A new municipal features naming policy was approved by City Council today, providing clear direction to administration regarding naming proposals for municipally owned buildings, sites and amenities in the community.
“Naming community facilities and other municipal assets plays an important role in identification of location and wayfinding within the city. Naming is also an opportunity to recognize and commemorate individuals and families who have contributed to the city, local and Indigenous histories, and the natural features of our community,” said Sarah Tittemore, General Manager, Community Services.
Previously, a Council appointed Municipal Features Naming Committee provided a formal process to evaluate proposals for the naming or renaming of buildings, parks, trails, recreation facilities and natural features. The disbandment of the committee in 2016 created a policy gap regarding expectations and procedures to name municipal features, which led Council to direct the creation of a new Municipal Features Naming Council Policy in 2019.
Today’s policy approval is a first step towards implementing a standardized process to facilitate municipal naming requests in our city. Over the coming months, administration will work to finalize supplementary corporate procedures that will ensure all municipal features naming responses are transparent, consistent and clear. The procedure will include:
- types of features deemed appropriate for naming,
- criteria that suggested names must meet,
- guidance on when a municipal feature may be renamed.
The new policy will be utilized as required to respond to community requests, new builds, or renaming, and application process are expected to be available for the public by fall 2023.