Downtown Commission urges city to begin community process to remove and rename Cesar Chavez Street

The Downtown Commission on April 15 voted to recommend that the city manager begin a community and stakeholder engagement process to remove the name Cesar Chavez from downtown streets and signage and to pursue a renaming that retains recognition of the Latino community's contributions.

The chair read the proposed recommendation into the record, citing historical background and community input: the downtown street was originally called Water Avenue and later 1st Street, and after Cesar Chavez's death community leaders petitioned in 1993 to rename the street in his honor. The resolution also referenced "recent disturbing allegations" relating to Chavez; the language in the draft prompted discussion about process and phrasing.

Commissioners offered differing views about whether to avoid naming streets after individuals going forward and whether to restore the historic name. One commissioner urged centering Latino community input and ensuring the renaming preserves recognition of farm‑worker movement contributions; another recommended a broader review of other place names in the city that may honor historical figures whose records are now contested.

On process, commissioners agreed the recommendation should ask the city to pursue inclusive community engagement and to consider how other cities have handled similar cases. The body adopted a friendly amendment to correct wording (adjusting phrasing around the North Shore of the Colorado River and replacing one instance of "city" with "community") and then voted to make the recommendation an official commission action. The commission's motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records no roll‑call tally in the meeting minutes portion.

The commission did not name a proposed new street name; the recommendation directs staff to undertake a community‑driven process to determine an appropriate replacement and to center affected communities in that process.