Gila County · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture · Center for Early Modern Visual Culture

Settlement Name

Gila County

Province, Territory, or State

Arizona

Country

USA

Has Policy?

Yes

Policy

ARTICLE 8 - STREET NAMES: SECTION 801 Naming a street has no bearing on access rights or implied maintenance status. Access would be determined from the conveying legal instrument while maintenance status requires petitioning the Public Works Department. SECTION 802 Choice of Names: Names should be chosen that relate to the scale and location of a project. A. Objectives- Names should be pleasant sounding, appropriate, and easy to read so that the public, and children, can handle the name in an emergency. B. All street names must conform with current applicable standards including State of Arizona E-911, National Emergency Number (NENA), and United Stated Post Office (USPS).. C. Name Length- The complete road name shall consist of no more than 20 spaces, including directional prefix, road name, spaces between and the County Signing approved abbreviation for road suffix. D. Complete Name- A complete name shall consist of no more than four words, including prefix and suffix. Examples: 1. North Toya Vista Road Prefix (1 word), Primary (2 words), Suffix (1 word) 2. South Calle de Caballos Prefix (1 word), Primary (3 words), Primary includes the suffixequivalent SECTION 803 Prefixes: All street names shall begin with one directional prefix, north, south, east, or west, which shall be assigned with permanent addresses. Additional unnecessary prefixes and suffixes shall be avoided. Combinations of directions are not acceptable. Example: Northwest Sierra Circle. SECTION 804 Suffixes: All street names shall end with a valid suffix. SECTION 805 Name Duplication: Similar sounding names are duplication regardless of spelling. Duplication of names within Gila County is not permitted. SECTION 806 SECTION 807 Continuity: A. A continuous street, or one proposed to be continuous, should bear the same name throughout, even though it changes directions. If it is interrupted by a channel, freeway, railroad, etc., and eventual connection is not probable, the segments may bear different names. B. No separate name is to be used for a cul-de-sac that provides street frontage for less than three lots or units. The name shall be the same as that of the intersecting street. Where there is a series of long and short cul-de-sacs, all should have separate names. Existing Streets Naming and Renaming: A. Rural Addressing personnel shall determine the necessity to name or rename a new or existing street, right-of-way, or private access determined according to criteria set forth in Article 8 of this Ordinance. Proposed naming may also be initiated by citizen petition in accordance with section 807. Citizen petitions must have signatures of at least 75% of the property owners who own property adjacent to the street subject to the proposed naming. 1. Non-response of a property owner to the chosen public notice process of section 807-D shall be considered as approving of the proposed street name(s). B. For road naming outside of the subdivision process, the road must be constructed and passable prior to naming. C. For proposed changes to an existing street, right-of-way, or access, Rural Addressing personnel shall proceed with one of the two methods set forth in Section 807-D for public notification. D. Rural Addressing personnel shall notify the public of a proposed road naming or name change by one of the following methods: E. 1. 2. Rural Addressing personnel shall originate a public notice for publication in two consecutive issues of the County's contracted publications contractor or a. The public will be given from the first date of the first printed publication to one week after the last date of publication to file objection petitions. The Rural Addressing personnel shall convene a meeting to come to a consensus within two weeks of receiving the objection. By contacting the adjacent property owners directly via registered mail. a. The property owners will be given three weeks from the date of mailing to file objection petitions. Rural Addressing personnel shall convene a meeting within two weeks of receiving the objection to come to a consensus. 3. The publication packet will contain the previous or new road name, the proposed name change, a sketch of the road in question, a description of the policy to oppose this change, the date for filing objections as well as the date scheduled for the renaming to be completed. To file objections to name changes initiated by the Rural Addressing staff, petition, or Board of Supervisors, residents and/or property owners must submit an alternate petition or objection in writing to the Rural Addressing Division in accordance with the time period stated in D above. Petitions must have signatures of at least 75% of residents and/or property owners who reside and/or own property adjacent to the street subject to the proposed naming or renaming. Petitioners must have agreed to a name to be used as an alternative to that proposed by the Rural Addressing Division or the Board of Supervisors. To submit an objection in writing to a proposed name change, the resident and/or property owner should include the name of the road to be changed and their reason for objecting it. F. If proposed name changes are not objected to or if alternative names presented by residents and/or landowners are agreed to unanimously, changes may be approved by the Board of Supervisors' Addressing designee. If the road name is not approved the matter may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors. 1. Petitions that are less than unanimous but meet the minimum 75% threshold will be advanced for approval via the Board of Supervisors public hearing process. 2. To avoid naming deadlock, valid petitions that are received and deemed necessary yet are below the 75% threshold will have one contact cycle completed as identified in D above then advanced to the Board of Supervisors public hearing process with a name selected subjectively by the Addressing staff. G. After the approval of a name change, any subsequent proposed name changes shall not be considered for a period of 10 years. H. All renaming of streets not required by this Ordinance will be completed at the expense of the person or group submitting the request of name change. The fees will be set in accordance with the Rural Addressing Fee Schedule approved by the Board of Supervisors and the fee must be received in the Rural Addressing Division prior to proceeding with the request. A petition will need to be completed, following the steps as stated in section 807 above. The petition will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval. Guidelines for Renaming Existing Streets: The following guidelines shall be followed for renaming existing streets which have names that are duplicated within Gila County. These are not listed in order of preference or importance. A. Does one street have any historical reason for having the name it has? B. Which street has the least number of houses on it and thus would require the least number of address changes? C. Which street has had its name for the longest period of time? D. E. Is the name appropriate according to the other street names in the neighborhood? Which street name is used for the longest distance or the most traveled section? Street Names and Numbering in New Subdivisions: A. Street names and numbering shall be determined in accordance with the street naming and numbering policy adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. Along with the preliminary plat map, the subdivider shall submit a street naming proposal to the Rural Addressing Division said proposal shall include copies of (1) a map of the overall tract illustrating street layout, the name proposed for each street, and (2) an alphabetical list of the proposed street names, together with an alternate name for each name proposed. The Rural Addressing Division shall review the proposed street names for duplication of names, appropriateness of names, and for overall compliance with the street naming policy. Approved street names shall be included in the final plat map which is submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval and for recordation.

Policy Score

78