HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 68-26 Approving the City Council Facility Naming Policy.pdf
Reso. No. 68-26, Item 5.3 Adopted 07/21/2026 Page 1 of 2
RESOLUTION NO. 68 – 26
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
APPROVING THE FACILITY NAMING POLICY
WHEREAS, the City of Dublin owns and operates parks, recreation areas, community centers,
sports facilities, trails, and other public amenities that serve the community; and
WHEREAS, the naming and renaming of such facilities reflects the City’s history, geography,
cultural identity, and community values; and
WHEREAS, the City has utilized Administrative Policy 1.8 — Park Naming Protocol since 2016 to
guide the naming of park facilities only through a consistent and community-focused process; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to formalize and expand upon this existing protocol by
adopting a comprehensive Facility Naming Policy to provide clear criteria, roles, and procedures for
naming and renaming facilities; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Policy establishes a transparent and equitable framework, including
community engagement, advisory review by the Parks and Community Services Commission, and final
approval by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Policy includes criteria for commemorative naming, procedures for renaming
facilities and sub-facility features, and provisions to preserve the integrity and historical significance of
existing facility names; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that adoption of the Facility Naming Policy will ensure
consistency, transparency, and community engagement in all future naming and renaming decisions.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin hereby approves
the Facility Naming Policy, attached hereto as Exhibit A.
{Signatures on the following page}
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Reso. No. 68-26, Item 5.3, Adopted 07/21/2026 Page 2 of 2
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY the City Council of the City of Dublin, on this 21st day of
July, 2026 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Josey, McCorriston, Morada, Qaadri and Mayor Hu
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
______________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
City Clerk
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Exhibit A to the Resolution
City of Dublin
City Council Policy
POLICY NAME: Facility Naming Policy
ADOPTED DATE: 2026 DEPARTMENT: CMO DEPT NO.: 1100
REVISION DATE: N/A RESOLUTION #: TBD POLICY NUMBER: 104
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I. PURPOSE:
This Policy establishes a comprehensive, consistent, and transparent framework governing the
official naming and renaming of City-owned facilities. It is intended to:
• Honor the City’s history, geography, cultural identity, and community values.
• Recognize individuals and organizations whose extraordinary contributions have shaped
the City of Dublin.
• Ensure meaningful community engagement and participation.
• Provide clear and equitable criteria for renaming requests.
• Preserve the integrity and longevity of established facility names.
II. POLICY MANDATE
1. City Council
The City Council has final authority to approve or amend all Facility naming and
renaming actions by resolution. An approved name shall constitute the official name
of the Facility.
2. Parks and Community Services Commission
The Parks and Community Services Commission (“Commission”) serves as the
principal advisory body to the City Council on Facility naming matters. Unless
otherwise provided for in this Policy, the Commission reviews community input on
proposed Facility names, evaluates proposals against the criteria in the General
Naming Criteria section, and forwards a prioritized recommendation to the City
Council. When a proposed Facility falls within the purview of another City
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commission, committee, or advisory body, the City Council may refer the matter to
the applicable body for review and recommendation prior to City Council
consideration.
3. City Manager
The City Manager or their designee, such as the Parks and Community Services
Director (“Director”), administers this Policy, manages the community survey
process, and prepares staff reports to the Commission and City Council. The City
Manager has the authority to prepare and amend internal administrative procedures
to carry out the intent of this Policy.
III. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY:
This policy applies to all full-time and part-time City of Dublin employees.
IV. DEFINITIONS:
For the purposes of this Policy, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth
below:
Term Definition
Commemorative
Naming
The naming or renaming of a Facility or Sub-Facility Feature
in honor of a specific individual or organization, subject to
the criteria set forth in this Policy.
Facility Any City-owned park, recreation area, community center,
sports facility, trail, building, or other public amenity subject
to official naming or renaming under this Policy.
Initial Naming The process of assigning an official name to a newly
developed, newly acquired, or previously unnamed Facility
for the first time.
Renaming The process of replacing the existing official name of a
Facility or Sub-Facility Feature with a new name, subject to
the grounds and criteria set forth in this Policy.
