[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Rye Brook 1-22-2019 by L.L.
No. 2-2019. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish (a) criteria for
naming Village of Rye Brook parks, fields, buildings or other facilities
after, or otherwise recognizing or memorializing, individuals and
not-for-profit organizations, and (b) the procedure for naming streets.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any park, field, building or other property or facility owned
or controlled by the Village.
The incorporated Village of Rye Brook.
The Board of Trustees of the Village.
A.
Requests or proposals for naming public property shall be submitted in writing to the Village Board, which has final approval authority for the naming of public property. The request or proposal should set forth the proposed name and a statement describing how the request meets each of the criteria set forth in §§ 153-4 and 153-5.
B.
Proposed street names shall initially be proposed in writing by a
property developer to the Village Board, which has final approval
authority for the naming of Village streets.
C.
Inherent in the naming process is the intent of permanent recognition.
Therefore, the process shall be careful and deliberate and, as much
as possible, involve the evaluation criteria listed below.
A.
Public property may not be named to memorialize a living individual.
A twelve-month waiting period must occur before a deceased individual
may be considered for recognition.
B.
Public property may be named to honor a deceased individual or a
not-for-profit organization, but only to recognize extraordinary contribution
or service to the Village of Rye Brook community. By way of example,
an individual or not-for-profit organization may qualify for such
recognition where such individual or organization:
(1)
Was instrumental in the acquisition or development of public property;
(2)
Made extraordinary contributions to the enhancement of the quality
of life of the residents of the Village, or other outstanding and
significant accomplishments for the good of the Village, or provided
direct and significant volunteer services benefiting the Village as
a local community leader (length of service to the Village should
be considered in connection with this criteria); or
(3)
Made a significant monetary contribution toward acquisition or development
of public property without receiving a direct or indirect pecuniary
benefit in exchange therefore.
C.
Living and deceased individuals may be honored by the installation
of a bench, plaque, marker, or the planting of a tree, in their honor
at a public property. The Village Board has final approval authority
for the installation of any such bench, plaque, marker, or the planting
of a tree, and approving the wording or other attachment thereto.
Any such bench, plaque, marker or tree shall be preserved by the Village
to the reasonable extent possible but changes over time to public
property may make such permanent preservation unlikely.
D.
The renaming of public property is strongly discouraged. It is recommended
that efforts to change a name be subject to the most stringent examination
so as not to diminish the original justification for the name or discount
the value of the prior contributors. The designation of an honorary
name for public property is prohibited.
E.
Public property named after individuals should not be changed unless
it is found that the individual's personal character is or was
such that the continued use of his or her name would not be in the
best interest of the Village. Parks named by deed restriction cannot
be considered for renaming as long as the deed restriction remains
in place.
F.
Facilities within public property, such as rooms, playgrounds, picnic
shelters and designated playing fields, can be named separately from
the public property in which they are located, subject to the criteria
set forth in this section and subject to the final approval authority
of the Village Board.
