Gilroy
– The dynamics of an ever-growing city seem to be playing out
everywhere, even in the city’s decision what to name a street.
A new roadway located east of Highway 101 and running
north/south from Luchessa Avenue to Leavesley Road will be named
Cameron Boulevard, the city council decided in a 5-2 vote Monday
night.
Gilroy – The dynamics of an ever-growing city seem to be playing out everywhere, even in the city’s decision what to name a street.
A new roadway located east of Highway 101 and running north/south from Luchessa Avenue to Leavesley Road will be named Cameron Boulevard, the city council decided in a 5-2 vote Monday night.
But that vote was preceded by a 4-3 vote against naming the roadway Cameron Boulevard, then another vote to reconsider the initial vote.
Who knew naming a road could be cause for such disagreement?
But in Gilroy, a city trying to hang on to its history while constantly entertaining new development, perhaps it’s not so surprising.
The roadway, designated in the city’s general plan that was adopted in 2002, crosses an industrial park property owned by developer Joe McCarthy.
The 124-acre lot is located between Gilroy Foods and Gilroy Crossing, the retail development that includes Kohl’s and Target.
The park currently is under review to receive final map approval, but in order for that to happen, the new roadway that runs through it needs a formal name.
McCarthy requested that the city name the street McCarthy Boulevard because it would promote the industrial development and the family name is well known in the area, McCarthy said.
Additionally, the street runs through his property.
But some councilmembers and Gilroy’s Street Naming Committee thought differently: Street names should reflect Gilroy’s history and roots.
Last month, the street naming committee – currently made up of councilmembers Charles Morales and Roland Velasco, Mayor Al Pinheiro and city planner Melissa Durkin – voted 3-1 with Velasco dissenting that the city council should name the new roadway Cameron Boulevard in tribute to John Gilroy, for whom the city is named.
In order to be considered for a street name, a family name must have sufficient historical documentation and a direct relationship to the Gilroy area, the committee said.
Gilroy’s birthname was John Cameron, but according to the Gilroy Historical Society, it’s unclear exactly why and when he changed his last name.
One of the theories floating around is that he ran away from home as a minor and changed names to avoid being arrested and sent back home.
But try telling that to the average commuter in Gilroy zipping along Cameron Boulevard, who most likely doesn’t know or particularly care about the identity of John Gilroy.
Rather, McCarthy argued, the roadway should have modern-day significance, which someday will translate into historical significance.
“We feel we’re making a significant contribution to this city, and in 20 or 30 years we will be known as having made a contribution to the city,” said Joe McCarthy Jr. at the council meeting. “We feel it’d be really important to the park.”
But Pinheiro held strong on his opinion that if a street in Gilroy is named after a family, that name should reflect the historical roots of the city.
“I appreciate the McCarthy family coming here into Gilroy,” Pinheiro said. “But with all due respect, they’re coming here not because they love Gilroy, but because they’re here to do their business of developing … We need to preserve as much as we can the history of this city.”
Additionally, Pinheiro said, Gilroy already has and continues to expand commercially with so-called big-box stores that make Gilroy look like any other city.
Keeping street names unique to Gilroy will help preserve the city’s character, Pinheiro said.
But Velasco insisted that McCarthy Boulevard is appropriate, mainly because it helps promote and brand the name in Gilroy of a well-known and well-respected developer.
“I understand the importance of the criteria (of naming streets) and the work staff has put into it,” Velasco said. “But I’m going to go back to what the economists argue about branding your name. Gilroy could use a high-class project name such as that. … We would be doing a disservice to this project if we didn’t name it McCarthy Boulevard.”
As a compromise, councilman Craig Gartman proposed naming the road Gilroy Boulevard, as that name would be more recognizable to the average resident and besides, he said, the city doesn’t have a Gilroy Boulevard.
But the idea wasn’t eagerly received. Pinheiro said he didn’t see the point, as naming the road Gilroy Boulevard wouldn’t accomplish McCarthy’s goal of name recognition nor reflect Gilroy’s true historic roots.
On a sidenote, councilman Russ Valiquette said he detected a double standard: If a business can come in and dump millions of dollars for naming rights to the arts center, then it should be OK to name a road after a developer who will spend millions of dollars bringing infrastructure into Gilroy, Valiquette argued.
However, the money that will go to naming rights for the arts center will be a strict donation, while McCarthy will earn his money back over time, countered City Administrator Jay Baksa.
Since being designated as a Gilroy roadway by the city’s general plan, the street has gone through a series of informal references. It first was known as East Side Road, then Wellington Boulevard when the Wellington Corp. purchased the land adjacent to the road.
McCarthy bought the property a little more than two years ago, and since then, it loosely has been called McCarthy Boulevard.
