A new road to renaming a street for Chavez

by James Mayer, The Oregonian

They already agree on one thing: Portland should name a street after farmworker labor leader Cesar Chavez. But now comes the hard part.

Members of a city-appointed "historian panel" must vet the historical significance of three streets in the running -- 39th Avenue, Grand Avenue and Broadway.

And they want to avoid repeating the history of the previous renaming attempt, when the city plunged into a heated debate and eventually dropped the idea altogether.

The three-member committee is the crux of the city code for renaming streets -- and a key in Mayor Sam Adams' plan to do it right this time by following the letter of the law.

The push at the end of 2007 to rename North Interstate Avenue for Chavez sparked intense emotions, with supporters accusing critics of racism and opponents alleging that the city tried to force the change on a neighborhood that didn't want it.

One reason the debate spun out of control was that the city bypassed its own rules -- including having no historian committee.

This time, Lewis & Clark law professor Gil Carrasco, Oregon National Guard Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell and Cully Neighborhood Association Chairwoman Kathy Fuerstenau are on the collective hot seat. None of them is an actual historian, but they'll get advice from a group of local heavy hitters on the subject, including author Jewel Lansing, Chet Orloff from Portland State University and George Vogt from the Oregon Historical Society.

The panel members emphasized that they're charged with determining the historical significance of the streets, not with making the renaming decision.

"Our job is to interpret that statutory language as we understand it, and leave the politics to the politicians," Caldwell said.

One of the panel's duties is to determine the appropriateness of renaming a street for Chavez, but it was clear at a meeting last week that the members believed Chavez met the criteria -- that the name has already withstood the test of time and that it excites allegiance or following.

The next step is to conduct a survey of residents and business owners on the three proposed streets, take public testimony and make recommendations to the planning commission about whether each of the streets qualifies for renaming. They won't pick which streets, if any, should be renamed.

The planning commission will make a recommendation to the City Council, which has the final say.

What's next

Timeline: Street renaming supporters need 2,500 valid signatures from city residents to start the process. They've turned in petitions to the city auditor, who has until Friday to verify the signatures. The city engineer then has 14 days to refer the application to the historian panel, and the panel has 45 days to take public testimony and reach a conclusion. That means the panels clock starts ticking March 8.

Survey: The city will send a postcard survey to residents and property owners on the three streets, asking them whether they support the name change and including three hearing dates.

Hearings: March 23, March 30 and April 6. Each will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will focus on one of the three streets and be located on or near the street (places still to be set).

Decision: The panel meets April 20 to make its recommendations.

Historical significance defined: The name of the street to be renamed currently enjoys a particular meaning or importance within a particular period of social or political events, and/or relating to a particular community or geographic area.

Among considerations: Was the street named after a prominent person? Does the street name commemorate an event or concept whose importance is equivalent to that of a prominent person? Is the name associated with some aspect of local history or culture? Are the street and its name related to a legacy of place-based memories that evoke an emotional response?