During its Tuesday, Oct. 26 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council agreed to rename a planned park currently under construction at Cherry Avenue and E. Burnett Street from View Park to Heritage Point Park.
Vice Mayor Keir Jones had initially proposed the idea of renaming the planned park in July to incorporate a theme of remembrance along with adding features commemorating the city’s nearly 100-year history and some of its more prominent citizens.
The council agreed in August to invite residents to submit new name suggestions rather than decide on its own.
According to Community Services Director Ali Mancini’s staff report, the council believed renaming the park would “more effectively represent the culture and values of the city while also serving as a catalyst for a diverse and inclusive telling of Signal Hill history” and “could instill feelings of pride, respect, welcome and belonging among all residents and visitors.”
The council also agreed in August to create a subcommittee consisting of two council members—Mayor Edward Wilson and Councilmember Lori Woods—along with two Parks and Recreation Commissioners, a Sustainable City Committee member, a Diversity Coalition Committee member and Mancini.
The subcommittee met on Oct. 5 to assess 39 renaming submissions it received. The subcommittee narrowed the list down to eight, taking into consideration the physical features and location of the park, its proximity to nearby developments and if there were other parks in the area with similar names.
The short list consisted of: Heritage Lane Park, Heritage Point Park, Legacy Lane Park, Legacy Pointe Park, Memory Lane Park, Memory Point Park, Ocean View Park and Roughneck Roundup Park.
During the meeting, Jones suggested adding Heritage Park to the list, which a few other council members also expressed liking. However, Mancini said there are already three other Heritage Parks nearby, in Cerritos, Fountain Valley and Santa Fe Springs.
Jones then motioned that the council vote on its expressed second-favorite name of Heritage Point Park. Councilmember Tina Hansen seconded the motion and the council voted 5-0 in favor of that name.
Mancini said the council had to decide on the new name by Tuesday’s meeting so the company constructing the park could make a sign with it by the time of the park’s planned opening in February or March 2022.
She said the park plan features a landscaped pedestrian trail with seating areas connecting the city’s Hilltop trail system to its civic center. The planned park will also have a landscaped bluff along Cherry Avenue with a decomposed granite trail leading to three sitting areas with views to the ocean.
To meet requirements of a funding grant from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, the planned park will also feature signs along its pedestrian trail educating visitors on the environmentally friendly design of the park, regional wildlife and featured plants, Mancini said.
The conservancy’s grant will cover $2.4 million of the planned park’s $3.3 million cost.
