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POLICY FOR NAMING OR RENAMING A COMMUNITY

The Los Angeles City Council adopted a policy on January 31, 2006 (Council file No. 02-0196), which provided a process for advocates seeking a name change for their community. A written application, including a petition, must be filed with the City Clerk to initiate the process to either change a neighborhood name or create one where none previously existed.

POLICY EXEMPTIONS:

  1. Requests for historical, cultural, and commemorative designations for an area no longer than one linear block.
  2. Requests where community names that have been established are incidental to another City Council action which has had public input and a hearing process, such as the establishment of a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, or other special district.

FILING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Complete the attached Application and Petition (Application Packet) as specified below:

Filing Requirement

  • Check the designated box re: Name Community or Renaming Existing Community
  • Check the designated box re: number of petitions – 500 or if the population of the area is less than 2,500 residents, then 20% of the affected population.

NOTE: The signatures must be from individuals who either reside in and/or have a physical business address, both profit and non-profit, in the neighborhood being named or renamed.

Applicant Information

  • The Application must include the names and contact information of two or more advocates for the name change. The Applicants must reside within the boundaries of the area to be named.

Community Information

  • The proposed and current (if applicable) name of the community must be included. Specify the reason and justification for the name change, including the rationale, any historical precedent or other relevant reason for the request.
  • Any previously recognized name should be given consideration if the neighborhood is seeking to name or rename itself.
  • Clearly indicate the street boundaries of the community to be named/renamed. A map of the proposed area must be attached. A legal description (street boundaries) of the area must also be included. An example of a legal description for boundaries is as follows:

                    Northern Boundary: Rover Street from Doe Avenue to Smith Road

                    Eastern Boundary: Smith Road south to Jones Place

                    Southern Boundary: Jones Place west to Doe Avenue

                    Western Boundary: Doe Avenue north to Rover Street

Petition

  • The individual responsible for circulating the Petition shall complete the Petition Cover Sheet to certify that the attached signatures were appropriately collected and valid.
  • Include both the original Petition Cover sheet and the original Petition signature sheets when the Application Packet is filed.
  • Enter all Petition addresses into a spreadsheet (i.e. Excel, txt, or cvs) in the following order: house number, house fraction (i.e. ½), house direction (i.e. north, south, east, west), street name, street type (i.e. Avenue, Road, etc.), apartment number, city, state, zip. Each heading should be entered in to an individual column. A completed spreadsheet is to be included in your Application Package.
  1. Submit the Application Packet to:

Office of the City Clerk
Attention: Senior Legislative Assistant
Room 395, City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Contact Email Clerk.CPS@lacity.org if you have any questions regarding the spreadsheet and/or application process.

INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

What’s Next?

  1. The City Clerk will review the Application Packet for completeness (i.e. proper forms used, all information recorded, and applications signed and dated). The Application Packet will be date-stamped upon receipt (physically if received in-person or by mail and electronically if received via email).
  2. The City Clerk will confirm that a Petition has been attached to the Application, which contains either 500 signatures or 20% of signatures for populations less than 2,500 people. The Application Packet will be evaluated to confirm that the minimum number of required signatures have been presented and that all addresses listed on the Petition are located within the proposed boundaries of the area to be named. Once the City Clerk has deemed that the Application Packet is deemed complete, the City Clerk will establish a Council file for the Application Packet and a six-month time limit will start on the date that the Application Packet is deemed complete and approved to move forward.

If the petition does not contain the minimum number of signatures required by this policy, then the Application Packet will be returned to the applicant with a letter stating that the Application Packet is incomplete. The Applicant will then have an opportunity to resubmit the Application Packet with the additional names and/or information.

  1. The Council file for the Application Packet will be referred to the Council policy committee that has the jurisdiction of communities or neighborhoods. A six-month time limit for a public hearing, in either Committee or the full City Council, will be noted for reference, though it is the discretion of the Committee Chair to schedule the item on the agenda. If the time limit lapses, the Application Packet will be considered expired and denied.
  2. The City Clerk will transmit a copy of the Application Packet to each of the following departments/offices for review and comment:
    1. Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE)
    2. Department of Transportation (DoT)
    3. Department of City Planning (DCP)
    4. Bureau of Engineering (BoE)
    5. Office of the City Clerk – Records Management Division (RMD)

BoE, RMD, and DCP will be specifically asked to review the application and comment on whether the proposed name reflects the historical and cultural significance of the community.

The City Clerk must receive departmental comments no later than 60 days after the Application Packet was deemed complete and Council file was created, so that the comments can be considered and made available to both the Neighborhood Council(s) and the relevant Council Policy Committee for consideration at their respective public hearings. The comments will be posted online in the designated Council file.

  1. DONE will also forward a transmittal letter and copy of the Application Packet to the affected certified Neighborhood Council(s) covering the proposed area and any adjacent Neighborhood Councils, to hold public hearing(s) to consider the matter, if they desire. With respect to the Neighborhood Council public hearings, DONE will establish community outreach procedures for communities affected by the Application Packet.

Based on the Council file creation date, the Neighborhood Council(s) should conduct a public hearing and submit findings and community impact statements to the City Clerk, to be added to the relevant Council file. This documentation should be completed and on the Council file one-month prior to the six-month time limit.

NOTE – The Neighborhood Council(s) may waive consideration of the matter and not conduct its own hearing, but they must notify the City Clerk within 30 days of receiving notice of the Application Packet.

  1. After the Neighborhood Council holds a public hearing, the Neighborhood Council’s findings and Community Impact Statement will be sent to the Council policy Committee for consideration at its public hearing. The City Clerk will receive this documentation, update the Council File Management System, and attach documentation to the Council file as the matter progresses through additional committees, as necessary, and to the full City Council.

COMPLAINT/APPEAL PROCESS:

Support or opposition to the Naming/Renaming proposal may be filed when the specific matter is considered at: (1) the Neighborhood Council Public Hearing, (2) the Council policy Committee, and/or (3) the City Council meeting. At any point in this process, an aggrieved party may also file a verbal or written complaint to the City Council, either in general or to a particular Councilmember that consideration was not given to a particular point of view.

Updated January 26, 2026