Park Naming – Rosewood Park

CONCLUSION

The developer, Canadian Midwest District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, represented by Rosewood Park Alliance Church and Westridge Construction Ltd (CMDC) has requested that the MR2 park be named Rosewood Park after the neighbourhood and church that the park is adjacent to. In light of the longstanding “presence” of Rosewood Park Alliance Church and the significant contribution to the development of the area, it is appropriate that the first park in this area be formally named Rosewood Park.

BACKGROUND

The Park Naming Policy requires the Administration to consider requests from the developer, Community Association and Zone Board to assign to parks. Names are first submitted to an internal Civic Naming Committee which considers the names within the context of the Civic Naming Guidelines, adopted by Council in November 2018 (CR18-116). Upon approval by the Civic Naming Committee, names can be assigned to public open space with Council approval.

DISCUSSION

The City of Regina is in the process of naming MR2 (see Appendix A). The developer has requested the name Rosewood Park, as this name has meaning for the landowners as it bears the same name as the subdivision and the existing church. The following, which was submitted by CDMC provides more detail on the naming selection:

Rosewood Park

“The inspiration of the Rosewood Park Neighbourhood is the Rosewood Park Alliance Church (RPAC) - one of the majority landowners of the Rosewood Park neighbourhood. Founded in Regina in 1958, RPAC has remained a long-standing and involved member of the Regina Community. The current Congregation consists of 600-700 persons and continues to grow. To remain consistent the developer CMDC is requesting the park also bare the name Rosewood.”

The naming process and procedures typically involves a community engagement process where Community Associations and Zone Boards adjacent to the new development are consulted on the name being proposed by the developer. In this case, as there is no community association in the new development and given the longstanding presence of Rosewood Park Alliance Church, and its visible linkage to the area, Administration is recommending that the typical engagement be waived.

Civic Naming Committee Review

CDMC submitted the name Rosewood for consideration by the Civic Naming Committee. Upon review by the Committee, the name was originally rejected for health and safety reasons.

The Committee reviewed the guidelines which outline health and safety concerns respecting duplicate names and could not support this naming request as there is currently a street named “Rosewood Place” located in the Whitmore Park community in south Regina. Concerns were raised that if someone were to contact 911 in a panicked state this could cause confusion and result in a delayed response.

Notwithstanding, Administration has reviewed the matter and respectfully believes that the health and safety concerns raised by the Civic Naming Committee, while accurate, may be somewhat overstated in this particular instance because the subdivision already bears the name.  While there is some similarity between Rosewood Place and Rosewood Park, 911 dispatchers are trained to ask follow-up questions in case of any confusion or duplication.  

RECOMMENDATION IMPLICATIONS

Financial Implications

There are no financial implications for the City of Regina related to the naming of MR2. The park development is complete and the park signage will be installed at the expense of the developer.

Environmental Implications

There are no environmental implications associated with this report.

Policy and/or Strategic Implications

Park naming supports the action from the cultural plan to “ensure that the naming of streets, parks and other civic assets is done to celebrate Regina’s unique history and cultural diversity and that it tells the whole story of Regina.”

Other Implications

There are no other implications associated with this report.

The Civic Naming Guidelines require developers to work toward achieving a target of 25 per cent of street and 50 per cent of park names within a concept plan bearing a name with an Indigenous connection.  The Developer has committed to discussing the selection of Indigenous names for streets in the development, in keeping with the above-mentioned target as well as in support of the City’s cultural plan and objectives of Reconciliation Regina.

Accessibility Implications

There are no accessibility implications associated with this report.

COMMUNICATIONS

Once names are approved by Council, all park spaces will contain a park sign with a decal that explains who or what the park is named after.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY

In accordance with the Open Space Park Naming Policy and Procedures, City Council approval is required to name park space.