Councilmembers Want Park and Recreational Facility Naming Policy Amended

Members of the Legislative Policy Committee want the city’s Park and Recreational Facility Naming Policy revised to allow for more public input that will help in naming public spaces in Pasadena. 

The current naming policy requires City staff to solicit input from property owners within a 1,000-foot radius of the subject site. Residents can submit name suggestions and public input to the Recreation and Parks Commission (RPC). The RPC will then vote on a recommendation and their recommendation will go to the City Council for consideration.

This policy was used to name the Playhouse Village Park in April 2022 and the Lamanda Park Library Pocket Park in September 2022. 

Last October, the RPC presented to the City Council a proposal seeking to name the new park located at 1410 Wierfield Drive “Annandale Canyon Preserve” and the associated trail “Yayaaytnga Trail.”

During the Council’s discussion of the naming request at the October meeting, some Councilmembers expressed concerns about the naming process, specifically the amount of public input, and referred the Naming Policy to the Legislative Policy Committee for review. 

During Tuesday’s Legislative Policy Committee’s meeting, Nina Chomsky, who spoke on behalf of Linda Vista-Annandale Association (LLVA) said the current policy needs to change. 

“Obviously, something is wrong because we just don’t have the right amount of public participation. I don’t know what’s gone wrong,” said Chomsky. “We need some way for all the different stakeholders to be notified to come in to talk about it and to be part of the process and not just a thousand foot property owners.”

“Something went wrong here but I think it can be redone and it can be improved and we would ask you to take that on and rethink it and reach out to a broad group even beyond stakeholders,” she added. 

Councilmember Steve Madison believes the current policy should be scrapped.

While he recognized the importance of getting the input of immediate neighbors, Madison said the naming of public spaces should be “a citywide issue.”

“I think every neighborhood association in the city should receive notice – all the Councilmembers and their field representatives and the Mayor and his field representative,” Madison said.

Councilmember Jason Lyon said the city staff should use the city’s social media accounts in order to reach more people. 

“With this direction, we can go back and do some revisions of the policy and then bring those forward for approval,” Brenda Harvey-Williams, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department said in response to the Committee Members.