June 8, 2004

SUBJECT: Naming of Downtown Plaza (04-200)

REPORT IN BRIEF

The Downtown Plaza Project is scheduled for completion in early Fiscal Year 2004/2005. No official name for the "Downtown Plaza" has yet been established, and City policy dictates that City Council name new parks and recreation facilities. This report provides the criteria to be considered in naming parks and recreation facilities and requests that the City Council approve an official name for what has been, until now, commonly referred to as the downtown plaza site.

BACKGROUND

In 1993, the general location for a plaza was first identified in the Downtown Specific Plan and was referred to as the "Plaza/Village Green," a specific site north of the Washington area. Since then, from changes in the Open Space Sub-Element to the most recent updates and discussions related to the design and construction of this site, it has been referred to as the "Downtown Plaza," "Plaza Park," or the "Downtown Plaza Park," but never given an official name.

Council Policy 7.3.10: Naming/Renaming Parks & Recreation Facilities. (Attachment A)

The Council Policy for naming City Parks and Recreation facilities clearly rests that responsibility with the City Council after receiving a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission. The first consideration as stated in the policy is that City parks should have the name of the planning district in which they are located and any new parks should follow the same pattern, if possible. Since the Downtown Plaza Park is located in the Washington Planning District and Washington Park already has the name of that planning area, this criterion cannot be met. Therefore, the other criteria as outlined in the Council Policy need to be considered.

None

Public contact was made through posting of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Council agendas on the City’s official notice bulletin board, posting of the agendas and report on the City’s web page, publication of the Council agenda in the San Jose Mercury News, and the availability of the report in the City Clerk’s office, Library, Parks and Recreation Administration, Community Center and Senior Center.

Copies of this report were provided to the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association, the Downtown Resource Team, the Downtown Stakeholders Advisory Committee, Friends of Sunnyvale, and participants in the 2000 and 2002 Plaza Design Workshops.

ALTERNATIVES

1. Officially name this site "Downtown Plaza."

2. Another alternative as suggested by City Council.

Staff recommends that the official name given the downtown plaza not include the work 'park'. Staff anticipates that this open space will serve purposes different than a traditional park, and the word 'park' in an official name could create false expectations by the public. This may be particularly true for those deciding to live in close proximity to downtown (e.g., "When is the city going to install a playground in our neighborhood park?") Aside from this one concern, staff makes no recommendation for a name for the downtown plaza site.

The Parks and Recreation Commission conducted a public hearing on this issue during its regularly scheduled meeting on May 26, 2004, and recommended the name "Sunnyvale Plaza" by a vote of 3 to 1, with Commissioner Manfrey dissenting.

Prepared by:

Cathy E. Merrill
Assistant to the Director of Parks and Recreation

Reviewed by:

Robert Walker
Director, Parks and Recreation

Approved by:

Amy Chan
City Manager

Attachments
A. Council Policy 7.3.10 Naming/ Renaming Parks & Recreation Facilities (.pdf format)