Item 15 - Street Naming No. 2023-01 to Rename a Portion of North Mabury Street and South Elk Lane to South Zoo Lane

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Street Naming No. 2023-01 to Rename a Portion of North Mabury Street and South Elk Lane to South Zoo Lane August 15, 2023 Page 3 • The renaming will remove one section of South Elk Lane, eliminating any confusion caused by the disparate streets. • The renaming will remove the only section of North Mabury Street south of the 1-5 Freeway not connected to Mabury Park, eliminating confusion caused by the disparate streets. • The renamed segment will not pose a threat to public health, welfare, or safety, and will not create confusion for motorists, emergency responders, and other service providers. • The renamed street will not lessen the history of the Elks in Santa Ana as another street in the City has already been renamed Elk Lane to commemorate the Elks. • The Santa Ana Elks fully support this street renaming effort and have provided correspondence to that effect. • Precedent exists in the region and the industry. Both the Los Angeles and San Diego Zoos are located along streets named Zoo Drive, and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is located along Aquarium Way. The Sedgwick County Zoo of Wichita, Kansas is located in an urbanized area on Zoo Blvd., which extends out from the zoo for over 2.5 miles and has both businesses and residential developments. There are many examples like these in communities throughout the United States. • Residential development Park on First is located adjacent to the zoo and oriented to capitalize on the zoo and Prentice Park. It advertises the impressive view of the zoo and park as one if its amenities, but identifies by its location on First Street, not on Elk Lane. The artistic rendering of the complex on its website calls it the "Prentice Park Residences," and features the zoo right across the street. Renaming Elk Lane as Zoo Lane would align with the established and advertised identity of the development. The developer/owner of 100 and 200 S. Elk Lane (Park on First) originally engaged the City about renaming Elk Lane in 2019, but ultimately did not proceed, and later the property changed ownership. Current ownership has expressed they prefer to retain Elk Lane as the street name, but would hopefully be amenable to the change as the zoo is identified in their own advertising as the defining presence on the street. • The owners of the residential complex at 400 S. Elk Lane did not report any areas of concern when staff made contact via phone in May 2023 after extensive efforts to reach the owners. Now is the ideal time to make the renaming request because Elk Lane street improvements were completed (FY22/23) and PWA is ready to proceed with installation of a traffic signal at South Elk Lane and Chestnut Ave. (FY23/24). The new traffic signal will feature zoo themed crosswalk graphics and artwork on the utility box. This new intersection would serve as the terminus of the renamed Zoo Lane.