Guilford's Board Of Selectmen Take Up Question On Street Renaming

GUILFORD, CT – Who oversees renaming streets in Guilford? was the question asked during the Guilford Board of Selectman meeting on Monday, Oct. 2.

During the board meeting, board member Sandra Ruoff said she received a letter from a Guilford resident asking who was responsible for road names.

Ruoff said the Guilford resident stated that Guilford still has a road named Squaw Drive, and there is a movement to change derogatory street names and asked what the process would be to have the street renamed.

First Selectman Matt Hoey said there have been other inquiries to change street names, not just Squaw. He stated the current ordinance on road naming falls to the Board of Selectman on a recommendation from the town engineer.

Town Attorney Peter Barret said street renaming has also come up through the Human Rights Commission.

“What they found is street renaming hasn’t happened that often,” Barret told the board. “They do not have a specific procedure for that. Some towns have passed an ordinance as to how to go about it. It’s a huge step and something they could talk about.”

Board Member Susan Renner said if a road name were overtly horrific, they would change it, but she said she doesn’t know where the line would be drawn.

One of Hoey's points was that if a street name were changed, everyone would have to refile mortgage and leans, among other things, and those living on said street would bear those costs.

Hoey said he talked to Barret and town engineer Janice Plaziak about the process of changing street names.

“Somethings we talked about was required a two-thirds vote of those affected because some people’s lives will be affected,” he said.

Hoey asked the town attorney to clarify the process and how the board could process it because they don’t have a standard way of doing it.

“In addition, there are concerns the board has with how this would impact those people that live on the street, which are not inconsequential,” Hoey said.