TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Discussion and Possible Action to Rename Stauffenberg Lane
Recommended Action
Discussion and possible action to rename Stauffenberg Lane.
Background Information
Commissioner McDowell has submitted this information for discussion.
The existing City Code on naming streets has been virtually unchanged for over 30 years. On April 11, 2017, the commission discussed amending City Code, Chapter 70, Article III. At the meeting, the commission directed staff to move forward with creating an ordinance based on the discussion points. As of this writing no ordinance has been adopted changing this code. Over time, this was supposed to addressed with the ULDC rewrite; however, City Code is not associated with the ULDC rewrite. Although, our existing code is silent on the process or criteria for renaming streets, there have been two successful street name changes in the past 6 1/2 years, that I could find.
* July 26, 2016, Ordinance #2016-25 was adopted to rename North Main Street to Rue S. Berryman Street
* October 28, 2018, Ordinance #2018-16 was adopted to rename a portion of South West Villages Parkway to Playmore Road
In early September, a citizen contacted me about changing the street name, Stauffenberg Lane. This request evolved into a history lesson on Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. This is my quick synopsis from the link provided.
In 1930, Stauffenberg joined the German Army and rose through the ranks before and during World War 2. For many years, Stauffenberg was loyal to Hitler and Germany. As a decorated Nazi German leader, Colonel Stauffenberg is responsible for atrocities to civilians and various invasions during the war. In the fall of 1943, after recovering from a disabling injury, Stauffenberg was appointed as Chief of Staff of the General Army. While serving in this role, which gave him close proximity to Hitle...
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