Supervisors approve bridge naming policy

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a policy for the naming of bridges in the county's unincorporated areas.

Board of Supervisors Policy F-53 was approved on a 4-0 vote Dec. 6 with Kristin Gaspar not present.

"County bridges can now be dedicated and named in someone's memory," said Supervisor Bill Horn. "This new policy spells out the guidelines that must be met in order for that to happen."

The county had policies relating to the naming of county buildings and facilities, but no specific authority existed to name bridges in unincorporated San Diego County. The lack of such a policy was discovered after the Ramona Community Planning Group discussed the possibility of naming a bridge after a long-time community member who passed away in 2015.

On June 20, the county supervisors voted 5-0 to direct the county's chief administrative officer to amend existing county policies to provide a definition of a proposed process, to develop proposed criteria for the county supervisors to approve, and to return the proposed amendments to the board of supervisors within 180 days.

The policy provides communities with a process to name a bridge. The board of supervisors has the ultimate authority, but the community will lead the process to request the naming of a bridge.

Board of Supervisors Policy F-53 for honorary bridge naming provides seven criteria for the naming of a bridge after an individual or entity. An individual must be deceased and a person or entity must have provided extraordinary public service or otherwise an exemplary contribution to the public good, and the person or entity should have a connection to the unincorporated community where the bridge is located.

The request must be made by a resident of the unincorporated community where the bridge is located, and the proposal must identify the requested name. The proposal must also include the specific above-ground bridge and be supported by a petition signed by at least 100 residents from the community. The proposal must be placed on the agenda of the relevant community planning group or community sponsor group if one exists, and the advisory group will make a recommendation on the proposed name.

The proposal will then be presented to the board of supervisors member whose district includes the bridge. The county supervisor may docket a letter for a future board of supervisors meeting recommending the name. If the board of supervisors approves the name the county's Department of Public Works will be responsible for installing and maintaining the honorary bridge naming signs on each end of the bridge, and the signs must meet the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices standards for a white on green guide sign.

The proposed policy was presented to all 26 community planning or sponsor groups. Some of those advisory boards questioned how the 100 required signatures would be validated, and county staff responded that the collected signatures could be reviewed by the community groups during public hearings.

The community group input also included a request for a simple form for signature collections, and county staff indicated plans to create such a form and place it on-line contingent upon board of supervisors approval of the policy.

The policy also includes a definition of "bridge", which is defined as a structure including supports erected over a depression or an obstruction such as water, a highway, or a railway and having a passageway for carrying vehicular traffic and an opening measured along the center of the roadway of more than 20 feet between under copings of abutments, spring lines of arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes.

Only those types of bridges supporting a county-maintained roadway can be considered for naming, and the bridges are also listed in the Federal National Bridge Inventory. The county currently maintains 85 such bridges.

The bridge locations include (in alphabetical order) Beech Street over Fallbrook Creek 0.2 miles east of Mission Road, Camino Del Rey over Moosa Canyon Creek 2.1 miles east of West Lilac Road, Camino Del Rey over the former San Luis Rey Downs golf course 100 feet west of West Lilac Road, Camino Del Rey over the San Luis Rey River 0.2 miles southeast of State Route 76, College Street over Fallbrook Creek 0.08 miles west of Main Avenue, Couser Canyon Road over the San Luis Rey River 0.2 miles south of State Route 76, DeLuz Road over the Santa Margarita River 0.94 miles west of Sandia Creek Drive, Dulin Road over Keys Canyon Creek between Old Highway 395 and Lake Circle Drive, First Street over the north fork of Rainbow Creek 0.1 miles north of Huffstatler Street, Gird Road over Live Oak Canyon Creek 2.0 miles north of State Route 76, Gopher Canyon Road over the south fork of Gopher Canyon Creek 225 feet east of Spa Havens Way, Lilac Road over the south fork of Keys Canyon Creek 0.7 miles north of Old Castle Road, Lilac Road over the San Luis Rey River in Pala 0.1 miles north of State Route 76, Morro Road over Potrero Creek 0.4 miles south of Fallbrook Street, Old Highway 395 over Keys Creek 0.7 miles south of State Route 76, Old Highway 395 over the San Luis Rey River 0.4 miles south of State Route 76, Old River Road over Moosa Canyon Creek 0.3 miles south of Camino Del Rey, Pankey Road over Horse Ranch Creek 0.1 miles north of State Route 76, Pankey Road over Horse Ranch Creek 0.2 miles south of State Route 76, Shearer Crossing over the San Luis Rey River 0.18 miles south of Pankey Road, West Lilac Road over the south fork of Keys Creek 0.15 miles west of Lilac Road, and Willow Glen Road over Rainbow Creek 1.5 miles north of Mission Road.