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File #: 2015-1379    Version:
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed Finally
File created: 3/6/2015 In control: Committee on Finance and Law
On agenda: 3/25/2015 Final action: 3/31/2015
Enactment date: 3/31/2015 Enactment #: 13
Effective date: 4/9/2015    
Title: An ordinance amending and supplementing Title I Administrative, Article IX Boards, Commissions, and Authorities, Chapter 173 Commission on Naming Public Properties to change the makeup of the Commission and provide City Council with approval authority over the naming or renaming of public properties and facilities.
Indexes: PGH. CODE ORDINANCES TITLE 01 - ADMINISTRATIVE
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An ordinance amending and supplementing Title I Administrative, Article IX Boards, Commissions, and Authorities, Chapter 173 Commission on Naming Public Properties to change the makeup of the Commission and provide City Council with approval authority over the naming or renaming of public properties and facilities.
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The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
 
Section 1:
 
 
CHAPTER 173: - COMMISSION ON NAMING PUBLIC PROPERTIES
§ 173.01 - CREATION, ORGANIZATION, QUORUM AND RULES.
(a)      The Commission on Naming Public Properties shall consist of members to be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council. Members shall hold office during the term for which the Mayor who appoints them has been elected and until their successors are respectively appointed and qualified.
(b)      The Director of Public Works shall be a member ex-officio of the Commission. In addition, the Commission shall consist of the Director of Public Works or their designee, the Director of Parks and Recreation or their designee, and the Director of the Department of City Planning or their designee one (1) historian knowledgeable in Pittsburgh history, and nine (9) others, one (1) from each of the nine (9) Council districts.
(c)      All appointed members shall serve without compensation.
(d)      In case any vacancy occurs, the vacancy shall be filled by the Mayor for the unexpired term.
(e)      The Commission shall elect a President and Secretary, whose term of office shall be for one (1) year. They may employ clerks and other persons whose salaries, together with the necessary expenses of the Commission, shall be provided for, at the discretion of Council and the Mayor, by the proper authorizations and resolutions.
(fe)      A majority of the 11three appointed members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the decision of any matters within their competence or jurisdiction, and the majority of the quorum may decide.
 
§ 173.02 - POWERS AND DUTIES.
 (a) The Commission on Naming Public Properties shall have the responsibility for investigating the historical and artistic background of any present name of a public facility or property when name changes are recommended or suggested; the Commission shall also create guidelines and specifications for any proposed name changes and adoption of names for new facilities or properties in the city. The Commission shall report in writing to the Mayor and Council on any recommendations or suggestions.
(b)  The Commission, upon a request by the Mayor, Council or a City department and acting by a quorum of appointed members shall have the power and jurisdiction over any building, square, park, street or similar property, which is to be the property of the City and which is proposed to be erected, constructed or dedicated, to recommend or suggest an appropriate name.
(c)  In all cases, under subsection (b) hereof, if the Commission fails to recommend a name within sixty (60) days of submission, the decision shall be deemed unnecessary.
(a)  The Commission on Naming Public Properties shall establish guidelines and specifications for naming or changing the name of a public property or facility. At a minimum, these guidelines and specifications shall include mechanisms for receiving requests and recommendations, provisions for public hearings and meetings, and a general requirement that naming or renaming a public property or facility for an individual person can only be recommended and approved if that person has been deceased for at least three years.
(b) The Commission on Naming Public Properties shall perform due diligence related to the historic, artistic, and cultural background of any facility proposed to be named or renamed and provide a report, in writing, to accompany any subsequent recommendation.
(c)  The Commission on Naming Public Properties shall receive requests and recommendations for naming or renaming any public property or facility and shall recommend to City Council, in writing, the majority opinion of the Commission as to the proposed naming or renaming within sixty (60) days of receiving said request or recommendation.  Failure by the Commission to act within (60) days shall be deemed a denial.
(d) City Council shall hold a public hearing before taking action on any recommendation for naming or renaming any public property or facility.
(e)  The recommendation of the Commission for any naming or renaming of a public facility or property shall be deemed approved by City Council except in the event of a negative vote by a supermajority of a quorum of Members. The recommendation shall also be deemed approved if City Council fails to take action within sixty (60) days of receiving the Commission's recommendation.
(f)      The provisions of this chapter shall not preclude City Council from naming or renaming a public property utilizing its normal legislative process, provided that:
1.  there is a public hearing.
2.  an affirmative vote shall require a super-majority.