1999 AGN NOV 16 I07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF COLTON INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM Office of the City Attomey TO: Randy Anstine, Director of Recreation and Human Services FROM: Julie Hayward Biggs, City Attorill SUBXCT: Naming of Parks/Legal Interpretation DATE: October 3, 1994 Background: This memorandum is in response to your memorandum dated September 29,1994 regarding the legal interpretation of Resolution No. R -116A-93. The Parks and Recreation Commission has asked for a legal interpretation of that Resolution with regard to the Limitation it establishes on the naming of public parks. Specifically, the Commission has asked whether the Resolution may be read to apply to persons who have never been residents of the City of Colton, but who have served "their community" in an exceptional and distinguished way. This question arises in the context of a citizen request that the City consider re -naming the Colton Municipal Park after Cesar Chavez, organizer and former president of the United Farm Workers. The Parks and Recreation Commission has approved this recommendation, subject to the legal interpretation requested. Discussion: The policy established by Resolution R- I 16A-93 was established at the request of the Parks and Recreation Commission by the City Council. The City Council has full authority to establish such policies and in the final analysis is the body charged with determining how a particular policy should be interpreted. The language of the Resolution is very broad, and at the recent City Council meeting where the re -naming of the Colton Municipal Park was discussed, several members of the Council made it clear that in their view, although Cesar Chavez did not reside in Colton, his efforts on behalf of the farm workers of California has had a profound effect on members of this community. Even if that were not the case, however, the language of Resolution R- I 16A-93 is broad enough to extend to individuals who have served "their" community in an exceptional and distinguished manner. The word "their" appears to refer to the community of the individual for whom a park is to be named, which may not necessarily be the City of Colton. Essentially, the City Council has very broad authority under the Resolution to name public parks after