The Public Property Naming Committee reviews and acts upon requests to name or rename public buildings and to adopt honorary names for streets and public rights of way to honor notable Knoxvillians who have contributed to our community’s history and success in a significant way. Consideration is also given to the historical, geographical, and social/cultural context of the requests.


TYPES OF REQUESTS

• Honorary Street Name: is an additional name assigned to a street or street segment which supplements but does not replace the official street name. The honorary name is displayed on a different color sign mounted directly below the official street sign. Click here for the Honorary Street Name Application [PDF].

• Public Property Name: is a request to provide an honorary name for a significant publicly-owned property, e.g. buildings or parks and recreation facilities. Click here for the Public Property Name Application [PDF].


CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION

Click here for more information.



REQUEST PROCESS

Please complete the appropriate request form and submit it and the $262 request fee to the City Recorder’s Office.

Mailing Address:
City Recorder’s Office
PO Box 1631
Knoxville, TN 37901

Physical Address:
City Recorder’s Office
400 Main St, Suite 467
Knoxville, TN 37902

You will be notified of the date and time of the committee meeting when your request will be considered. Requesters should make every effort to attend the meeting in order to respond to questions from the committee members.

Approved requests are sent to the Mayor for review. The request along with the Mayor’s written recommendation, if any, is then placed on the City Council agenda for consideration.

The request fee may only be refunded by action of the committee.


APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The Public Property Naming Committee is a standing committee created by City Council by ordinance. The committee consists of 14 members, who are appointed as follows:

• One person nominated by the Council Member for each district
• One person nominated by the Mayor
• One Council Member nominated by the Vice-Mayor to serve as Chairperson
• One member from the professional staff of the Metropolitan Planning Commission, as nominated by its Executive Director
• One representative of the Law Department, as nominated by the Law Director, who serves in a non-voting advisory capacity 
• One representative of the Engineering Department, as nominated by the Director, who serves in a non-voting advisory capacity

All nominees are confirmed by City Council, and the terms for the members are four years. No member will serve more than two consecutive terms.


MEETINGS SCHEDULE

The Public Property Naming Committee meets as needed.