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Report regarding adoption of the City of South San Francisco’s Policy for Naming City Facilities, Donations, Sponsorships, and Capital Campaigns (Megan Wooley-Ousdahl, Deputy City Manager)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Move to adopt the City of South San Francisco’s Policy for Naming City Facilities, Donations, Sponsorships, and Capital Campaigns.
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BACKGROUND
Staff has prepared a consolidated policy on the naming of City facilities, donations, sponsorships, and capital campaigns for the Council’s consideration. Currently, the City has separate policies, Administrative Instructions, or guidelines pertaining to these topics. Since these are often inter-related, staff proposes combining these separate policies into one overarching and revised policy.
Staff presented an initial draft of the policy to the City Council Naming Subcommittee for review and consideration. Staff has revised the proposed policy based on their comments.
DISCUSSION
Policy on Naming of City Facilities
Current Policy
The City’s Policy on Dedication of City Facilities lives in Appendix H of the City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook. This policy pertains to the naming of city streets, facilities, and amenities in honor of individuals. As of the April 2026 Handbook, the City Council has suspended the Naming Policy, and currently no new requests or approvals to name civic assets in honor of individuals will proceed.
New Policy
The revised policy would replace the existing policy and introduces a new process for the naming of City facilities. This includes an application process for all naming requests and introduces the following naming categories: functional and locational names, geographic and natural features, honorees, and neighborhood or cultural landmarks. The policy also provides practices and criteria for naming facilities after honorees. Currently, the City has five pending requests to name City assets after individuals.
Policy on Donations
Current Policy
The City’s Donation and Gifts Policy is an internal Administrative Instruction which serves as guidance to staff on the acceptance of gifts by individual employees and on behalf of the City.
Staff recommends separating the Donations Policy (which sets the policy for accepting gifts on behalf of the City) from the Gifts Policy (which sets the policy for staff acceptance of gifts, such as water bottles, candies, notepads, and similar items and limited to a value of $50). The Gifts Policy will remain an internal Administrative Instruction from the City Manager.
New Policy
The proposed Donation Policy introduces procedures for accepting gifts to the City, Departments, and Divisions. The policy proposes thresholds for acceptance authority in which the City Manager, or designee, may accept donations of $5,000 or less; any donations exceeding $5,000 are to be considered by the City Council. The policy defines exceptions to this threshold, i.e., donations that shall be considered by Council, no matter the estimated value. The policy also includes donor acknowledgement parameters and introduces branding limits.
Policy on Sponsorships
Current Policy
The City does not currently have an adopted policy pertaining to sponsorships; however, the City does have guidelines for sponsorships for Concert in the Park.
New Policy
The new Sponsorship Policy details possible sponsorship benefits as a part of a sponsorship agreement, includes parameters for sponsorships, and outlines what the City is - and is not - obligated to do. The new policy may apply to all City events, programs, and similar, not only to Concert in the Park.
Policy on Capital Campaigns
Current Policy
The City does not currently have a policy on capital campaigns.
New Policy
The new policy provides general guidance that the City may, from time-to-time, conduct capital campaigns, and that the campaigns must align with the overall policy, especially the Naming and Donations sections.
If adopted, the new Policy for Naming City Facilities, Donations, Sponsorships, and Capital Campaigns would replace all previous policies and guidelines related to these topics.
FISCAL IMPACT
The primary fiscal impact is the staff time required for implementation and ongoing administration. This policy provides increased transparency for fiscal-related activities, including donations, sponsorships, and capital campaigns.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES ACTION PLAN
While not tied to a specific City Council priority, this policy update supports the overall work of the City.
Attachment
1. City of South San Francisco Policy for Naming City Facilities, Donations, Sponsorships, and Capital Campaigns