Fresno City Council poised to rename historic roads. Here’s why it’s a terrible idea | Opinion

If you’re looking for those responsible for the state of our city, you’ll find them in a veto-proof supermajority serving on our Fresno City Council.

This is where really bad ideas can happen. For example: renaming 10 miles of historic roads, including Ventura Avenue, California Avenue and Kings Canyon Road, home to thousands of residents, retailers and commercial property owners.

With virtually no notice and no public input, the council has decided to rename these byways “Cesar Chavez Boulevard.” It’s a noble cause, but a terrible mistake.

A national treasure placed on the Historic Registry, Fresno’s Holy Trinity became the second Armenian Church built in America. For 124 years, the church’s address has been 2226 Ventura Avenue. The church is significant not only to the Armenian community, but to those of us who have invested our careers in Downtown Fresno. Now, the city council is trying to erase part of this historic identity by changing Holy Trinity’s address.

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Part of the council’s plan is to also rename Kings Canyon Road, which leads to the oldest Sequoia grove on Earth, including the 2,000-year-old General Sherman tree. People from around the world visit this national park via the most obvious route: Kings Canyon Road, leading directly to Kings Canyon National Park.

Completing the trifecta of bad ideas, the council added California Avenue, one of Fresno’s oldest streets, to the list of places to be renamed. Dating back to 1881, California Avenue is the heart and soul of Fresno’s African American community. It’s home to many churches, businesses and residences as well as the revered Edison High School.

So why does the city council want to change these historic names?

The answer is Politics 101. The city council has made it clear that they want to honor Cesar Chavez. However, we already have a state holiday honoring the civil rights icon as well as a local adult school.

We also have $1.5 billion in the public park system and cultural arts amenities that is funded for the next 30 years thanks to Measure P. So why not choose from those opportunities to further honor him? Why disrupt 3,500 residents, retailers and commercial property owners at great cost?

The city council has solicited shockingly little community input — they did not even invite those directly impacted by this plan to voice their thoughts and concerns.

There has been a total disregard for those who live, own property and operate businesses in Fresno who will be unduly punished by this decision. If it’s not obvious why this is a bad idea, consider the direct cost to property owners and all Fresno taxpayers.

According to information on the City of Fresno’s website, much of the impact will be resolved at no cost. But this is bait and switch baloney which ignores the facts. People living along these avenues will be required to update their banking information, driver’s license and subscriptions; notify their credit card companies; and send a change of address to contacts.

The city says these changes can be completed online, but if you collect Social Security or Medi-Cal, you are required to make any changes in person. Good luck with that.

The city is warning all businesses to update their addresses, including business listings on the Internet, Google pages, business websites, promotional materials, social media, directories, permits, licenses, business cards, advertisements and more.

Thankfully (tongue firmly in cheek), the City of Fresno is allowing businesses impacted by the name change to apply for up to $200 of financial assistance to pay for costs associated with the change of address. Yes, a whopping $200 for each of the estimated 3,500 victims of this terrible idea.

It’s not too late to object. Call your council person and ask them to simply bring the item back to the council for further discussion and community input.

John Ostlund owns The Fulton Group, an advertising agency and One Putt Broadcasting, a group of five radio stations. He has worked in Downtown Fresno for 50 years.