The Resident

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City examines new process to name business districts

By Stephen Baxter

Fueled by confusion over the naming of a Vietnamese shopping area on Story Road, San Jose leaders have decided to review the process by which business districts are named.

The decision came in a March 4 San Jose City Council meeting that rescinded the naming of a district that many residents said should be called Little Saigon. Council members disagreed on whether a process is already in place to name business districts and whether city leaders made mistakes in following it.

There are several processes in place to name parks and to rename streets, but it is unclear if specific rules apply to naming business districts.

Councilman Pete Constant indicated that the council made missteps in naming the Vietnamese business area Saigon Business District in its June and November 2007 decisions.

"The problem we have here is not a lack of process, it was a lack of following a process," Constant said at the council meeting. "It was very clear to me in reviewing the audio and videotapes of meetings there was a process that was explained to the community and a process to be followed--but it didn't get followed."

Vice Mayor Dave Cortese disagreed, indicating that the rules were not clear.

"The mess we got ourselves in to was because we didn't have a defined policy. I'm hoping when the staff comes back ... they come up with the different policies we have in place in terms of identifying areas," Cortese said.

On March 4, the council unanimously directed the city's staff to outline a process to officially designate areas and districts in San Jose.

In a Feb. 22 memo signed by Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen, the pair supported clearer rules on naming districts.

"We hope that having a clear process in place will prevent a repeat of this controversy in this or other communities in San Jose," it stated.

On March 4 the council also decided to take no further action on naming the Story Road area until the community had reached a consensus.

Crowds protested outside city hall each Tuesday for several months after the council on Nov. 20, 2007, officially named the Story Road area "Saigon Business District" by an 8-3 vote.