St. Albert Policy Statement Names of Municipal Assets in the City of St. Albert shall reflect the City’s diverse history, culture, languages and values. The naming or renaming of a Municipal Asset should be an equitable, inclusive, transparent, and comprehensive process, and should reflect the City’s goal of establishing a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive community as expressed in the Diversity and Inclusion Declaration. This Policy is intended to allow residents and persons having a substantial connection with the City an opportunity to suggest names of Municipal Assets that reflect their histories, cultures, languages, and values. To that end this Policy establishes a framework for naming and renaming of Municipal Assets that reflects modern day values while allowing the capacity to adapt to continually evolving values in the City of St. Albert.
Scope This Policy applies only to Municipal Assets, with the exception of:
• Any Municipal Asset for which naming rights have been sold;
• St. Albert Place;
• City facilities that are leased to third parties where the lease allows the lessee to name the facility, or the leased portion of the facility, for the term of the lease;
• Any name recognition made conditional upon the exchange of money, land, or services (sponsorships or donations). Naming of Municipal Assets in connection with sponsorship and donation shall be negotiated by the Chief Administrative Officer for approval by Council or in accordance with other Council policies or bylaws; or
• Any Municipal Asset whose naming rights are under the jurisdiction of St. Albert school boards or the Province.
Service Standards / Expectations Naming Principles 7. Naming shall be easily understood and allow for systematic expansion as St. Albert grows. 8. Naming shall follow good cartographic practices and enable geographic locations to be found quickly and without incident to ensure efficient emergency response of first responders, and to avoid interfering with the functions of delivery services, utility services, mail delivery, and wayfinding. 9. Naming recommendations shall follow a transparent process allowing for consistency in the decision-making process. 10.A recommendation for a name for a newly acquired, constructed or commissioned Municipal Asset may be made by: a. any Council member, Commemorative Names of Municipal Assets should encourage greater Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in place naming throughout the City, should promote Equity in understanding of history and its legacy on communities, and acknowledge the impacts of colonialism. 11.Names and themes may be in any language used by residents of the City of St. Albert with consideration given to local Indigenous languages. 12.Proposed names in a language other than English should be supplemented with pronunciation guides and correctly accented characters.
Naming Criteria 13.Names shall reflect or reference at least one of the following: a. Local geography, or topographical feature of the local or regional area. b. Flora, fauna, or other natural features, reflecting the City’s Botanical Arts City brand. c. Traditional usage, ways of knowing, cultural and historic interpretive elements of local and regional Indigenous peoples. d. A historical event significant to local Indigenous communities, the City of St. Albert, the Province of Alberta, or Canada. e. Historical, cultural, ethnic, language, or gender or other aspects of Diversity of the community. f. Generic names that support an approved theme or existing naming structure. For example, names of Roadways that follow the first letter of the Neighbourhood name. 14.Commemorative Names shall be given to Municipal Assets only on rare occasions and shall meet at least two of the following criteria or sub-criteria: a. Associated with an Equity-Deserving Group that is traditionally underrepresented in naming practices. b. Commemorates an individual or group: i. who has demonstrated excellence, courage, or exceptional dedication to service; ii. who gives or has given extraordinary help or care to individuals, families, service clubs, cultural groups, ethnic organizations, community organizations, or support for community services or humanitarian causes, or for boards working to enhance the quality of life in the City of St. Albert; iii. that fosters equality and reduces discrimination; iv. who risks or has risked their own life to save or protect others; v. who achieves a deed or activity performed in an outstanding professional manner or of an uncommonly high standard that brings considerable benefit or great honour to the City St. Albert, to Alberta, or Canada; vi. that has contributed in a prominent role in advocating for the service being rendered by the Municipal Asset; vii. who has made an exceptional contribution of service in areas that have benefited the community; viii. who is of historical significance in contributing to the establishment or growth of the City of St. Albert. 15.Names of Municipal Assets shall not: a. Be or be perceived to be discriminatory or derogatory of any person or group. b. Reference a person, group, symbol, practice, or event that oppressed or caused harm to anyone in the past or that may cause present or future harm.. c. Result in inappropriate abbreviations or acronyms. d. Duplicate another name of a Municipal Asset. e. detract from the character or integrity of the community, or from the aesthetic quality of the Municipal Asset or or interfere with its enjoyment or use. f. Cause the City to be in breach of any agreement related to the acquisition or management of the Municipal Asset; or g. Make a direct or indirect reference to recent events or recently deceased individuals. Events or names of deceased individuals may be considered only after two years have elapsed from the time of the event or date of death. Commemorative Naming Applications 16.Commemorative Naming nominations shall follow a process established by Administrative Directive of the CAO to ensure that vetting of Commemorative Names is consistent, that applications for Commemorative Naming meet the Commemorative Naming Criteria and that the process is accessible to all persons who reside in or have a substantial connection to St. Albert. 17.Proposed names in an Indigenous language recognizing an Indigenous organization, event, or concept shall require consultation with Indigenous communities and adherence to appropriate Indigenous practices or protocols.
