COMMUNITY FORUM - Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Renaming
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - 6:00PM
The Town of San Anselmo is one of five jurisdictions participating in a discussion about the use of Sir Francis Drake’s (SFD) name on the boulevard that traverses east-west across the central part of Marin County. The other jurisdictions through which the road passes are the County of Marin, City of Larkspur, and the Towns of Fairfax and Ross.
Each of the jurisdictions appointed two elected officials to the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard (SFDB) Ad-Hoc Working Group. The Town’s Council representatives are Vice Mayor Fineman and Councilmember Burdo. Collectively, the ten elected officials have been participating in a series of public forums with high attendance (i.e., community listening and learning sessions) and three Working Group meetings.
PROCESS
At the Working Group's December 18th meeting, it was agreed that members should return to their respective jurisdictions to take up the issue of whether to move forward at the local level with the renaming of Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Each jurisdiction committed to complete its own community process and make a final decision no later than March 31. Each jurisdiction’s members of the SFDB Ad-Hoc Working Group will report back at the Working Group’s early April meeting.
They also reiterated that the request is focused on the concept of changing the name and not selecting a name. The selection of a name would be a separate multi-jurisdictional process that would occur after decisions are made regarding the renaming of SFDB.
LOCAL DISCUSSION
At their meeting on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the Town Council received an update from Vice Mayor Fineman and Councilmember Burdo regarding the multi-jurisdictional SFDB Ad-Hoc Working Group’s progress in relation to the potential renaming of SFDB. The Council directed staff to conduct a community forum to solicit input from San Anselmo residents regarding the issue. The date for the Community Forum is Wednesday, February 17th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. A link to the ZOOM Webinar for this forum is posted below.
CLICK HERE for the staff report from the Council’s January 12, 2021 meeting which contains the information compiled by the Working Group. Following the Community Forum, the Town Council will discuss the next steps in this process at their March 9th Town Council meeting.
RESOURCE & LEARNING PAGE
Below is a link to the Marin County Free Library’s resource and learning page focused on Marin County and the Sir Francis Drake roadway. The page includes information and perspectives gathered from local, national, and international sources about the indigenous community of Marin, the Coastal Miwok, present when Sir Francis Drake landed in what is now Marin County; Sir Francis Drake the person; and, the early 20th Century unified naming of the 43-mile roadway that is now called Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
In addition, the Working Group conducted two public forums.
The first was a “community listening session” which was held on June 26, 2020 via the Zoom platform (LINK: https://wWw.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ0kIbEL2gY&feature=youtu.be). This was followed on August 18, 2020 by a “community learning session” (LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3EJASC5RGY&feature=youtu.be). Links to these meetings are also available on the Marin County Free Library's website:
https://marinlibrary.org/sir-francis-drake-boulevard/
*Note: The information on this page and the associated links are not comprehensive, though the Library does expect the resources accessible through this page to grow.
The Working Group has created a helpful FAQ list, which can be found HERE.
FISCAL IMPACTS
The Working Group did research the potential impacts to the jurisdictions. In summary, the impacts are relatively modest. The postal service reports that it will continue to deliver items for eighteen months, giving most businesses and residents ample opportunity to convert letterhead, business cards, and other identifying items. The County Assessor and Clerk report that they will not require filings to change the name on documents. The information does not evaluate the costs to businesses for changing signage on buildings, vehicles, and/or other items such as printed materials. There would be nominal costs to the Town for replacing street signs.
COMMUNITY FORUM
The Town will hold the Community Forum to take input from San Anselmo residents regarding the potential name change on Wednesday, February 17th starting at 6:00 PM. Below is the information on how to participate via the Zoom Webinar platform:
When: Feb 17, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: COMMUNITY FORUM - Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Renaming
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82251358684
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +16699006833,,82251358684# or +12532158782,,82251358684#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
Webinar ID: 822 5135 8684
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbwAJeZFr8
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