3.90.100 Renaming Streets.
A. Process. The Bend City Council or the Planning Commission may initiate changing the name of any street within the City. A property owner may request a change in the name of a street on which they own property by filing an application with the City. A request for a street name change shall be first considered by the Planning Commission, which shall make a recommendation to City Council after a public hearing. The City Council shall hold a public hearing to consider the Planning Commission recommendation and adopt any street name change by resolution. The new name will become effective 30 days after the resolution is approved for residential properties and 90 days after approval for commercial and industrial properties.
B. A property owner initiated application for a street name change shall be submitted in a format established by the Community Development Director and shall contain the following information:
1. Name of applicant;
2. Proposed street name, with two alternative choices;
3. Reason for request;
4. A map showing the location of the street;
5. List of the names and addresses and Zip Code of each owner of all property abutting the street;
6. Signature of at least 51 percent of the property owners abutting the street proposed to be changed, signifying they agree with the proposed name change.
C. The application for a street name change must be accompanied by the fee set by Council resolution.
D. Criteria for Name Selection When a Street Has More Than One Name. The Planning Commission and City Council shall base their decision to change the name of a portion of a street so that the name is consistent with other portions of the street based on the following criteria:
1. The least number of addresses that will need corrections;
2. The name that was platted first;
3. The street with the longest segment length;
4. Consistency with other street names in the area (e.g., Oak Street over Madison in an area with streets named after trees, but Madison over Oak in an area with streets named after presidents);
5. The use of historical names;
6. The street segment name with the heaviest travel;
7. Highest street classification.
E. Criteria for Name Selection When an Existing Street Name Is Changed. The Planning Commission and City Council shall base their decision on the following criteria in determining whether or not an existing street name shall be changed:
1. The street name causes confusion and a new name will improve or clarify the identification of the area.
2. The street name sounds like another street name or is spelled similarly and causes confusion.
3. The street name is a word other than a proper name that is deliberately misspoken or misspelled to emphasize a pun or other frivolous association with another word or slang term, resulting in confusion.
4. The street is known by more than one name.
5. The street is different than the name of the street of which it is a continuation or the street is in more than one section interrupted by topographical barriers.
F. Person(s) receiving notice of the street name change shall promptly notify tenants or other occupants of the approved name change. [Ord. NS-2180, 2012]