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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 ...
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