[Ord. No. 1253, 8-9-2022]
It is hereby found and determined that the creation of an honorary
street naming dedication program enables the City of Pittsfield to
commemorate individuals who have made significant contributions to
the community and humanity. These honorary street names are meant
to commemorate the honoree and do not replace the official street
name or require re-addressing of the street involved.
[Ord. No. 1253, 8-9-2022]
(a)
The honoree must have made a demonstrable and significant positive
impact on the community or contributed to the cultural, economic,
educational, intellectual, political or scientific vitality of the
community or have made an extraordinary contribution in the service
of humanity.
(b)
The honoree must be a natural person, living or nonliving, to be
the subject of a proposed dedication, except by unanimous consent
of the City Council.
(c)
Proposals shall not be for names that could reasonably be considered
derogatory, obscene or blasphemous.
(d)
Honorary designations shall be confined to the right-of-way within
the vicinity of the home, organization, or location associated with
the honoree.
(e)
The proposed name may not duplicate or be potentially confused with
the name of an official City street name.
(f)
Each Council member and the Mayor may propose up to two honorary
dedications per calendar year; except in the circumstance where the
Mayor has asked a City Council member to bring forward the request
for honorary dedication, in which case it shall not be counted as
a dedication by the Council member. Dedications by Council members
shall be within their respective wards.
[Ord. No. 1253, 8-9-2022]
Requests for honorary dedications shall be submitted in writing
to the City Clerk for review by the Department of Community Development,
with an application fee of $50 (except when sponsored by a City Council
member or the Mayor) in accordance with the following criteria:
(a)
The submission shall provide the name and contact information of
the person or group requesting an honorary street dedication;
(b)
The submission shall state the name of the individual or group intended
to be honored;
(c)
The submission shall be accompanied by a biography of and the reasons
for honoring the individual or group, including the person's
or group's relevance to the location being proposed;
(d)
The applicant shall include a map of the location of the proposed
honorary street dedication, including total length of the street to
be affected and bounding streets or other boundaries as necessary.
(e)
Only a segment of street between one and four contiguous blocks may
be proposed for honorary street designation; however, in the case
of walkways, trails, or bicycle paths, the designation may apply to
the entire length of the way.
(f)
Upon receipt of a completed application, the Department of Community
Development shall conduct a review for compliance with the requirements
set forth in this article. The Department of Community Development
shall provide the Commissioner of Public Works with a copy of the
completed application, so the Commissioner can evaluate and transmit
an impact report to the Office of Community Development, to ensure
the proposed signage will not be confusing to the public. Within 60
days of its receipt of a completed application, the Department of
Community Development shall file its report on the application with
the City Council.
(g)
Upon receipt of the report from the Department of Community Development,
the City Council shall have 60 days to approve or reject the request.
If the City Council fails to act within 60 days, the request shall
be deemed to be denied.
(h)
If a resolution to effectuate the proposed honorary street dedication
is adopted, then the party requesting the dedication, other than a
City Councilor or the Mayor, shall deposit funds equal to the cost
of the signage within 60 days, not to exceed $500, with the City Treasurer's
Office, and upon receipt of such payment, the signage will be created
and installed by the Commissioner of Public Works in accordance with
this article. If payment is not made within the 60 days, the signage
shall not be installed and the resolution shall be deemed to be rescinded.
(i)
Honorary street dedication signs are permanent; however, the City
may remove an honorary street designation sign for any reason by order
of the City Council.
[Ord. No. 1253, 8-9-2022]
(a)
In order to provide for consistency in naming of streets and to promote
safety of the community, all honorary street dedication signs must
conform to the following criteria:
(b)
Honorary street dedication signs must be mounted in a way that distinguishes
them and does not detract from the primary street sign and therefore
may be mounted above or below the primary street sign, or in any other
way that is clearly distinguishable from the primary street sign.
(c)
Honorary street dedication signs shall have a distinct design, as
determined by the Commissioner of Public Works, and be distinct and
uniform in a contrasting color to distinguish them from primary street
name signs.
