied by the City Engineer.
2. Make a good faith effort to obtain a letter of concurrence to the proposed street renaming from the honoree’s surviving spouse, children, or parents, in that order. The City Engineer shall accept registered mail receipts and copies of all letters as evidence of compliance with this provision.
3. Provide to the City Engineer supporting information including a complete biography of the proposed honoree with references of substantiation, honors received, contributions to the national and/or local community, et cetera, which will be reviewed by a historian panel appointed pursuant to Section 17.93.040 A. This submission shall contain sufficient information to allow the historian panel to accurately assess the appropriateness of renaming a street after the proposed honoree.
D.
1. If the City Engineer accepts the submission, the applicant shall make a fee deposit to cover the full cost of printing and mailing postcards and public notices as determined by the City Auditor. The minimum fee deposit shall be $500 if the street proposed for renaming is ten City blocks (½ mile) or less in length. If the street proposed for renaming is more than ten City blocks (½ mile), the minimum deposit shall be $1,000. The Auditor shall refund any unused portion of the deposit to the applicant, or the applicant shall be required to pay for any cost of printing, mailings, and public notices in excess of the fee deposit.
17.93.040 Review of Application and Public Hearings.
Upon receipt of the applicant’s packet, the City shall process the application as follows:
A. The City Engineer shall, within 14 calendar days after submission of the completed application, refer the street renaming application to a panel of three historians or persons with appropriate expertise appointed by the Commissioner in charge of the Office of Transportation for review and determination as to appropriateness of the proposed name and its compliance with criteria for selecting a new street name, and determination as to historic significance of the street.
B. The City Engineer shall notify all neighborhood and business associations recognized by the City which encompass or represent owners of property or businesses located on property abutting the street proposed for renaming of the proposed renaming and request that they submit in writing to the City Engineer their support or opposition to the proposed name change within 45 days.
C. The Historian Panel shall have 45 calendar days from the date of receipt to review the application and advise the City Planning Commission as to its recommendations. If the panel does not provide a recommendation within the 45-day period, the Planning Commission shall review the application with no recommendation unless the Planning Commission grants a time extension to the Historian Panel, which shall not exceed 14 calendar days.
D.
E. The City Engineer shall prepare and submit to the Planning Commission a budget impact statement as to the direct cost of production and installation of new street name signs and related City costs.
F. The City Planning Commission shall conduct a public hearing on the matter and make a recommendation to the City Council as to the best interest of the City and the area within six miles of the City limits in accordance with ORS 227.120.
G. The Auditor shall schedule a public hearing before City Council on the matter. Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation not less than once within the week prior to the week within which the hearing is to be held.
H. A public hearing shall be held before City Council on the proposed street name change.
I. The Council may approve or deny application for a street name change upon determination of the best interests of the City and the area within six miles of the City limits. If Council denies the application, it is filed with no further consideration, and the subject name and street shall not be considered again under this Policy for a period of at least two years. If Council approves the application, certified copies of the enabling Ordinance shall be filed with the County Recorder, County Assessor, and County Surveyor.
17.93.050 Council-Initiated Action to Rename a City Street.
The Council may rename a street in order to correct errors in street names, or to eliminate confusion. Such action may be taken if it is determined that insignificant impact will result and it is desirable for the convenience of the general public. Renaming of a street by the City under provisions of this paragraph shall not be undertaken to rename a street after a person as provided for in other sections of the Chapter. Therefore, City-initiated actions to rename a street under provisions of this paragraph shall be exempt from compliance with Sections 17.93.010 through 17.93.030 and Section 17.93.040 A. through D. Section 17.93.040 E. through I. shall continue to be applicable.
After Council approval of the name change, the Bureau of Maintenance shall install the new name signs adjacent to the existing street name sign. Both signs shall be in place for a period of five years, unless a petition is submitted to City Council from a majority of abutting property occupants requesting that the dual signage period be shortened. Both street name signs shall be maintained for the five-year period at the same level of maintenance approved for street name sign maintenance Citywide, after which time the old name shall be removed.
A.
B. The Auditor shall also notify the following organizations and individuals of the street name change through public notice, inter-office correspondence, or other appropriate means within 30 days after approval of the enabling Ordinance:
1. The applicant;
2. Affected City, County, State, and Federal Agencies;
3. General public;
4. Emergency service organizations;
5. Owners and occupants of all property abutting the street being renamed; and
6. United States Postal Service.