Naming New Council-Named Assets 18. The Sponsor of a newly acquired, constructed or commissioned CouncilNamed Asset shall refer to the Names Reserve List for an appropriate name. Should a proposed name not be on the Names Reserve List, the proposed name shall comply with the Naming Criteria outlined within this Policy. 19. The Sponsor may request input from the Naming Committee who will identify specific impacted user groups or Equity Deserving Groups to seek input from regarding the naming of a Council-Named Asset. 20. The Sponsor will recommend a name to Council and provide rationale to support the recommendation. Alternative recommendations may also be provided. 21. Municipally-Owned Buildings shall be named to include their functional use, where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, “”St. Albert Business Centre”, “Fountain Park Recreation Centre”, etc. 22. Significant Infrastructure shall be named to include its functional use, where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, “Children’s Bridge” and “Nakî Transit Centre & Park and Ride.” 23. Crosstown Roads may be named after former mayors of St. Albert, provided they are in alignment with the Naming Criteria. 24. The naming of a Neighbourhood that shares the same boundaries as its Area Structure Plan, shall be approved by Council prior to or at the time of passage of its Area Structure Plan Bylaw. 25. The naming of a Neighbourhood that shares the same boundaries as its Neighbourhood Plan, shall be approved by the Director of Planning & Development, in accordance with the Naming Criteria and otherwise in conformance with this Policy. Naming of Parks 26. Parks, excluding City Parks, should have the same name as their adjacent Roadway. 27. The naming of City Parks shall be in accordance with the naming process for Council-Named Assets, except if the name is the same as the name of the adjacent Neighbourhood. 28. The park shall be named to include its functional use, i.e., “Park”. Naming of Recreational Facilities 29. Recreational Facilities should be named after the park or Neighbourhood in which the facility is located, where appropriate and in alignment with the Naming Criteria. 30. The facility shall be named to include its functional use, where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, “Field”, “Arena”, etc. 31. Should the name deviate from the process of naming Recreational Facilities, the Sponsor shall follow the process for naming CouncilNamed Assets, and the name is to be approved by Council. Naming of Roadways 32. The naming structure for Roadways within a Neighbourhood should either: a. begin with the first letter of its Neighbourhood name; or b. follow a theme (i.e., flora, fauna, natural features, Indigenous language, other diverse languages, events in history, etc.). 33. Roadway names in Neighbourhoods may follow either the current alphabetization or apply a theme to follow. 34. Should the City be limited on letters of the alphabet for the naming of new Neighbourhoods, duplication of alphabet letters may occur. 35. If a Neighbourhood shares the same boundaries as its Area Structure Plan, the naming structure for Roadways shall be applied to the Area Structure Plan as a whole. 36. If a Neighbourhood shares the same boundaries as its Neighbourhood Plan, the naming structure for Roadways shall be applied to the Neighbourhood Plan as a whole.
Name Removal Criteria 40. Applications for removal of a name from a Municipal Asset will be considered where the name: a. Refers to current or historic persons known for their discriminatory views or actions, including committing or perpetuating acts of racism, violence, and/or harm; b. Includes derogatory terms that might represent or be linked with discriminatory views and actions; c. Negatively represents any group or its culture; d. Is inconsistent with City’s membership in the Coalition for Inclusive Municipalities, and the City’s Diversity and Inclusion Declaration; or e. Brings the City of St. Albert into disrepute.
Renaming Criteria 50. Renaming a Municipal Asset may occur under one of the following circumstances: a. When a name removal Application has been approved by Council; or b. When a non-commemorative name of a Municipal Asset is to be replaced with a Commemorative Name or an Indigenous language name to honour an individual or local Indigenous community