Sub-Facility
Feature
A sole and discrete element within a larger Facility, such as a
park building, meeting room, lounge, lawn area, picnic area,
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field, court, or plaza, which may be named separately from
the parent Facility.
V. POLICY PROCEDURES AND DESCRIPTION:
4. General Naming Criteria
All Facility and Sub-Facility Feature names — whether for initial naming or renaming
— shall be evaluated against the following criteria. No single criterion is decisive, and
names should be dignified and appropriate for a public facility serving all resid ents.
4.1. Preferred Name Categories / Criteria
• Geographic location, landmarks, or natural characteristics of the site.
• Landscaping, topography, natural features, or ecological significance.
• Historical significance to the City of Dublin.
• Honoring an individual or organization whose contributions meet the
criteria in the Commemorative Naming section.
• Recognition of a person who donated the parkland or provided major
funding for its development.
• Functional names in line with the purpose of the Facility (e.g., the Dublin
Senior Center).
• Names that a reasonable community member would not find offensive,
divisive, or contrary to the City’s values of inclusion and equity.
4.2. Criteria for Commemorative Naming After an Individual
When a naming proposal involves honoring a specific individual, whether as a
standalone name or as part of a broader descriptive name, all of the following
criteria must be satisfied.
4.2.1. Deceased. The individual must have been deceased for a minimum of
one year prior to consideration of a commemorative naming request.
Facilities shall not be named for living persons. *See exception below.
4.2.2. Connection to the Facility. The individual must have had a meaningful,
direct connection to the specific Facility. The connection should be
evident and articulable to the public.
4.2.3. Significant Community Contribution. The individual must have made a
sustained and significant contribution to the welfare of the Dublin
community through civic leadership, volunteerism, philanthropy, public
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service, or other demonstrated commitment to the City. Length and
quality of contribution shall be both considered.
4.2.4. Not Previously Honored. The individual should not have already been
honored in a comparable and meaningful way by the City (e.g., an
existing named facility or comparable public memorial). The purpose is
to extend recognition broadly, not to accumulate honors for a single
individual.
* Exception: The City Council may, by a simple majority vote, waive the
deceased requirement set forth above upon a finding that the individual’s
contribution is so extraordinary and uniquely tied to the Facility as to justify an
exception, and that no other available recognition is adequate.
5. Initial Naming of New Facilities
Initial naming applies to newly developed, newly acquired, or previously unnamed
Facilities receiving an official name for the first time. The process is designed to be
collaborative, transparent, and community driven. The following summarizes the key
steps and requirements.
5.1. Trigger
The naming process shall commence once the conceptual design for the
Facility has been approved by the City Council, and the City Council directs
Staff to begin the naming process. Staff from the Parks and Community
Services Department and Facilities Development Division shall begin the
process promptly following design approval. *
* Note – the City Council retains authority to approve, without collecting
public and Commission input, a name that is functional in nature (e.g., the
Dublin Senior Center).
5.2. Candidate Name Development
Department Staff shall solicit name nominations from the public for a period
of not less than 2 weeks. Candidate names shall reflect geographic, historical,
design, and community characteristics of the site. Purely commemorative or
individual-name candidates may be included only if the criteria in the
Commemorative Naming section have been met. From eligible nominations
received, and any Staff generated names, Department Staff shall develop a list
of candidate names that shall be sent out in a community survey.
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5.3. Community Survey
Staff shall prepare and distribute an electronic survey to Dublin residents
citywide to solicit feedback on list of eligible candidate names. The survey
shall:
• Include the list of eligible candidate names identified during the Candidate
Name Development process outlined above.
• Include an image and description of the approved conceptual design, along
with any other relevant Facility information determined appropriate by
Staff.
• Remain open for a minimum of two (2) weeks and no more than four (4)
weeks.
• Be distributed broadly using all available City channels, including: press
release, City website, Parks and Community Services Commission
notification, City email distribution lists, Farmers’ Market and City event
postings, and Dublin Unified School District communications.
