Application for the naming of public places

Public place is defined as ‘a place to which the public has access, but does not include any part of a community parcel divided by a plan of community division under the Community Titles Act 1996’ (Local Government Act 1999, section 4). A public place includes council owned land, buildings and open space such as parks and reserves, but does not include suburbs, townships, roads, rivers or beaches.

Place means any area, region, locality, or any geographical or topographical feature, and includes any building or feature upon council owned or managed land that is, or likely to be, of public or historical interest.

Park means an area of open space that is open to the public, generally used for passive and/or active recreation, e.g. Huntingdale Park, Happy Valley Sports Park.

Reserve means a place set aside for special use, such as the preservation and/or protection of flora and fauna, e.g. Tingira Reserve, Pimpala Conservation Reserve.

Garden means a place set aside to grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers or other plants, e.g. Willunga Jubilee Rose Garden.

Common name is defined as a name:

1. assigned to the public place using the road or street on which it is located, and/or
2. used by more than one community of interest (for example community groups, schools, businesses, etc.), and/or

Spelling for common names is with a lower case ‘p’ or ‘r’, i.e. Smith Avenue park or King Street reserve. This allows us to differentiate between common and formal place names.

Formal name means a name resolved by Council.

Proposed name means the name specified in the place naming application, or suggested by key council staff, or by the community during community engagement.

Recognised name means an existing name for a place, such as a formal, signed or recorded name.

Recorded name means the name by which a place is designated on a map, plan or other record.

Signed name means the name recorded on any on-site signage.

The naming process involves the following steps:

• Assessment of the naming request and background information
• Community engagement (Stage 1) to seek any known or potential names for the public place
• Assessment of all name suggestions to determine their alignment with our Place Naming Policy
• Report to Council presenting name options and seeking permission to undertake Stage 2 of the community engagement
• Community engagement (Stage 2) to seek feedback on the potential names
• Report to Council with community engagement outcomes and place name recommendation for consideration
• Council decision by resolution
• Notify applicant and any other stakeholders of council’s decision in writing.

This process will take several months to complete.

• Any name assigned to a public place will be on the basis that such naming does not compromise any future sale or use of the land.
• Generally, places that have already been allocated a name by council will not be re-named.
• Generally, no memorial will be erected on the land, recognition will be by the recording of the name and the provision of signage, unless Council has specifically approved such memorial (e.g. Returned Services Park monument or similar).

• Other than council owned buildings, council assets within a public place (such as playgrounds, park benches, BBQs, shelters and trees) will not be named.