• Target the entire Dublin community. No sub-community or neighborhood
shall be preferentially targeted.
• Provide requests for multiple Facilities simultaneously, if necessary. The
Commission recommendation and City Council action may likewise address
multiple Facilities in a single proceeding.
5.4. Commission Review
Staff shall present survey results at a regularly scheduled meeting of the
Commission. The Commission shall review results, evaluate candidate names
in alignment with the General Naming Criteria section, and, by motion,
recommend up to three names to the City Council, listed in order of
preference.
5.5. City Council Approval
Staff shall present the Commission’s recommendation to the City Council at a
regularly scheduled meeting. The City Council shall approve one name by
resolution or may direct Staff to return with alternate options. The name
approved by the City Council shall be the official name of the Facility. The
resolution will include a description of how the naming criteria are met.
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6. Renaming Existing Facilities
Renaming of an existing Facility is a significant action that affects the historical record
of the City and the expectations of the community. It shall be undertaken with
careful deliberation and is discouraged unless there is a compelling justification. T he
City Council retains full discretion to approve, deny, or defer any renaming request.
6.1. Trigger
A renaming request may be initiated in either of the following ways:
6.1.1. Public Request via Public Comment. A member of the public,
organization, or community group wishing to request a Facility or Sub-
Facility renaming must present the request at a regularly scheduled City
Council meeting during the Public Comment period. The City Council is
not required to act immediately on a renaming request raised during
Public Comment. The Council may, by consensus or simple majority
vote, direct Staff to (1) initiate renaming procedures, (2) prepare a staff
report for a future agenda to make a decision on whether to initiate
naming procedures; or (3) take no further action. The following
requirements apply:
• The public request must be made in person during the Public
Comment period of a regular City Council meeting.
• The requester must identify: (1) the specific Facility or Sub -Facility
proposed for renaming, (2) the proposed new name, and (3) the
basis for the request, including how the request satisfies the
requirements in the General Naming Criteria section.
• Written materials supporting the request (e.g., biographical
information, petition, letters of support) may be submitted to the
City Clerk prior to or at the time of the request and will be included
in the City Council record.
6.1.2. City Council-Initiated Renaming. The City Council may, by simple
majority at a public meeting, initiate the process to rename a Facility or
Sub-Facility Feature without the requirement of a public comment
request.
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6.2. Procedure for Renaming a Facility
When the City Council directs staff to proceed with renaming a Facility, the
following steps apply:
• Staff shall conduct public outreach via an electronic survey to gather public
feedback on the proposed name. The City Council may find that public
communication that it has already received (via comment at a public
meeting or in written form) may satisfy this requirement.
• The Commission (if directed by the City Council) shall evaluate the
proposed name at a public meeting and provide an advisory
recommendation to the City Council.
• Staff shall present the Commission’s recommendation (if needed) and staff
analysis to the City Council at a regularly scheduled meeting.
• The City Council shall act by resolution, which shall include a description of
how the Naming Criteria are met.
6.3. Procedure for Renaming a Sub-Facility Feature
Sub-Facility Features may be renamed separately from their parent Facility,
subject to the following provisions.
• Sub-Facility Feature names can be approved directly by a simple majority
of the City Council without community or Commission input.
• Sub-Facility Feature naming does not alter or replace the official name of
the parent Facility.
• The City Council shall act by resolution, which shall include a description of
how the Naming Criteria are met.
6.4. Note on Subsequent Renaming
If the existing Facility or Sub-Facility Feature name already honors an
individual, the prior honoree’s name shall be memorialized on a permanent
recognition plaque installed at the Facility, unless the individual’s name is
being removed due to character or conduct contrary to the City’s values and
interests.
VI. RELATED POLICIES AND REFERENCES:
City of Dublin Administrative Policy No. 1.8–Park Administrative Policy Naming Protocol
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VII. APPROVED BY:
The City Council, Resolution No. XX-XX
VIII. ATTACHMENTS
Attachment Document
1 Administrative Policy 1.8 - Park Naming Protocol
IX. SUMMARY OF REVISIONS:
Date Revised By Description
Date Initial adoption.
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